Tag Archives: training

Training Recap: 3/26 – 4/1

2 Apr

We’re back from Evansville! The weather was absolutely gorgeous while we were there – sunny and 80s. We spent a lot of time outside on the patio enjoying the sun. But we arrived home to 40 degrees and clouds. It should warm up later this week but it made today feel like a good day to take a nap. (Sadly, I didn’t get to.)

I did get to complete all of my runs this week though. Since we were going to be gone, and I wanted to spend as much time with family as possible, I piled all but my long run into the beginning of the week.

Monday: 5.15 mile run (56:23; 10:57/mile) + physical therapy exercises/strength

Tuesday: 3.15 mile fartlek run (31:52; 10:06/mile)

Wednesday: 3.04 mile run (33:37; 11:03/mile) + Self workout

Thursday: Rest (travel to IN)

Friday: Rest

Saturday: 6.5 mile run in Evansville (1:09:36; 10:41/mile)

Sunday: Rest; 1 hour of yard work

Total Running Miles: 17.85

……………………….

Saturday morning, we woke to 55 degrees (instead of the 65 it had been in the mornings) and overcast skies. It felt muggy, yet cool – almost perfect running weather. (It would’ve been perfect with less humidity.) Jeremy and Jen told us about a bike trail near the river, so Travis, my mom and I drove down there around 9:30. My mom walked my brother’s two dachshunds while Travis and I ran.

This WWII memorial was down by the riverfront. We had to stop and look at all the state seals.

And take a picture by the Minnesota seal.

I was looking forward to running at the low elevation (360 feet above sea level!) but just like in Minnesota, I’m pretty sure the humidity canceled out most of the benefit. But I think this run was also a little challenging because I thought “Oh 7 miles, that’ll be over quick.” But then it wasn’t over quick and the run felt extra long because I had expected it to be short. (This is exactly why I hate 5Ks.)

The step back week was convenient for our trip but I’m looking forward to a 12 miler this coming Saturday!

I’ll try to post about our trip tomorrow night. Now it’s time for bed.

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Training Recap: 3/19 – 3/25

26 Mar

I spoke too soon yesterday when I said I was back on track with my sleeping schedule… Last night, I went to bed at 9:30 but laid there for 30 minutes with non-stop thoughts running through my head (about running routes and my future long runs, no less). I decided to read for 30 minutes, which usually helps settle my brain. And it did, but I only got 7 hours of sleep instead of my intended 8. And every time I rolled over, I was concerned about smudging my nail polish, since I had just painted my nails before bed. Oh bother.

My training last week wasn’t completely according to plan either. I got all my miles in but only did strength training once and no cross training – unless washing windows counts? BUT the running is the most important thing and I’m still injury-free, having fun and living the dream. And that’s all that matters, right?

Monday: 3.04 mile tempo run (31:51; 10:28/mile)

This was supposed to be a nice, easy run but I ran with Travis, which always makes me run faster than I would alone because I feel so slow next to him! Even though I saw we were running faster than I had planned, I felt good so I just went with it.

Tuesday: Rest

Wednesday: 5 mile hill/tempo run (58:03; 11:05/mile)

I had only planned to run 3 miles of hill repeats but when that was over, I didn’t want to stop running. I felt great and the weather was perfect – cloudy, cool, slight breeze. And since I was supposed to run 5 the next day anyway, I just decided to go for it while I was feeling good. I ended up having to change my clothes in the car while driving to women’s group but it was still the right call. 😉

For the hill workout, I did a 1 mile out and back warmup. The hill I ran is about .65 of a mile long with a gain of 250 feet. It kills me on the bike and on my feet.

For my first time up the hill, I ran hard for 15 sec and walked for 30, repeated until the top, and ran back down. The second time up, I ran hard for increasing increments: 10 sec hard, 20 sec rest, 15 sec hard, 20 sec rest, 20 sec hard, 30 sec rest. Repeated until I got to the top and ran back down.

Splits were a little off because I was using my Poor Man’s GPS again:
Mile 1 – 10:41
Mile 1.96 – 11:35
Mile 2.56 – 8:16
Mile 3.21 – 5:54
Mile 4.23 – 10:31
Mile 5.23 – 11:06

My legs were pretty tired by the end of the 5 miles but this was an awesome run.

Thursday: 3.24 mile easy-ish run (35:25; 10:56/mile) + Self strength workout

Friday: Rest

Saturday: 9.93 mile long run (1:49:43; 11:02/mile)

Another awesome run!

Sunday: 20 minute walk with pooches + 4.5 hours of cleaning (2 of which were spent washing windows)

I decided that getting my house in order before leaving town on Thursday and being able to see out my windows was more important than doing cross training. And my right arm is now way more defined than my left from all that scrubbing.

Total Running Miles: 21.44 (first time over 20 in this training cycle!)

{Side note: It may sound like I was getting all ambitious by washing our windows but the truth is: I haven’t done this since we moved in. And the majority of our windows have been replaced since then, meaning I had never washed them. It was a little overdue. Kind of like cleaning my oven. Next up: cleaning our carpet. It is DISGUSTING (and really just needs to be replaced, but we’re going to do that right before we try to sell because I know that our dogs – and maybe me – will ruin it between now and then. I just spilled my Mike’s on it the other night and created a nice big stain. Sweet.}

……………………………

I can’t help but point out the difference in how my legs feel between my training recap a couple of weeks ago and this week’s. That recap, every run was accompanied by “My legs feel like crap.” This recap, every run was accompanied by “My legs feel awesome! Running is awesome! I heart marathon training!” I’m not so naive as to think I won’t encounter some discouraging twinges, cramps, and pangs in future runs, but my mindset is the same as how I’ve approaching this warm weather – I won’t make myself enjoy it less just because it might still snow. I’m going to live it up in the moment and if it snows, it snows.

Although, I would like to point out that this is the last week of March and it still hasn’t snowed. And if this weather forecast doesn’t say BOOYAH to all the warm-weather naysayers, then I don’t know what does:

Yes, I am very ready for summer.

 Are you ready for summer? What’s your favorite season? In Colorado, my favorite season is spring. There are no puddles or nasty snow to deal with, it’s warm but not hot, and best of all, it’s the season of tulips, Easter, and Russian Olive trees. I told Travis that I’m going to work remotely from a Russian Olive tree once they bloom. Seriously, the best smell in the world.

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Back to My Long Run Roots

25 Mar

I woke up this morning at 7 am without an alarm clock, feeling well-rested and ready for the day. I love it when that happens! But I know it’s no stroke of luck – it’s the natural outcome of going to bed at a decent time. I finally feel back on track after a few weeks of hitting the snooze at least ten times every morning with the excuse, “I’m soooo tired.” Early bedtimes are where it’s at.

Yesterday, I did my first double digit long run for my official marathon training – 10 miles. I still feel like mixing things up and not just running my same old trail so for this run, I drove up to Boulder. The loop I ran was almost identical to the longest training run I did for my first half marathon – I adjusted it a bit since I wouldn’t be running to and from our old apartment (though I did still run by it).

I got up at 6:45 and left the house around 7:10, after getting my Camelbak loaded and watered, and eating a breakfast of 2 Kashi waffles with peanut butter and jelly. Since I am a morning runner at heart, I am loving my long runs early in the morning – right now, it’s the only run I get to do in the morning so it’s extra special. It doesn’t hurt that I get to go run in places like Boulder. Hello Flatirons:

I ended up running the loop in the opposite way I had originally planned because right as I parked the car, I realized I needed a bathroom break, now. So I ran to the nearest gas station and instead of backtracking, just continued on that direction.

It had been a fairly cool 45 degrees at my house,  so I was wearing my 2xU compression tights, a t-shirt, and a long-sleeve over that. It became apparent after about 30 seconds of running into the blazing sun that I did not need the long-sleeve. I decided that when I stopped to get my music started around mile 1.5 (when I got out of the high traffic area), I’d also remove my long-sleeve and tuck it into my Camelbak. So that’s what I did.

What I love about Boulder: So many trails. So many people. It’s a chicken/egg situation. Are there so many people out because the trails in Boulder are kick@$$? Or are the trails so awesome because so many people want to use them? I saw at least 5 running groups of 10-30 people out on this gorgeous morning, plus at least 50 other people, if not more. My hand got a little tired from waving (kidding).

Right before mile 2, I saw these sweeties:

I took a picture of them for Lisa from Cow Spots and Tales. Colorado cows! These little babies were so cute. Although they were a little scared of me and my phone. The one on the left was poised to dart away if I moved an inch closer.

I continued on after that picture, feeling great. My legs felt good. My lungs felt good. The weather was perfect. And I was running on the trails that hold so many great memories of moving out to Colorado and training for my first half marathon.

The first 6 miles were downhill and the last 4 were uphill, losing and gaining about 200 feet total. This slightly mimics the Platte River Half Marathon I’m doing on April 15 – it’s mostly downhill with one hill at the end (though that hill is not 4 miles long, thank goodness).

Boulder run elevation – but I ran it backwards

Platte River Half elevation profile

Since I was using my Poor Man’s GPS (mapping the route online and manually tracking my splits at memorized mile markers) and the route was 9.93 miles instead of 10, my first and last splits are about 30 seconds off. But regardless, I was very happy with my pace during this run:

1 – 9:55
2 – 10:25
3 – 10:48
4 – 10:57
5 – 10:26
6 – 11:41
7 – 12:00
8 – 10:59
9 – 11:55
10 – 11:32

Total Miles – 9.93

Total Time – 1:49:43 (11:05/mile)

{Side note: If I run this pace during the half in April, I will PR by about 5 minutes!}

Mile 6 was so slow because I took a Gu right as I finished Mile 5 (the one I tried this time was the Triberry flavor, and it was delicious) and even though gels are easier to consume than Shotbloks, they still make it hard to breathe while running. And then Mile 7 was so slow because…? I was dying? I could’ve used another gel at Mile 9, but with only one mile to go, and the $1.99 price tag for a gel in my mind, I decided that I’d muscle through. But it does give me a good idea of when I’ll plan on fueling during a race.

Even though Miles 6-10 were uphill, they had a lot of entertaining things to look at. For one, I was running toward the Flatirons. For two, there were prairie dogs everywhere. I took a bad picture of them for Heidi at run.around.aroo (I couldn’t get closer because they were also scared of me):

As I ran past their homes, I saw a couple of them wrestling, another one scratching himself, and came upon another one who was dragging some twigs and what looked like moss across the path to his home on the other side. But when he saw me coming along, he panicked and ran back to safety. I looked back a little after I had passed him, and he had made it safely to the other side. I think this is why I absolutely love animated movies, like Up and A Bug’s Life – I love imagining animals like prairie dogs with little personalities, habits, etc. that are unique to them. I mean, dogs and cats have them, so why not prairie dogs?

Right after that, I came upon this tribute to the prairie dog:

This also shows how nice the trails in Boulder are – these murals are in an underpass on the bike trail.

I also saw some ducks, several pretty birds, and lots of pretty flowers:

My excitement at seeing these, though, was tempered by the fear that it might snow again and kill all of them. That would be sad.

I ended my 10 mile run by stretching in the park, then changed out of my sweaty shirt and sports bra into a workout tank (which worked really well and I’m going to keep this in mind for future races), and ate some Pirate’s Booty and 2 clementines on my drive home.

I actually felt great after this run, no Epsom salt bath necessary – I was a little stiff getting out of the car after my 35 minute drive but after I got moving,  I felt great. I even ended up helping Travis with some yardwork (meaning I mostly stood there for moral support while he did the work) before I went to a baby shower. When I got home from that, I took the pooches on a walk and then took a much-needed hour-long nap. We grilled up some elk burgers for dinner and watched 3 DVR-ed episodes of NCIS (we’re so addicted right now), before calling it a night at 10:30. Oh, and I drank two Mike’s hard lemonades – the joy of Saturday night. I think this is going to be a trend.

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Training Recap: 3/12 – 3/18

19 Mar

Goodness, life is busy right now. All good stuff, but definitely making me look forward to visiting my brother, sister-in-law and nephew next week (and having 3 days off from work)!

I had a pretty good week of training, except that strength training got put on the backburner. I think I’m going to move my strength workouts to Sundays and Thursdays. I just never seem to make Monday happen.

Monday: 3.04 mile easy run (36:15, 11:55/mile)

Legs were exhausted and stiff. Even these 3 slow miles were a challenge.

Tuesday: 4 x 800 w/.5 mile warmup and .5 cool down (37:15 total)

Legs felt stiff and tired for the first .5 mile, then they felt better but still not 100%. First mile time was 9:52 including first 800. I did these 800s as fast as I could go – times were roughly 4:45, 4:44, 4:58, 4:24. After every 800, we walked for 2 minutes.

Got smart and wore my compression tights post-run.

Wednesday: Rest, wore compression tights to bed

Thursday: 3.97 mile tempo run (42:53, 10:48/mile)

Legs felt TONS better – still felt a little slow but overall, great run. Didn’t really push it though – acid reflux showed up.

Friday: Rest

I was tempted to do some yoga or strength training, but really want to start guarding Friday as a rest day for the sake of my long run.

Saturday: 9.09 mile hilly long run (1:42:49, 11:17/mile)

Sunday: 30 minute dog walk, 20 min bike, 20 min strength

It was really windy here yesterday, so not only was I not able to bike outside, my gym lost power so I couldn’t work out there either! So I set my bike back up on the trainer and then did the killer workout below from one of my old Self magazines. Seriously, I can barely lift my arms above my head and my back is ridiculously sore.

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Total Running Miles = 19.14

What’s the last workout you did that made you ridiculously sore?

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Another hilly long run.

17 Mar

I was actually looking forward to my long run today, but I kept waking up last night feeling nervous about the route, which looked like this:

The elevation chart says a gain and loss of almost 800 feet. I believed it all last night, and all this morning, until I just checked the lowest and highest elevations. It’s only a gain/loss of 400 feet. But I’m still feeling pretty good about this run. Why? Well, here’s the elevation profile of the Mayor’s Marathon (the race I’m doing):

From what I can tell, the Mayor’s Marathon starts at 200 feet above sea level, climbs to 550 feet over 15 miles, and then ends at about 100 feet – a total gain of 350 feet and loss of 450.

My run today start at 5500 feet above sea level, climbed to 5900 feet over 4.5 miles, and ended back at 5500 – total gain/loss of 400 feet (not to mention the additional 5000 feet above sea level). I climbed 50 more feet in less than a third of the distance. If I keep this up, I’m going to be kicking those hills’ a$$, instead of the other way around (which is the whole goal)!

Since my phone is crap and I still haven’t sprung for a Garmin, I used my husband’s Ironman watch for my run this morning, which allows you to track your splits manually. When I mapped out my route last night, I wrote down on a piece of paper where each mile split was (I didn’t end up needing the paper because apparently, I memorized them). Anyway, here they are:

Mile 1 – 11:42

Mile 2 – 11:27

Mile 3 – 11:38

Mile 4 – 12:00

Mile 5 – 11:46

Mile 6 – 10:18 (hello downhill!)

Mile 7 – 11:26

Mile 8 – 10:55

Mile 9 – 10:33

Mile .09 – 0:53

TOTAL – 1:42:49, average pace of 11:17/mile

For the first half mile, I debated about scrapping the route I had chosen. I was running uphill, into the wind and my legs felt crappy, even though I was wearing my 2XU compression tights (and had worn them to bed last night). I couldn’t see how I was going to run uphill for 4.5 miles and survive. But I didn’t stop and after a mile, my legs felt better.

The rest of the run was actually very enjoyable. I did have a few moments on the way out when I thought “My legs are so tired! I’m so sick of uphill!” But overall, I was distracted enough with remembering where each mile marker was and enjoying the gorgeous weather (60 and sunny!) that before I knew it, I was at the turnaround. The section right before the turnaround was a glorious downhill, so I used that opportunity to take my first gel – a Clif Shot Razz gel. It was good, but a little too tart for my taste (let’s be honest, the Peanut Butter Gu has ruined me). But I liked the consistency and the fact their wrappers come with a “Litter Leash”:

That way, you don’t have to hold on to the top (or drop it). Very smart, I tell ya.

Mile 6 was by far the best mile of the run – my legs felt great and I was running the perfect downhill slope – not too steep to make it hard on the knees, and not too flat to barely be advantageous. The sun was shining and I had that runner’s high moment of “Yes, this is awesome.” I seriously felt like raising my arms in victory and singing along to my music out loud.

Mile 7, my right calf started threatening to cramp up. I’m pretty sure it would’ve actually done so if I hadn’t been wearing my compression tights. I just read this article on muscle cramping that Run, Eat, Repeat posted yesterday, where I learned that cramps mean you’re low on sodium. So I decided to eat the other gel I had brought, the Espresso-flavored Hammer Gel, to see if that would help. The gel was really good – if you like coffee, you’d like that one. It didn’t really help, but I was able to keep running – as evidenced by those last two miles being two of the three fastest of the run! I finished strong and stretched a bit before driving home to an epsom salt bath and egg sandwich (not simultaneously).

This run has really encouraged me – not only because it shows that my legs and lungs are able to handle hills better than a month ago, but also because it gives me hope that the hills in the marathon won’t completely slaughter my goal (which I’m still determining). That’s what keeps me motivated during these hard(er) runs – like Sarah OUAL says, “It sucks now, so it sucks less later.” All this hard hill work will make the marathon easier less brutal.

Another long run in the books!

What flavor of gel is your favorite? Definitely the Peanut Butter Gu, but I bought a few more today to try out because they didn’t have that flavor in stock!?!?

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Overthinking.

16 Mar

The feeling of spring outside has me reminiscing on the good old days when I lived up in Boulder. There were so many wonderful trails to choose from. If I wanted to run by a stream, I could. If I wanted to run on dirt, I could. If I wanted to run by a crazy group of middle-aged hippies, I could.

I had one 4-mile loop that was my favorite. I even labeled the route “My favorite loop on greenway” in MapMyRun. I don’t why it was my favorite – perhaps it was because one early morning, I was just running along and thought, “This is the absolute best feeling in the world.” I can actually remember exactly where I was when I thought that. And still, there isn’t much that beats a great run in the early morning, when the sun is just peeking over the horizon, the ground is wet from dew, and the air is cool. It’s that feeling that reminds me why I’m a runner.

{That picture is surprisingly accurate for how mornings look in Boulder – maybe it was taken in Boulder?}

The thing that made those Boulder runs so memorable was that I was running just because. I decided which route I wanted to run while getting my running clothes on. I ran without a watch. I ran with a watch. I ran alone. I ran with Travis. I ran with music. I ran without. I didn’t have a purpose, or a reason, or a goal. I just ran. 

On my 4-mile run last night, I was thinking about my experience with learning to swim freestyle. I read so much about the correct technique and positioning, and tried so hard to swim “correctly,” that it actually made doing the freestyle stroke harder. Once I stopped overthinking it, though, I got the hang of it.

And I realized that I’ve been doing that with running. I’ve gotten exhausted and stressed out by constantly thinking about running form, cadence, foot strike, pace, tempo, intervals, hills, repeats, miles, training schedule, weight workouts, arm swing. Sure, I’d like to run faster, but am I willing to sacrifice my love of running to do so?

So yesterday, instead of focusing on leaning slightly forward, and maintaining a fast cadence, and running a tempo pace, I just ran. I ran comfortably fast and averaged a 10:48 pace. A good tempo run in the books.

I’ve also been overthinking recovery. Since my legs have felt so tired and heavy lately, I was starting to get worried. “Can my body not handle this mileage? Should I cut out the strength training? Did I do too many hills? Is it because I’m eating too soon before my workout and my body doesn’t have time to convert the food into fuel? Is it because I’m not getting enough sleep? Is this the beginning of the end?”

During my Tuesday night speed work with Travis, I had an epiphany: I should wear my 2XU compression pants for recovery! So I wore them to bed Tuesday and Wednesday, foam rolled an extra time, and my legs felt (almost) great yesterday! Definitely TONS better than they had been feeling. Silly me.

So I’m still plugging along with the plan. This week, I’ve done all my runs on their proper days, although the strength training has been scrapped bumped. Tomorrow, I’ll tackle 9. And instead of overthinking, I’m just going to run.

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Training Recap: 3/5 – 3/11

12 Mar

The weather this past weekend was absolutely wonderful. Sunday after church, I went shopping at Gordman’s and found 4 cardigans for $5 each, as well as some basic tanks without shelf bras for $5 each. I love finding bargains! And now that it’s getting warmer outside but stays the same temperature in my office, it’ll be nice to have some cardigans to throw on over my summery tops.

After that, I went to a Silpada party, thrown by a lady I work with. I went planning to spend $50-60 and ended up deciding on this necklace:

There are so many pretty options to choose from, but I tried to buy something that I loved, that wasn’t like something I already have, and that would go with almost everything. This fit the bill!

While I was at the party, I ate more than my fair share of chips and guac, and I had a couple of margaritas. It was a great way to enjoy the beautiful weather. On the way home, I stopped and got Yogurtland. I was so full after that, I didn’t anything else until 9:00! (It was totally worth it.)

Anyway, on to last week’s training. It was a decent week, though as I look through my workout notes, I see remarks each time about my legs feeling heavy and tired. More on that in a bit.

Monday: 3.15 mile easy run (34:47, 11:02/mile)

Tuesday: Rest (day of the 12 hour meeting)

Wednesday: Rest (planned)

Thursday: 3.24 mile fartlek run (34:34, 10:40/mile)

This was the day that my legs felt the weirdest. My right leg was really stiff, and it seriously felt like I was running on someone else’s legs, or on fake legs. Just so weird. I think my body was freaking out a bit from Tuesday and Wednesday.

Friday: 4.53 mile tempo run (48:13, 10:38/mile); Insanity Strength Exercises

I ate 3 pieces of chocolate-covered licorice and 2 Starbursts before this run, even though I knew I’d regret it. And I did. Luckily, I also remembered to eat some Tums so no acid reflux, but my stomach was a little off.

Then I did the Insanity fit test exercises listed on nhershoes and that definitely got the heart rate soaring! I was amazed at my ability to do the Pushup Jacks until I re-watched the video afterward and realized that I had forgotten the pushup part. Whoops.

Saturday: 5.36 mile trail run (1:21:09, 15:08/mile)

Sunday: 2 mile walk with pooches (35:00), 40 min upper body weights (video)

I was going to do yoga again on Sunday like I did last weekend, but I figured it was a bad sign when five minutes in, my legs were already burning. So I did the upper body and core portions of Kathy Smith’s Lift Weights to Lose Weight 2 (BTW, this is a GREAT weights video – I don’t think I’ve ever not felt like jello afterward.)

Total Running Mileage: 16.28 miles

………………………..

So about those legs. I did an easy 3 mile jog today at a 12:00 pace and even that felt challenging. My legs are just exhausted. So I’m going to listen and take it easy until I’m not feeling like my legs are filled with lead – I think my legs are saying they need a little bit of a break. AND it probably didn’t help that I did a challenging trail run on my stepback week. heh.

I also crammed my 3 hard runs into Thursday, Friday, and Saturday of last week, and grouped my rest days together, both of which aren’t good. But life happened last week and it was all I could do. I am thinking through how I can be more of a stickler with my training plan – whether it requires saying no to things, running at work during lunch, running after work and not going home before my evening plans, or such. I have to put my foot down somewhere and say that my training is too important to keep getting bumped by silly things like work (kidding). So that’s where I’m at.

When can you tell your body needs a break?

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Slush and Mud.

10 Mar

Today, I ventured over to Red Rocks State Park for a 5-mile trail run. I’ve gone hiking in the foothills at this time of year before, and always regret it, because even though the snow has melted everywhere in Denver, it’s just beginning to melt up there – making the dirt trails very muddy and slippery.

But that doesn’t stop hardcore Coloradans (such as myself?). I got to the trailhead at 11:30 and the place was packed. Not a single open parking spot. There was a side section reserved for horse trailers until noon – and since there weren’t any horse trailers to be seen, I decided it wouldn’t hurt to grab a spot 30 minutes early.

The weather was absolutely beautiful today – clear skies, sunny, 60 degrees, a cool breeze just strong enough to feel good but not make it hard to run. It’s too bad I was almost working too hard to enjoy it. Almost.

Since this is my first trail run since last September, I was huffing and puffing up the steep parts. The steepest part also happened to be on the north side of the mountain, meaning it was also the muddiest and slipperiest. Which worked out okay, since I wanted to walk hike those parts anyway.

Before I knew it, I was at the top.

I really enjoy this trail.

My legs were pretty tired by the time I got to Mile 2 but I pushed on. I ended up finishing 5.37  miles in 1:21:09, a 15:08/mile pace. Pretty slow BUT that’s 8 seconds per mile faster than the last time I did this trail and this time, I did 2 more miles. I like progress, even if it’s small. 🙂

I don’t have splits again because my smartphone is being stupid (like that little play on words?). It’s 2 years old and while I am completely content with it and don’t want a new phone, I think I might have to get one.

Another sad thing is that the chest strap for my heart rate monitor is losing its juice as well – and to replace it will be about $75. I’m still debating if now is the right time to just spring for a Garmin. They do make Garmins that are also heart rate monitors – which I would really like – but they’re like $250. Ouch. Maybe for my birthday?

Anyway, it took me 46:44 to run the first 3 miles of this run, at which point I took a break to eat a Montana Huckleberry Hammer Gel and drink some water (I was carrying my Camelbak). I liked the flavor, but the gel was thicker than the Gu brand, which I wasn’t particularly a fan of.

The last 2.4 miles took me about 34 minutes.

And my legs were really dirty by the time I was done.

Well, I’m off to walk the pooches and then we’re going out to dinner and bowling with some new church friends.

Have a great Saturday night!

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Training Recap: 2/27 – 3/4

5 Mar

Yesterday, after we got home from church, I turned on my Harry Potter audiobook and deep cleaned our kitchen. The book kept me entertained enough that I powered through cleaning the microwave, refrigerator, freezer, the front of our cabinets, and the OVEN (that has needed to be done since we moved in 3.5 years ago). Now whenever I use the oven, I will think about the first lesson that Hagrid taught at Hogwart’s about Hippogriffs, because that was the story plot as I fumigated the kitchen with oven cleaner. (Am I the only one who can remember stuff like that?)

Even though I really dislike the act of cleaning, I love the aftermath. A clean house just makes me happy.

What else makes me happy is my second full week of marathon training. Life threw a few curveballs of busyness last week but I fought back.

Monday: 1.5 mile run on track (18:45, 12:30/mile)

This was when I almost got killed by brussel sprouts.

Tuesday: 3.6 mile tempo run (40:09, 10:54/mile)

Wednesday: Rest

Thursday: 4 mile run – 3 miles moderate (33:00, 11:00/mile), 1 mile time trial (9:42)

I wanted to do a speed workout this night, but since my long run on Saturday was going to be a tough one, I decided to do most of the run easy, and then do a 1 mile time trial. I definitely could have gone faster but I had to slow down for a car or two, and I was feeling some acid reflux. After Monday, I was still a little spooked. I seriously need to start eating Tums before each and every run I go on. But I feel like 9:42 is a good starting point.

Friday: 50 min P90X Yoga

Saturday: 7.94 mile hilly long run (1:27:27, 11:00/mile)

Sunday: 10 mile bike ride (45 min)

Finally, I got to ride my bike outside! It was 60* yesterday and sunny. It felt just like spring. I’m loving every minute of it and ignoring the Debbie Downers who keep telling me that March is usually Colorado’s snowiest month. A girl can dream, right?

Riding outside also means that I got to test out my new bike setup. The verdict is: meh. The seat was comfortable enough for 10 miles but I can’t envision me doing 40-50 miles on it. And for some reason, my back still really hurt after 5 miles. We took a break and I could barely stand up straight. If any of you out there know more about bikes than I do, is that just my back needing to get used to that, or is my bike fitted incorrectly?

Total Running Miles: 17.16

………………………

Finally, can I just say that this is the most annoying ad EVER?

The lady on the right sneezes and blows the entire calendar over. What’s so annoying is that you have to wait for the ad to run before you can do anything. Ugh. I would have expect that such a craptastic display of marketing ingenuity would come from Aetna. Have I ever told you how much I hate them?

And on that note, Monday is over! I have a work meeting tomorrow from 7 am to 7 pm so I probably won’t post. But it’s not that bad because they’re feeding us breakfast, lunch and dinner, AND since I’m a contractor and can only work 40 hours a week, I get to jet early on Friday. I won’t argue with that!

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A hilly long run.

4 Mar

Yesterday, I was scheduled to run 7 miles for my weekly long run. I was going to meet a friend for a killer 3-mile hill run (according to her) so I planned to do an 4 easy miles before we met up.

I got up at 7:00 and after eating a delicious peanut butter & banana waffle sandwich, I was out the door with the pooches by 7:30 for a 4-mile route that would take me up and over a steep but short hill twice.

I had done 60 minutes of P90X Yoga the night before and my legs weren’t that sore, they just felt tired – kind of the way your legs feel during a triathlon when you get off the bike. Your legs feel so strange that you can’t really tell how fast you’re running like you normally can.

I was pleasantly surprised, then, when I got to mile 1 and my watch read 10:20. Since this was supposed to be my easy long run, and I didn’t want to show up for my hill run with dead legs, I focused on keeping my pace comfortable. On the way back, though, my feet felt so light and my legs felt good so I ran at whatever pace felt good. I finished out those first 4 miles at an average 10:58 pace. (I don’t have splits because my phone’s GPS was acting up. Stupid.)

On my way home, I ran by a baseball field and noticed 5 big black dogs sitting out there. They didn’t seem to be moving, but then one of their tails started wagging. I stopped running and stared. What were dogs doing out on the baseball field? And where were their owners? And why were they sitting so still? They were all still as statues, except for the one that was wagging its tail.

Then I realized they were just statues, and the wind was blowing the one’s tail. I remembered that I had seen one of those at another park near our house and that one had freaked the crap out of me too. Once I realized they weren’t real, I was like, What in the heck? WHY would somebody put statues of coyotes out here and scare the living crap out of people? Travis told me today that they’re to scare off geese so that they don’t ruin the fields. I totally understand why the geese would be scared. I’m scared.

Anyway, I got back home and was gathering my things when my friend said it was too windy over at her house (which I totally believe – that wind is ferocious!) and she didn’t have time to drive over to my place. So I was on my own for the last 3 miles. I had changed yesterday to be my hill workout of the week and had been wanting to tackle the devil hills on Carr Street (those same hills that rocked me when I biked to work over the summer). So I mapped out 3 miles quick, grabbed my stuff and drove over to the park I planned to start at.

Before getting out of the car, I ate a peanut butter Gu.

 

I had heard about these from Amanda at Run to the Finish and thought I’d try them out. After dealing with frozen Shotbloks during the Ralston Creek Half, and getting sick of picking leftover gummy out of my teeth, I decided that I needed to find a different fuel. So I picked up 4-5 different flavors of Gu and some Honey Stingers. The peanut butter Gu was surprisingly delicious. It actually tasted like peanut butter, and the consistency was very close to peanut butter, only slightly runnier. I was definitely a fan.

And with that, I was off. The wind was cold and I had cooled down with the break between runs so I was not thrilled to be out there. But I am a stubborn person when I get an idea in my head. I was going to run 7 miles, no matter what.

I feel pretty good about these hills – a 4% grade for 1.38 miles. With some walking to catch my breath and doing what felt like an insanely slow shuffle run, I made it to turnaround in about 23:20 (11:54/mile). On the way back, though, it felt like I was cruising and I made it back in 20:06 (10:15/mile).

My view heading back:

All in all, I ended up running 7.94 miles in 1:27:27, exactly an 11:00/mile pace. Considering the hills I ran up, I am very excited about this run. It has really encouraged me that all this hard work and dedication is paying off, and I really am becoming faster. Yay! It has also made me very hopeful that there are no hills like this in the Mayors Marathon. Just sayin…

Every time I rolled over last night, and when I got up this morning, I realized that I am incredibly sore from the last two days. My arms, back and core are the sorest and I know that’s from yoga. Seriously, such a good workout. I still haven’t mastered the standing half moon poses. I’m pretty sure they’re tough any time, but they’re especially so on tired legs!

Well, I’m off to bed – starting the week off right, like a grandma.

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