Just might have the bug

Despite the last three miles being horrible... I think I want to do more marathons! It's that curiosity of how could I do. Three days later, I have my right calf that's a little tight still but otherwise I feel great! (yay recovery socks!!!)

One thing I need to start doing again is much more strength workouts. I went to the gym after work today and rode the bike for a little over 30 minutes. Then I did a whole bunch of abs and a tiny bit of tricepts and legs. It felt really good.

I got new shoes while I was back in the bay... along with insoles cause I apparently have super high arches and pronate some... which is a strange combination I was told! They feel a little funny, but i'm going to give them a shot.

SO which marathon should I do next???

DONE!

So despite only having my toughest training run be 7.5 miles of big hills... I FINISHED! And I ran the ENTIRE TIME!

Race Results:

7113 L F 25-29
Full Marathon Start: Gun 5:30:00 Chip 6:31:30
Splits:	7.6 Mi	Half	20 mi	Finish	O'All	Sex	Div
Times:	1:30:47	2:39:01	4:12:22	5:34:02	4497	1453	345
Pace:	11:57	12:08	12:38	12:45

Between miles 23 & 26 I almost cried three times and felt like I was going to hyperventilate.... but I pushed through and T and I finished together.

yes, the time was long... but imagine if I had actually trained ;-)

Perhaps the next one!

L

Burning Toe

So I went out for my 10 miles yesterday... tough one... my toe started burning part way through.  Too much... much more than usual... and much more on the giant hills.

So I turned around and ran back home... I ran for a solid hour, so probably about 6 miles.

So total running debt is: 2+4 miles:  6 miles!  Oh boy oh boy... :-(

Wednesday Update

I went to the gym after work yesterday... supposed to do 4.5... legs were really stiff and given I'm doing 10 today, I just did an really easy 2.5 then stretched a lot. I figured I can walk two miles for my cross training on Thursday.

Here's to a 10 miler... that will be the longest I've run in over a year!

Revamping the Plan

More like catching up to the plan actually... so after a surprise birthday trip to Vegas, combined with a stressful last week... I did my version of a sunday nine mile run (7.5 hill run + 1 mi walking cool down) on Thursday night, and then was wisked away to Vegas until late Sunday night. Lots of walking and running but no dancing...

So yesterday I sat down to play catch up with my Hal Higdon plan and I'm going to post it to keep myself more accountable. Due to a quick scheduling break yesterday, I only did 3.5 instead of 5, so I'll make that up today...

So
Tues 4/28: 4.5 mi
Wed. 4/29: 10 mi
Thurs 4/30: easy XT
Fri 5/1: 3 mi
Sat 5/2: Rest
Sun 5/3: 5 mi
Mon 5/4: 3 mi
Tues 5/5: 7 mi
Wed 5/6: easy XT
Thurs 5/7: 4 mi
Fri 5/8: 6 mi
Sat 5/9: 3 mi
Sun 5/10: 12 mi

Then picking up with 8 of the Hal Higdon Novice I Plan!

Oh boy oh boy...

7 mile Sunday!

I was a little sore after the Cap10K combined with a busy week and slacked a little. Friday, I had a client cancel so I was able to make it home and take the dog out for just under 30 minutes and just under 3 miles. My calves were tight the first 2 miles then finally loosened. Funny how it took a run to make them not sore. I need to make a mental note of that one!!!

So this weekend we had 7 miles scheduled. We're moving Hal's schedule one day over since Sundays are much better long run days for us.

We headed down to beautiful Town Lake and went on the 6.9 mile loop. We ran all the way out, stopped and stretched and got water (Austin is awesome and the runnning have water coolers set up!) walked about 5-10 minutes than ran the rest of the way back. We did probably a little under a 10 minute mile pace. T is working on his breathing and being able to pace.

Today we are doing an hour of XT, which means I get to sit on the bike and read for an hour. Pretty excited about that!

Here's to a happy running week!

Cap 10K

This past Saturday we ran the Cap 10K! It's a fun, huge (18,000 people) 10K race. I've done it every year I've lived here.

I ran w/ the roomie and we finished in 59:52! Yay Sub 1 hour!!!!

T got distracted by hills (sprinted), Krispy Kremes (ate), water stops (water fights), and trying to find us, so he jogging in a few minutes after us!

We were a little sore, but it got me motivated. The first half of it was hard... my feet and legs were frozen from waiting for an hour, but the second half felt REALLY good!!! And we ran it all no problem! :-)

Left Leg Weirdness

So I went for my run on Tuesday, just 3 miles. Last weekend my leg knee was a little funny... like if I stepped down a step and put all my weight on my left leg, my knee felt weak.

So when I went for my run, at about 1.5 miles my left leg from knee to ankle felt really tight. I did another mile half walking half running then stretched it out a bunch.

I took yesterday off. I'll do another 3 miles today and see how it goes...

Oh silly leg

Oh! I just realized that this week was the 18th week away so I'm starting at Week 1 of Novice. I realized I was being WAY too amitious thinking about doing the intermediate. I may add a little extra cross training onto the Novice though.

Thoughts?

Staying Somewhat on Track

So I've been running, almost on the plan I set. Last week, I got in my Tuesday 3 miler (on Tuesday) and Wednesdays hard 3 miler on Thursday (3.1 miles: 27 min, ~8:42 pace) The third 3 miler never happened...

This weekend was supposed to be 7 miles. T and I went to the gym last night, running a little late, and I did a nice slow 5.5 mph jog while he did weights. When he got back I had done 5 miles. I stopped there... we were having people over... excuses I know!

Tomorrow is a 3 miler, easy; Wednesday is 4 miles, and Thursday is 3 again. This weekend drops to 5 I think...

Then I have to decide what 18 week program I am going to do. I am going to do the Hal Higdon Novice... or get bold and try to do the Intermediate... (which might be setting myself up to fail)

Stay tuned....!

Long Run Done... not Quite As Long!

We were scheduled for a 6 miler today and head out a little after 8pm.  It was nice and cool and the sun was setting.  :-)  Perfect running conditions.  We brought the NutPuppy which T worked on training as well ran.  We ran nice and slow... just an easy jog, and the run flew by.  We ran about 2.5 to Walgreens so I could pick up subscription, and then we headed home.  We did about 4.9 in just under an hour.  Super slow I know, but it felt easy and I felt strong and steady.

Tomorrow is an off day and T and I are off to the Rodeo (the Cali girl in me just shook her head!)

Then Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday are all 3 miles variations :-)

I Think I Have A Plan

I decided to just start doing Hal Higdon's novice plan for the next three weeks to start with. After I see how that goes I'll decide whether to do the novice or the intermediate.

I was supposed to do 3 easy miles at the gym last night. I did 1.5 really easily (5.8 mph), then did some intervals at 8mph (for .25) for the rest of the mileage. While overall, I was tired (boo to being sick), I did it and I'm glad I did! Then I did some stretching and abs and legs. One exciting outcome was I could pretty easily touch my toes with my legs stretched out together. I am one of the least flexible people so this is quite a feat for myself!

Today is a rest day; it is also T and my 8mo anniversary. We are going to dinner tonight then off to a little winery town nearby to see some of his family this weekend. The weekend long run is supposed to be 6 miles...

Wish me luck

Motivation!

So I found this blog from this woman about my age back in my beloved San Francisco area Cali (oh how I miss thee)

http://runnersrambles.blogspot.com/

She has an awesome and intense running plan and I only hope I can get that consistant!

Going to the gym after work today... going to move into it slowly since I've been (make that: am) sick, but I need to MOVE!

Since T and I fell off the inital plan, I need to replan. A friend recommended Hal Higdon's plans which are 18 weeks. We have about 21 weeks left. I am going to come up with a Get Ready For Hal 3 week plan and pick which of Hal Higdon's plans would be best.

Any advice would be appreciated!

Making Progress

So Saturday I dragged myself to the gym in a slightly grumpy mood.  However, when I'm grumpy I'm often stubborn.  Determine to prove myself, I settling in a 6mph on the treadmill and began to watch Iron Chef America.  It was quite a good one and I lasted the whole show!  That's right... I did 6 miles in 59 minutes.

It sucked at the end, and I am completely aware that I still have 20.2 miles to go!  But that's now my furthest run of the training...

Now I just have to keep up with it!

Still going... almost strong!

Firstly, I apoligize for the delays between posts. This weekend was a computer free weekend which was really nice actually.

Saturday I dragged myself to the gym and actually had a great run. I did 5.05 miles in 45 minutes on the treadmill. The first mile was at a 6mph pace, the next 1.5 was 6.5, the next 1.5 was 7.0, then the last mile started at 7.5 and went to 8 at the very very end.

It was hard, but it felt fantastic!!! I have also started strength training a lot more. T and I went and got massages yesterday and his lady gave him some great stretching tips since both of us have really tight calfs.

It's going to be a sleepy, but good week :-)

Woo Hoo! We are back again!

Yes! This morning T went to the gym and did a nice 4 miler around a 10 minute pace. :-) That's his first good run in probably 4 weeks at least if not a full on month.

After work today I was in NO mood to go to the gym. I'm still tired from NYC. But I made myself go... and I'm glad I did. I wanted to do 4, so I set the time for 45 minutes in case I went under a 10 minute pace. Well, I was feeling good, so I upped it a little 20-some minutes in, then a little more, and a little more... then finished out running the 45 minutes and did 3.5 minutes more to hit 5 miles. :-D A nice, not very hard, feeling good 5 miler. Oh yeah baby!!!

Let's hope tomorrow holds more of the same!

Here We Go Again...

So Whitesnake proclaims!

We are back from NYC, had a fantastic time! :-) It was great to see my brother and some friends, and just get a chance to relax and be lazy with T. We did go for one short run (20 short blocks) and walked a ton throughout the weekend. It was cold, so we battled not freezing! We're spoiled here in Texas.

I'm heading to the gym tonight after work... I need to start doing longer slow runs instead of my short fast ones. Tonight's plan is 4 slow miles...

Here we go again...

Not Far but Feels Good!

So I finally started running again after everything. I went back to the gym a few days ago and it felt really good! I didn't run far, just 2-3 miles each day, but I felt strong and it felt good. Due to time the last couple of days, I've just been doing short fast runs. T and I head to NYC tomorrow and are going to bring running gears and jog the park perhaps. It will be nice to do a long slow run. I need to do more of those.

So enjoy Valentine's Day everyone! Here's to getting back to training!

Getting back into the Swing of Things

It's been awhile. T has been sick... like fever and not eating sick, much less evening thinking about running. I was sick, then I had to go home for a family emergency, so I haven't run since last Tuesday. Our friend, A, who is training as well for the marathon got the flu really bad so he's been out for about a week as well.

So this week we are all starting over... I'm really anxious to start working out again. I was home since Wednesday night, and only brought the bare minimum, so no workout clothes. My mom and I did take a couple of 30 minutes walks, but that was it.

Working out really does destress me, and I need some of that right about now. I'm on my layover, and luckily I didn't plan any work for the rest of the day, so I can take me time, get organized, cook a healthy dinner (and have leftovers for tomorrow), and get some sleep. I was up at 3:30 (Cali time) this morning, so I'm going to crash early.

This month, in addition to watching my workouts, I'm watching my spending. In terms of training, this means trying to make a lot of meals at home, packing healthy leftovers, and buying more fruits and veggies.

Wish me luck!

Training Update

Sorry for the delay! Life has gotten away from me a bit, but I'm back.

Last Thursday was XT. I honestly can't for the life of me remember what I did. But I know I did something!

Friday, I finished up at work and went to meet T. We were both exhausted and seriously consisted just resting before a 10pm movie for my other roomie's birthday. We were supposed to do a 40-50 minute run. But we got our butts moving, and went and had a great workout. We did speed intervals on the treadmill. I went between jogging at 5 and running anywhere from 7-8.5 mph. Ran 40 then did a 5 minute cool down walk. I didn't go extrememly far, but I did push myself on the sprints. It felt great! After that was a quick dip in the pool for about 10 minutes of laps, then to the sauna and hottub. :-D

Saturday was a rest day, combined with me working for 8.5 hours, and a birthday party at night. We are also trying hard to eat better as well, and doing a fair job at it.

Sunday was supposed to be a 5K race, then 5-7 miles total. I did the 5K hard... probably my best in 3 years. It wasn't super fast... 26:32, about a 8:30 pace, but I'm happy with it! After that, we walked for a few then stretched. Later that evening we went back and played raquetball for an hour.

Monday, T went to the gym in the morning and ran the additional 2 miles. After work, I met him there, and I biked for 45 minutes. T is sick. He was so sweet to just come to the gym, bike for a few, then sit on the ground and talk to me, and not let me stop at 30 minutes even though he was feeling awful.

I'm pretty sure today is 40-50 minutes on the treadmill. Hopefully, I'll get that done. I'm working late tonight, but I'll head to the gym right after. I hope T is feeling better. I might swim a little as well. Or if he's feeling much better, play raquetball!

Happy Running!

Keeping on Pace

I went to the fancy new gym last night... sadly it's kinda far and up the toll road. It was nice though. Every treadmill had the attached TV; so I watched the Biggest Loser as I ran (and some Scrubs). I did a random hills course, kept it at a slow 5mph pace, and ran for 40 then walked 5 for cool down. (The goal was 40-50 minute of running.) Then I jumped in the pool for about 20 minutes - about 10 minutes of breastroke, and about 10 minutes of floating on my back just kicking. My ankle felt fine which was really exciting!

My legs have been sore so I didn't want to push it to much last night. Slow and steady wins the race, right? Today is just a 20-30 minute run. The plan is to take the dog out after work and do a slow 5 minute warm up, run hard for 20, then a slow 5 minute cool down. :-) Maybe I'll get motivated and do some abs at home too!

Happy Hump Day to All!

Accepting the Process

Yesterday, I had a schedule chance so I ran to the gym between clients and did a 45 minute hill course on the bike.  I even put the resistance a little higher than usual.  It was tough at points, but felt good afterwards as usual.

One things I'm struggling with is being patient.  The marathon is still a whopping 194 days away, so I have plenty of time.  It just is frustrating when I can't run as fast or as far as I want to.  I know from previous half marathon races, that the endurance part of running is very much a mental game for me.  All three times, I was always able to run further and stronger than I thought.  I have lots some of my base that I had 3 years ago since I rarely run anymore.  T has a really strong base; he can consistantly do a 6 mile path outdoors in under 45 minutes.  Speed-wise he has me easily.  My fastest 1 mile ever was 6:58!  Just gotta keep plugging away I guess.

Today is 40-50 minutes of running, and then hopefully, I'll be at the new gym and can use the pool for some lazy laps.

Runner's High!

So after being at the house all day, helping a 6th grader with homework, going through paperwork, etc, the roomie and I finally went to the gym tonight.  My calf was a little sore, so I was just going to do 45 minutes of a semi hill courese (so I thought.)

Well, it started me out just walking and then did a big hill, then I upped the speed so I was running.  After about 20 minutes, I decided to just do 30 minutes, then walk the rest.  Right before I hit 30, T sent me a lovely email, and I decided I could make it to 45.  I got to 45 and decided I wanted to hit the 5 mile mark (since today was 5-7 miles).  So I kept going... and even at 5 I kinda wanted to continue!  It's my first Runner's High since I started training!  YAY!!!  I did stop at 5 miles (about 53 minutes) and walk the remaining time to 1hr.  Then the roomie and I did some stretching.

But it felt so good!  And it went by quick, didn't seem like an hour at all, and I didn't even have any magazines or anything to look at.  Legs all tingly and such :-)  Yes!

Actually did it...

I had planned to do the 40-50 minute run today.  After working from 8:45-5:30, and sneezing from allergies all day I was not in the mood to run.  Although, only one or two (if any!) people read this, I still felt bad about having to write that I didn't run.

So I ran.

I tried to do a little bit of interval running (or tempo, still figuring out the difference).  For the first 25 minutes, I would do a slow job for one song, then a quicker run for the next song.  After that, I just slowly upped my speed every few minutes.

I ended up doing 4 miles in 40 minutes.  And now I know I nice flat 4 mi course!  :-)

Tomorrow is supposed to be hills, 5-7 miles total (so warmup, hills, cool down, etc.)  I'm starting a free trial at T's gym as well. 

XT: Rock Climbing!

Last night we went to T's gym to do some XT. We decided to do some rock climbing, something he is into, but something I've only half tried once. Overall, it was pretty fun! A great arms workout and a little nerve-racking at times. We did that for about an hour, then did 15 minutes on the bike and a minute or two of abs. We went and had salads afterwards.

Today is supposed to be a 40-50 minute run. T isn't working today, so he'll probably do it at some point. I am exhausted and working from 7:30-7:00pm or later and just know it's not going to happen. Tomorrow is supposed to be a rest day, and I'll try to fit it in then instead. (I'm working 8:45-5:30.) As the runs get longer, I'm going to have to work on my time management skills to make sure I fit them in!

Happy Friday!

HEALED!

Yay!!!  I did 25 minutes on the treadmill today during my lunch break.   The first 20 were at 5mph, and the last 5 at 6mph.  No pain at all.  Felt a little stiff in the beginning, but no problems by the end or after!!!

Now its time to get fully back on the wagon!  :-D

200 days left!

Moving towards a stronger training

Went to the gym yesterday after work... according to the plan it was a 40-50 minute run.  So I did 30 minutes on the elliptical, then 25 minutes on the bike.  I followed it up with some stretching and some abs.  T went to the gym in the morning and did 30 minutes on the treadmill, then a lot of weight training.  

Today is 20-30 minutes of running.  I'm going to try running for another 10-15 minutes on the treadmill (slowly) at the gym today.  Then I'll finish the rest on the ellptical or the bike.  T is working today, so he'll try to get some XT done at the station.  It just depends how busy it is.

The biggest move towards a stronger training was food shopping yesterday.  I went to the grocery store and bought a bunch of fish, some more veggies, rice instead of pasta.  Tonight T and I are having cod (I think) that's marinated and cheese risotto and green beans.  Yummy :-)

Here's to a pain free run today!

Still a No Go on the Ankle

Yesterday, I met my friend A at the gym. He has decided to do the marathon and is following a navy seals training plan. A is a big Type A. :-)

I decided to give jogging a shot... I ran for 10 minutes at 5mph pace, then walked the remained of the mile. The ankle didn't quite feel normal. It was a little achy by the end. So I'm going to stay off it a little longer.

Today is supposed to be a 40-50 minute run, so I'm going to aim for 4-5 miles on the elliptical. Also, I found this exciting Training For SF Marathon shirts on the website!

The ankle thing is really frustrating. The worst I've ever injured myself was a jammed finger in middle school. Now when I start training for the toughest physical challenge I've ever done, I hurt myself. It sucks.

Sunday's Workout

Sunday T and I went to his fancy gym. I did about 30 minutes on the ellipical which felt okay. Then we went swimming. I tried to do some laps with the kickboard, but it hurt my ankle to kick in the water. So I swam some laps of breaststroke instead. Overall we probably did 10-15 minutes in the pool. We are going to start week 1 over again this week.

So today is XT again. It's rainy all day today, so I'll be at the gym, probably biking again, and may be a little elliptical. T is doing an all day shift, so he'll do some weights if there is down time at the station.

Today is also the first day back to office work... and back to the crazy schedule of life. Happy Monday to all!

Biking at the Gym was a Success!

I did a full hour on the bike at the gym yesterday while reading my book and playing Suduko on my phone :-)  My ankle felt find the whole time, but in the last five minutes the corresponding butt muscle started to burn, and it felt a little sore in my calf.  I'm wondering if I've just been walking funny on my right leg the last couple days and using different muscles.  We'll see...

But yay for being on the road to recovery and training again!

I think we are going to repeat week one again next week.

Getting back into Things

The gym was a n0-go last night.  We ended up cooking some, watching a movie, and relaxing at home with the roomie.

This morning T and I walked the dog to the bank.  My ankle feels fine walking.  Going up on the ball of my foot still aches a little.  I'm working midday for about 4 hours, then I'll head to the gym.  Today's goal is to do 45-60 minutes on the bike.  If the foot still feels okay tomorrow, I'm going to try the elliptical.  If that goes okay, then I'll try a jog.  

T is off to the gym shortly, after I leave for work.  We talked this morning about adding in more strength training.

Ankle Anguish

So yesterday, T (who is a paramedic) checked out my ankle and determined it was a minor sprain.
I stayed off it yesterday; we ace bandaged it for a little during the day and at night. It feels okay over all, just a little sore if I move it certain ways...

So Mondays XT was done; Tuesdays was cut short (20-30 instead of 40-50). Wednesday was skipped.

Make Up Workouts Needed: 40-50 minute run (I'm going to give the ankle a few more days before that one.) XT

I should do the XT today; we are headed to the gym soon. Luckily we are going to T's gym, so I can always swim if the bike or elliptical hurt. One nice thing about having 7 months to train is that we have a little leeway for such things. :-)