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Well, this is it.  My race is in less than a week.  I’ve made it through all those crucial runs - the 5 - 1 mile sprints, the 8 mile tempo, the 12 mile long run, and everything in between.  I just have a few easy runs left and then it’s go time.  I am staring down that 2 hour half marathon and sizing it up.  It looks like a fierce competitor, but I also have all these things I’ve learned in the last three months.

I’ve learned that I can push through a lot of discomfort - usually what stops me is the voice in my head, not necessarily my physical capacity.  But I’ve run into both.  And I’ve learned the difference.

I’ve learned I can hold the pace I need to do it for 8 miles.  What’s another 5, right?

I’ve learned about how fast I can start out and not want to die at the end.  Running a couple good, speedy miles at the beginning actually boosts my confidence and helps me not feel behind.

I’ve learned that I run faster in the cold even though I hate getting out there.  Which is a good thing - since I’ll be running at 7am, it’s certainly not going to be very warm.

I’ve learned that I don’t have to sacrifice speed for distance, as long as I train smart.  Distance speedwork is AWESOME.

I’ve learned that not running two days in a row means much better quality runs and way less burnout.  I cannot foresee running more than 3 days a week ever again.  I guess technically I will this week but it barely counts.

I’ve learned that not worrying about a few extra pounds close to race day actually makes me a better runner.

I’ve learned that feeling like a human garbage disposal about a month out will happen every long distance race, and I just need to make sure to feed my body mostly good stuff.  And sugar is not the enemy, but it needs to be moderated.

I’ve learned that training my head is as important as training my body.

I’ve learned a lot.  And now it’s time to put it to the test.  So I am going to go for it at the race, and take all these things I’ve learned and bust ass.  Under 2 hours, here I come.  More importantly, cute little running skirt, here I come!  (priorities, right?)

Last week by the numbers:

Monday - 4×800 @ 4:02 per sprint, 400m recovery in between, 1 mile warmup and cooldown - done.  Easy peasy.

Tuesday - ditched serious business cross training to go to Adult Skate Night for an hour.  Totally decent workout.

Wednesday - 3 mile tempo @ 8:55 - done.  Also did abs and some legs after since 26 minutes doesn’t feel like enough punishment at the gym at all.  Woke up the next morning at 6:45 am because my abs hurt.  Must get back into lifting and pressing heavy things.

Thursday - 30 mins on the arc trainer, arms, and other leg muscles.

Friday - off

Saturday - 8 mile long run @ 9:40 pace (kinda demolished that at 9:27 pace).

Sunday - off

This week coming up it’s all about:

-No smokes or drinks until after the race.  I am in goody two shoes mode.

-Lotsa yoga to stay limber.  Every day if I can.

-No weights this week.

-Hydration and good nutrition, and no restriction on calories.  If I’m hungry, I must eat.

Training:

Monday: 4×400 sprints @ 1:58 per 400, 400 rest in between, 1 mile warm up and cool down

Tuesday: 30 mins cross training

Wednesday: 2 mile tempo @ 8:55 per mile.

Thursday: rest

Friday: 2.5 mile easy run in the neighborhood.  At 7am.  No matter the weather or temp.  I have never run this early before and I don’t want the first time to be on race day.

Saturday: rest

Sunday: 13.1!  Race day, BABY!

Last time I was really freaked out about the taper, but my legs felt SO FRESH and SO GOOD out there on Saturday’s run, that only putting in a few short miles this week seems like the right thing to do.  So good thing that’s the plan!

So, anyone out there with some karma to spare, send good running vibes my way., please!  Any last minute tips from you veteran runners out there?  Anyone want to lend me their morning-person-ness for a day so I can be bright eyed and bushy tailed for the race (seriously, 7am = the middle of the night for me)?  Anyone running this race here in Austin this weekend?

It was a weird week - I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel at the end of it.  Monday, I rocked my sprints.  I completely and totally rocked them.  I rocked them like Amadaus (come and rock me Amadeus… and total tangent, did anyone else used to sing “I’m a danish, I’m a danish…I’m a danish?).  Anyhoo - sadly, I had given myself permission to fail at them.  I was going to be ok if I was about to die after 4, quit there.  Or if I had to take the last 2 a little slower, I was going to be ok with that.  I had a helluva day at work, I even kinda did something I haven’t done in a while and ate some cake because I was pissed off after I was totally full from lunch, and then for some reason it became REALLY important to me to do this.  Just to show myself I could.  Just to take control of SOMETHING that day when everything else was out in orbit.

And honestly - it almost felt easier than it should have.  Sure, it was tough, but it wasn’t TOUGH.  Maybe that’s me getting stronger.  Maybe it was me refusing to let the run beat me.  Whatever it was, it was damn nice.  It was one important crazy run down, one to go.

Tuesday and Wednesday were more crappy crazy days   I was in such a mood, never mind the working late, so I just managed to get about 30 mins half assed weight training in and take the other day off.  These strength exercises may or may not have been between/during drinks on the patio.  I may possibly be insane and completely irresponsible, but I was getting a kick out of doing  lat raises in my skirt and heels with a bourbon chaser.

Thursday I knew I had to get back to it, and it wasn’t SUCH a bad day, and it was 4 mile tempo day.  As I said last week, it was pretty cake.  Instead of just being a ball of limp putty, I was able to do 30 mins on the arc trainer after.  To make up for the severe lack of any other movement beyond runs.  The plan was to do some circuit training but I was soooo done with doing anything but dinner and chillin’ on the couch, and figured I’d just rest up for Saturday’s run.  So my cross training this week?  30 mins weights, 30 mins arc trainer.  Not optimal.  Not at all.  I was feeling pretty meh about it all this week but then Saturday came.

I wasn’t looking forward to it at all.  The weather report was not looking kind - there were very few hours of the day that would feel like they were above freezing with the wind.  I got up in the morning and we grabbed some early lunch - tuna sammiches from Schlotzky’s - oddly enough they are the only tuna I will eat out because they do albacore and light mayo (so the sandwiches aren’t like 50000 calories), and they are taaassssty.  So I ate that around 11, and we sorta bopped around the neighborhood, and then I got home and very very leisurely got ready and I set out around 1:30.

It was a little cold when I first set out, but once I got running it wasn’t so bad.  I decided to just do my neighborhood laps over and over so I could drop by the house if I needed to pick up or drop off layers.  I set out with warm water in my camelback, swedish fish for rocket fuel, and the promise to myself that I would treat myself to the hot chocolate I was craving, but only if I made my pace goal of 9:40.  I felt super strong the first lap and went well below pace, the second lap I slowed a bit, the third - around mile 6, the tuna really started talking to me.  I don’t usually eat so much before a run, usually a protein bar and maaaaybe some fruit if it’s later in the day, so at first I was cursing myself.  Then after I got through the cramps I realized that I was feeling something different than normal - I wasn’t hungry.   Usually around then I’d pop my rocketfuel.  I didn’t actually use it at all.  I ran 12 miles hard with no sugar.  That was pretty incredible.

So besides figuring out that eating a big meal is good if I can let it settle/deal with the possible side cramps (probably not for the race at 7am, but for future reference), what else?  Well, I’ve also learned another interesting thing about my running for long races… I went out really fast (about 9 minute miles the first lap) and was a little worried, but it was a MUCH better run than the last one where I tried to save it all for the end.  I seem to self correct my pace pretty well.  So my strategy is to go out as fast as it’s comfortable and don’t try to stay one pace and bust ass if I need a quick slowdown.  I was running 10:30 miles on the uphill parts and the short time where my side cramps flared up.  When I felt good and it was flat or downhill, I went closer to 9 minute miles or even faster.  As long as it averages out to the pace I want, it’s fine.  And that’s why I’m training those sprints and tempos - so I’m comfortable running faster than the pace I need to go for an extended period of time.

I finished the run in 1:55:10.  9:35 pace.  I am thrilled and feel quite confident now about the race.  I definitely feel like I had a bit of oomph left at the end, and if I was running to feel entirely wasted and spent at the end I might have been able to go faster.  So under 2 hours?  Still possible.  I’m thinking under 2:05 is more reasonable.

Next week - taper week 1.  I still can’t believe I’m just 2 weeks out.  I’m definitely ready for it, I’d like to do something different for a while.  3 months of pace pace pace has been awesome for improving my running, but it’s been a little tedious.  I so enjoyed my scenic and slow 9 miler last weekend, and look forward to more of those as I work on getting used to being on my feet for 4 hours at a time.  But first things first - lets rest up those legs.

Monday: 4×800 sprints @ 4:02 per, 400m recovery in between, 1 mile warmup and cooldown.  Easy peasy, nice and short.  I’m not sure when 5 miles with 2 of them sprinting because a stroll through the park but hey, I’ll take it.

Tuesday: DDR circuits (I was going to taper strength 2 weeks ahead of time but I think 1 week will be fine)

Wednesday: 3 mile tempo @ 8:55 min/mile pace - it’s like a 5k, pretty close to my PR pace from last summer.  Again, when did that become easy?

Thursday: DDR circuits

Friday: off

Saturday: 8 mile run @ 9:40  min/mile pace

Sunday: off

Fairly easy week.  I really slacked on yoga this week (though I DID stretch really well every running day), I need to not do that this week.  No injuries please!

Well, this week was the week of almosts.  Of getting about 90%.  Of testing my limits and finding them.  Of just not quite having the juice to put up rock solid times, but close enough that I feel good about it.  The saying is close only counts for horseshoes and hand grenades, but I think it works for training too.  When close is still putting in the miles, and still feeling pushed to the limit, I’ll take it.

Monday’s run foretold a lot.  As I complained about here, I was just not recovered from my long run + epic night of drinking + crap food.  I’ve done that same workout before minus a mile, and I’ve never felt so bleh during a sprint before.  I made it through the first two, and *probably* could have held on during the third, but since I had four to do, I went ahead and slowed from sprint to tempo pace.  I was a little disappointed, but overall, it was not so bad.  I put in the miles, and just barely missed the mark.

Wednesday was the run I was super excited/nervous about.  I totally prepared, did everything right, and then I got to mile 6 and had to slow down or I was not going to make it.  On that day, I was simply unable to run that pace for that many miles.  6 miles or 7 miles?  I could have done it.  Not 8.

Saturday’s 11 mile run, I made the awesome decision/mistake to tackle the hill that fucked me up last week TWICE.  I just didn’t recover well after it, and most of my latter miles were either just under or just over the 10 min/mile pace.  I did finish the run at a 9:57 pace, and considering miles 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, and 10 were uphill, I”m calling this a win.  I think I’m going to pick something a little flatter for my 12 miler to see if I can hit the 9:40 pace.

So that being said, I’m feeling like I did what I could, though I am definitely starting to feel some muscle fatigue that isn’t recovering in my days between runs.  So - this training method is MUCH better than the run-more one, but it is not impervious.  Oh well.  The good news is that now my tempo runs start to taper, and two weeks from now, so does everything else.  So I just have to tell my stumps-for-legs that they just have to hold out a LITTLE longer, and then we can start getting rested for the race.

I still feel badass, I still feel strong, but I don’t really feel untouchable anymore.  Which is ok.  I was getting to be a little Cockypants McGee and while confidence is good, having some runs that don’t go your way helps you learn.  I learned a lot from the runs this week.  And though I could certainly have hoped for a little more out of all three, I definitely refreshed my memory on how to recover a run that’s not going my way and still kick about 90% as much ass.

By the numbers:

Monday: 4x 1600 sprints @ 8:25 pace  - check (did 2 @ pace and then 2 @ 8:50)

Tuesday: DDR circuits - check

Wednesday: 8 mile tempo @ 8:55 pace - check (ended up at 9:07 pace)

Thursday: DDR circuits - check

Friday: off

Saturday: 11 mile run @ 9:40 pace - check (ended up at 9:57 pace)

Sunday: off - actually cross trained (6 mile hike around the hood) for next week due to a) beautimous day and b) weekday shenanigans, so I can have an extra day off.

So, next week.  This week and next week, and then it’s taper.  Getting close!  Less than a month away!

Monday: 6×800 sprints @ 8:10 pace (4:05 per 800)

Tuesday: DDR circuits

Wednesday: yoga/off

Thursday: 6 mile tempo run

Friday: yoga/off

Saturday: 15k race pace (shooting for somewhere under 9:40)

Sunday: off

So a little less mileage, but 3 super intense fast pace runs.  If I can get through Monday’s on not-completely-rested legs, I think I will be alright.  Send good, happy, zippy thoughts!  What do you do when you’re partway through a run (or workout) and don’t think you’re going to make it?

I try to refrain from prolific cussing here, but it must be said.  Holy fuck, my half marathon is a month from Saturday.  Last year during this week I was just saying to myself, “just hang on a few more weeks and you get to taper”.  I was exhausted.  This half, I barely feel like I’ve been training.  Sure, I’ve missed 3 training runs, but that’s not much.  I definitely have some tough stuff to go, but beyond the silly injuries, I am overwhelmed at how STRONG I feel.

What’s turning my crank the right way?

1.  The FIRST program.  Running hard 3 days a week just works for me.  It might have done me good the first time to really get some road time in to get used to it, but now this is really helping me train SMART and HARD.  During the spring, I loved the nice fa-la-la happy fun scenery runs outside, but now my choice is treadmill or freezypop weather.  I want to get it in get it on (all night long - or not, hehe) and get it DONE.  My running time is right around 3-4 hours per week and I’ve never felt stronger or faster.   I’m so happy I decided to make the jump and try it for my half, I will SO be following this program for my marathon.

2.  Body fuel.  I’m eating a lot more and cleaner than I used to, though there was definitely a pizza incident Saturday night after my run.  Instead of sticking with my sillypants cutting calorie regiment and then binging on buffets and handfuls of chocolate chips when my body is about to break down, I’m eating good food until my body tells me I’m full.  For the most part.  I am paying a price for it.  I’m carrying about 5 more lbs than I was last time.  I don’t think I look quite as fit as I did this time in the training (though I could be wrong).  But I have knocked off 1-2 mins per mile on my mid-distance runs.  That right there is worth it.

3.  Pace goals.  Even though the treadmill is booooring compared to my happy fun little running route, it does help me learn how to run at one pace/a certain pace.  Though I did finally get to to my inaugural run with the garmin (I named it Gypsy) and it is AMAZING to be able to have constant feedback on my pace.  But it’s different than being dragged along by a conveyor belt - which is honestly good for me sometimes.  Having a pace goal determined by my race goal means I’m training just as hard as I need to be (not too hard or hard enough).  Last time I was doing 2 runs per week where I could go as slow as I wanted, 1 tempo run (which honestly, I rarely did a REAL tempo and at max it was 35 minutes - in comparison I have done 4 tempos so far that have been longer and faster), and 1 sprint day (where I didn’t really have a specific pace goal, just *faster* for 400 meters).

4.  Working my brain too.  Not that I didn’t do this last time, but I am really testing my mettle with some of these paces and lengths.  I’m starting to learn what I can really put myself through and still come out smiling and happy after.  Last week’s 6 mile tempo was SO HARD.  I can’t remember a time where I felt like I ran harder.  Maaaaybe the last mile of my half, but honestly, it would be a toss up.  I wanted to quit so so so so so so so many times but I kept doing the injury check and it wasn’t there, it was just wah and general discomfort, so I made it non-negotiable.  I don’t even know if I was in full control of my legs by the end, but I was of my fingers.  So I just upped the speed like I needed to and somehow I didn’t die.

One big realization:  I’m not going to remember how I felt during the tough run.  I’m convinced that good runners need short memories.  I’m not going to remember that the gym smelled like burnt hotdogs and chlorine (I had a few miles to pinpoint the specific aroma).  Or that I had the wrong water bottle.  Or that I accidentally pulled the emergency stop reaching for my towel and had to restart, and it was long enough my legs got stiff and hurt the rest of the run.  Or that I had a major stitch in my side for about the last 4 miles.  That special hell is reserved during running times only (thank you, short memory).   I’m only going to remember if I did what I set out to do or not.   And screw you, problems working against me, I did it anyway.

The rose colored glasses come on later and I remember “Oh, it wasn’t THAT bad, sure I can add 2 miles next week and not drop my pace, I can do anything for 18 minutes, whatevs.”  And then I go back into that special hell that’s an 8 mile tempo 20 second faster than race pace, and somehow, I will conquer.

I think last week and this week are the most pivotal runs of the program.  For my confidence.  Last week’s second 6 mile tempo made me realize that the pace on the first one wasn’t a fluke.  If I can do it twice, I can do it anytime I want.  Last week’s 10 mile run showed me that I can break into double digits and still keep a wicked pace.  This week, I have that scaryscary 8 mile tempo.  I’m of the opinion if I can tough it out through that, somehow, I can do anything.  Then, I’ve got another double digit (11 miles) to reinforce my confidence that I can keep my pace at long distances.

Honestly, from there it’s all gravy.  If I can complete this next week at the required paces, I can honestly feel confident that I can do a sub 2-hour half even if the rest of my training somehow goes to shite.  I will even put that out there now, feel free to remind me of that if it happens.

By the numbers:

Monday: 6×400 sprints @ 1:58 pace (with the requisite 1 mile warm up, 1 mile cool down, and 400 recovery in the middle) - check.

Tuesday: DDR circuits - check.

Wednesday: 6 mile tempo (tempted to make up the 8 mile tempo but I think I’ll refrain) - check.

Thursday: DDR circuits - check.

Friday: off - check (yay)!

Saturday: 10 mile run @ 9:40 pace - mostly check.  I ended up at a 9:47 pace, but considering my path had a mile long hill I wasn’t expecting, I am so not complaining.

Sunday: off

One more week with the goal simply to rock the paces as planned.  Here is the plan:

Monday: 4x 1600 sprints @ 8:25 pace (with the requisite 1 mile warm up, 1 mile cool down, and 400 recovery in the middle)

Tuesday: DDR circuits

Wednesday: 8 mile tempo (*eek*)

Thursday: DDR circuits

Friday: off

Saturday: 11 mile run

Sunday: off

This is a really tough week, adding another mile to Monday’s run, the epic tempo, and then another double digit run this weekend.  I just gotta approach this week with the confident swagger it deserves, stare it in the eyes, grab it by the balls, and tell it how much it doesn’t intimidate me and it better watch out because I’m gonna kick it’s butt.  Wish me luck!

I want to bottle this feeling I had about this week’s runs.  Just the sense of pride I have right now.  Week 1 of training was a little mixed up because of the Turkey Trot.  Week 2 was screwed up because of illness.  Having the first two weeks not go as planned did not do well for my confidence.  The training plan I picked makes each and every run TOUGH.  In these 12 weeks, there are no happy fun lazy runs around the neighborhood.  The SLOWEST goal pace is 9:40, and that’s on my long runs (which are 8-12 miles here on out).  My tempo runs, which are up to 8 miles, are at 8:55.  The sprints are even faster and get longer and longer.

This week I finally got the chance to do a normal week of training.  Monday, it was sprints. which is honestly the thing I am MOST confident with keeping the required pace.  This week, it was mile sprints.  I have to say, I LOVED this workout.  It was difficult but the rest intervals made it tolerable.  The first mile was felt great.  The second and third was TOUGH by the end but not falling-of-the-treadmill hard.  It’s going to be brutal to tack one and then two more mile sprints at the end of this, but I look forward to the challenge.

Wednesday was COLD as HELL (ok, I don’t want to hear from you people with windchills below 0, it’s cold for me) and was in the low 30s in the morning.  I was planning to get up and run.  I even got dressed in my running gear, poked my head outside, and went right back in.  I left my running gear on, put a sweater over it, packed my bag, and headed to work.  I would conquer the cold at lunch.  I ended up out in about 40 degree weather.  At first it was a little chilly, but it was a huge breakthrough - it wasn’t that bad at all!  Also, I had planned to do my 5 mile tempo but ended up actually going 7 (my route went NOTHING as planned because of construction and I ended up on the other side of our office area at 5 miles so I just kept going).  I really enjoyed knocking my long run out in the middle of the week!  The mileage was estimated - I spent a lot of time running circles around parking lots - but I was bookin it and ran for 70 minutes.  I definitely don’t PREFER running in the cold (give me a 70 degree morning ANY DAY) but I felt awesome that I conquered my hesitation to run in winter temps.

By Friday, I was SO dreading this run.  Five miles.  Under 9 minute pace.  I didn’t even get that on race day.  It was Friday night, I was a little bummed that we were missing a fun-sounding holiday party, but I just kept telling myself that I had 5 miles between me and my weekend.  And if I made my pace, I would celebrate somehow.  I did a 5 minute warmup, reset the treadmill, and started again at 6.0.  I decided that I was gonna attempt a true tempo, so after the first .75 of a mile of ramping up, I hit 6.7 and just WENT.  I felt strong, I felt confident, and most importantly, I felt like I could hold the pace even if it was tough.  So I did it.  For 3.5 miles.  Then, at 4.25 miles I knew I had some time to make up, so I started ramping it up again, and by the end I was going 8.0.  My final pace? 8:57 miles.  Under 9.  I beat my race time 2 weeks ago by 1:05.

Then, we made amazingly delicious homemade pizza for dinner/breakfast the next day, which was much better than any crazy holiday party.  Or at least that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

The DDR circuits were in there too (Tuesday and Thursday) and I yoga’d Monday.  I meant to do another yoga session but got busy with holiday stuff.  Oops.  MUST YOGA TWICE THIS WEEK SOMEHOW.  I stretched well after each run but I can still feel tension.  MUST YOGA.

I went into this week scared.  I am coming out of this week feeling like a badass.  I am ready to conquer these next 9 weeks because I have it in me.  Sub 2 hour half, here I come!

Training for week 4:

Monday - 6×400 sprints @ 1:58 pace (with one mile warmup and one mile cooldown and 400 rest in between) = 5 miles

Tuesday - DDR circuits

Wednesday - 6 mile tempo run @ 8:55 pace

Thursday - off (holiday party)

Friday - 30 day shred (need something effective and quick as I have dinner plans)

Saturday - 8 mile nice outside long run @ 9:40 pace

Sunday - rest

Next week in theory should start my holiday break and I should be back to 2 weeks of training on whatever schedule I want, but since I have a shippable at work I’m in charge of that has to be done by the end of the year, I might have to work some half days that week.  But we shall see.

This is the week where the appetite starts to kick in too.  I can already feel it.  At least this time, I’m craving boatloads of protien, more dairy, and veggies instead of all carbs all the time.  I’m sure that will come later, or perhaps training this way is changing the way I crave.  It could make sense.  Each workout is brutal, so protein/dairy helps build my body back up stronger, but I have enough rest time that I don’t need to be pumping constant FUEL ME NOW energy into my body.

The problem is I’m sitting here at my desk, having eaten a 20g protien bar this morning, a huge buffalo chicken lunch meat sammich for lunch, and I’m currently destroying a full 1 lb bag of baby carrots.  It is not long for this world, folks.  And I’m pretty sure before the workout, I’ll be digging into the pistachios and the blackberries too.  I mean - it’s all ridici-healthy and all (minus the nummy onion bun instead of the normal horkin’ fiber bread), so I can’t be too upset.

The plan is to really watch it this month.  Eat super healthy on most days so I can just kinda let myself graze until I feel fueled without being restrictive.  On days I have holiday plan-type-things, make sure I watch my portions and fill up on all the healthy stuff I can.  Or moderate.  Like last night’s party where there were 4 appetizers and 3 desserts and NOTHING was healthy and the meatballs actually ended up being the best option.  Or Saturday night when bacon fudge made an appearance.  It was AMAZING.  I broke my no sweets/drinking in the same day rule twice this weekend, but it was totally worth it.

So I’ve got my playlists set, my gymbag with me, and I’m ready to rock some sprints tonight.  Hopefully I can stop shoveling carrots into my mouth by that time.

How did the first week go?  I’ll tell ya.

About to do the chicken (turkey) dance?

Monday: 5 mile pace (let’s call it a tempo)

Check.  I felt much better after completing this one.  Instead of BARELY finishing under 10 min/mile pace, I came in at 46 and some change.  Much closer to where I need to be.  It was a little faster than normal tempo pace for the rest of the training, but more purposed towards a “test run” for my race.

Tuesday: DDR circuit (these are still kicking my butt wonderfully)

Check.  This is great cross training.  I need to come up with something else to do occasionally but damn it’s a nice little cardio/weights/awesome home butt kicking workout all in an hour.

Wednesday: yoga/rest

Check.  I actually wanted to work out this day and felt weird resting but it was all good because then I was rested for my…

Thursday: 5 mile RACE (let’s call this my long run)

Check.  I was aiming for under 45 minute, but once I ran through the course itself with it’s myriad of HILLS (there is one street on the course I hate WALKING up or BIKING up, let alone running as fast as I can up it towards the end of the 5th mile), I was perfectly happy with 45:50.  A little intimidated that it’s right about the pace I’m aiming to run the half at, but hey, I’ve got 11 weeks, right?

Friday: DDR circuit

Check.  Didn’t want to, but did it anyway.  Felt just dandy after.

Saturday: 4×400 sprints (1 mile w/up + c/down, 400m recovery in between)

Check.  Zliten and I went to the track and he got a nice jog in while I did my sprints.  All sprints were between 1:50 - 1:58.  It was a little harder than I remembered, but I also think I was not 100% and starting to get sick.

Sunday: rest

Oh yeah.  I was pretty much in sick mode and didn’t leave the couch much at all besides some delicious chinese food.

15k people on a Thursday morning look like this.

So what’s up for this next week?

To be quite honest, I feel crappy and unsure about even calling this week 2.  Mostly, because I feel crappy myself.  Yesterday I started to come down with something (ok, probably Saturday but I ignored it…bad Quix) and today it’s still here.  My throat is sore, my nose is a wee bit runny and plugged, and I’m going from hot to cold to hot to cold to hot in literally 5 minutes.  Normally, I’m just coldcoldcold *momentofcomfort* coldcoldcold, so I know I’m out of whack.

I probably could push through and run today if my life depended on it,  hell, a year or 2 ago I probably would have, but after reading up on workouts while sick, the general consensus is:

-Stick to light/moderate intensity workouts and no heavy weights.  Sadly, I don’t think sprints are in this category.

-If you just have head cold symptoms, you can workout (but still lighter than normal).  I don’t have any lung issues, but the fact that I sweat through 2 pairs of PJs last night and the hotcoldhotcold makes me think that perhaps it’s a sign to chillax.

-If you’re feeling tired, it’s probably best to rest (and considering I rested ALL DAY yesterday, went to sleep at 11pm, dragged myself out of bed at 9:30am, and I’m still dragging ass today - I’ll call that tired).

And this is what 15k people look like once they get going...

So the plan for this next week was:

Monday: 4×800 sprints

Tuesday: DDR circuit

Wednesday: 4 mile tempo

Thursday: DDR circuit

Friday: 6 mile run

Weekend: rest

Obviously, this is not going to happen.  I expect the week to look more like this:

Monday: sleeeeeep

Tuesday: light DDR (no weights)

Wednesday: 4 mile VERY SLOW

Thursday: DDR circuit

Friday: 4×800 sprints

Saturday: 6 mile run

Sunday: rest

I normally would not do sprints and my long run back to back, but considering 6 miles isn’t THAT long, I can probably do it, as long as I’m feeling 100% by then.  It’s also entirely possible that the week might look like this, depending on how long I feel crappy:

Monday:  sleeeeeep

Tuesday: sleeeeeeep

Wednesday: walk around the block

Thursday: light DDR

Friday: walk around the two surrounding blocks

Weekend: rest

I am just going to play it by ear.  If I feel crappy, I’m gonna rest.  If I feel ok, I’m going to workout.  I’m also going to remember that I have 10 more weeks after this one to make it through, and the only way to do that is to recover fully as quickly as possible.  And risking injury by pushing through workouts when I feel this crappy is NOT the way to do it.

There we go. Race 6. Soon my toes are gonna have to get in on the action...

NaNoWriMo:

Fail.  30.5k words still.  I might write a little tonight but I sorta quit on it this week.  I threw a little temper tantrum about it and realized that the most important thing to come out of this with is a renewed sense of love for writing and the knowledge that writing a book is not nearly as daunting of a task as I thought it was.  Writing everyday is daunting.  Promising to do anything every day for me is daunting.  Beyond waking up, brushing my teeth, eating something, reading something on the internet, and going to sleep, there is nothing I do every day.  I need days off work.  I need days off working out.  I need days off being responsible.  Writing is no different.

That’s not to say I don’t love writing (or working out, or whatnot).  I just can’t spend two hours of my day every day doing it with all my other responsibilities and hobbies and need for a social life (pshaw).  So, the plan going forward is to dedicate 6 hours per week - about my workout time on a normal week.  1.5 hours x2 weekdays, and 3 hours on a weekend.  Once I finish, I’ll dedicate the time to editing.  If that seems like a comfortable amount of time to spend per week, I’ll continue that into 2010 and start a new one.

So what’s up this week for you?  What is your best cold cure?  Do you work out when you’re sick?

So, let me just wrap up last week before I get on with it.  It was pretty much a bust.  I injured myself and couldn’t run Monday and Tuesday.  Wednesday I had an event to go to and still felt a little stiff, and apparently I had something emotionally to work out as Zliten and I stayed up until 4am drinking on a weekday, so I was too exhausted Thursday after slogging through a tough day at work hungover on no sleep.  Yeah.   Hello, me 3 years ago.  I did get up and do a 6 mile run and a killer DDR circuit Friday and Saturday, but I am still very disappointed with how much I’ve let distance running lapse this summer, and how HARD that was to just keep up a pace that was about what I’ve targeted my long run pace to be (around 9:45 per mile).  Sunday, I counted 6 hours of shopping as my cardio.

Yet again this week, I am terrified of the scale.  Not that I think I did that badly, it’s just this irrational thing that happens once I let go of tracking, I think I’m going to just start gaining and gaining.  I don’t trust myself yet to really know what to do without the numbers.  We will see.  A healthy day today and a nice long run tonight, and I’ll be ready to hop on tomorrow morning so I can give a “start weight” for the half process.

While my goal is still to get down to under 150 by December 31st, I am not going to actively try to cut calories very low for the rest of the year.  I reached my low weight of 150.2 a few weeks into half training last time just with increased exercise (before my appetite caught up).  Maybe this will happen again!  Regardless - pushing my body to run harder, better, faster, stronger is more important than losing a few lbs as of today.

So, let’s get on with it.

Basic Half Marathon Goals:

-Using the FIRST half marathon methodology (of course, an amalgamation of lots of different plans though), I’m going to be ONLY running 3 days per week.  But the running days, they are killer.  Most Mondays are sprints days.  They vary between 4×400 to start out with (with a mile warmup and cooldown) and 5×1600 (same).  Wednesdays are tempo runs, ranging from 4-8 miles before the taper.  Friday/Sat/Sun (one of these days): is the long run, progressing from 5 miles this week to 12 miles before the taper.

I noticed that I am a lot better and fresher with a day off between runs and feel like I can expend more effort.  I also remember feeling like slogging through some of those 4-5 mile slow pace weekday runs were pointless.  I totally get the 3 quality runs per week idea and the research shows that most people PR with the training.  It also means I can keep up with DDR and weights as well without feeling like I have to squeeze it in.

-I’m going to try the “lots of food/good food” type approach.  Trying to limit my intake during training was like trying to ask a dragon politely not to breathe fire.  So I’m going to give myself permission to snack as much as I want on APPROVED things, like veggies, jerky, pistachios… and probably find some healthy, whole grainy carb type things.  I will keep my meals unchanged.  This is not going to be an excuse to hit the buffet and eat 1500 calories.  I will also NOT eat out of the fridge.  This has to stop before it starts.  If I want a modest snack of turkey pepperoni, a bowl of pistachios, and a tub of mixed greens, I need to serve it to myself and take it at least to the couch.

-My “pie in the sky” goal is sub 2 hours.  My 5k time translated into half marathon time says I should be able to do it.  The reality is - I’m just much better at short distance speed than I am picking up the pace beyond my “run forever” pace of about 10:30-11 minute miles once I get in the double digits.  My realistic goal is to beat my time from the last one.  My “the-day-is-shite” goal is just to finish without walking.

This week is a little weird as I’m doing a 5 mile race on thanksgiving.  I haven’t trained for it for crap, but I think with race day jitters I can at least pull out a 45 minute (9 min mile) pace.  If not, hey, I ran 5 miles Thanksgiving morning before I stuff my face with turkey, and I got a groovy shirt.  Totally win.  So this week is:

Monday: 5 mile pace (let’s call it a tempo)

Tuesday: DDR circuit (these are still kicking my butt wonderfully)

Wednesday: yoga/rest

Thursday: 5 mile RACE (let’s call this my long run)

Friday: DDR circuit

Saturday: 4×400 sprints (1 mile w/up + cool down, 400m recovery in between)

Sunday: rest

Normally, it would be run M/W/F, DDR circuits Tu/Th, but the race mucks this up.  I already screwed up the ability to run this all outside (unless I decide tonight to hit the track for 5 miles in the dark…hmmm…didn’t think of that before) but unless the weather brings forth some icky icky clouds I’m golden for sprints at the track on Saturday.

The paces frighten me.  For an approximate 9:10 goal pace, which is a 2 hour half, here is what they want me to train at:

400s - 1:58 (no problem)

800s - 4:02 (again, no problem)

1600s - 8:25 (no problem in theory, 5 of these in one workout will be KILLER though)

tempo: 8:55 per mile (err, 8 miles below 9 minute miles? sceeery!!!)

long run: 9:40 per mile (this will be pretty brutal too, but I feel more confident about this than the tempos).

Wish me luck!  Anyone ever done 3 day per week running training, or at least focused on quantity over quality miles?  Any suggestions on making improvements on long distance pace?   My brain just seems to get intimidated and shut off the ability to really push myself above a 5k.

NaNoWriMo:
I’m about 9k words behind.  I’m going to try and rally this week… but that would mean almost 2700 words per day.  What I’m going to do if I *don’t* finish is to dedicate at least 1.5 hours after work 2 days per week and 3 hours on a weekend day EACH WEEK until I finish.  Unless I’m really inspired to talk about it before then for some reason, I’ll let you in on how I did December 1st.

And, if you made it through this far, let me reward you with this gem.  I feel greeeeeeeaaaattt!  Baaaaabiiiieeesss!!!!  Happy faux-Wednesday if you’ve got a short week like we have for Thanksgiving!  If not, happy Monday to the lot of ya.

Attitude is everything.  I’ve taken some really rough days and put a positive spin on them and come out alright.  I’ve gotten through some tough times in my life just with optimistic thinking.  So why, when everything is going great, and I feeling so…bleh?

I’m thankful for having a job at a stable company that has a successful product where I’m making a living wage at a title that is not beneath me.  However, I’ve been at that title for 4 years now and it’s time to move up (I’ve never gone so long without a promotion).  Plus, I miss the creativity I used to have earlier this year.  That one post I made a few months ago all excited about job stuff?  That’s on hold and I’m onto something else not quite as exciting.

I’m thankful for have been able to able to lose 110 lbs, and go from someone who grumbled about having to park 100 feet away from her apartment to a half marathon runner.  However, it’s been the greater part of a year since I really took off any more weight.  Why the hell can’t I get it together and finish this up?  Also, a trend I’m not liking is I feel like I’m becoming less enthusiastic about my workouts.

I’m just feeling all around burnt out lately.  This year has been crazy (crazy cool, but still crazy) - it started in March with the birthdays and then April with half training, and then in July, it was wedding, wedding, wedding until October.  I figured things would calm down but now it’s been taking care of all the stuff I’ve put off since the wedding.  Plus I decided to take on NaNoWriMo.  And next week begins half marathon training.

I feel like the guy in Office Space who just wants to do nothing.  The silly thing is, I know it’s crazy because I go NUTS doing nothing.  I think the combination of stressing over my sticky scale numbers, having a period of work where I’m just not quite as into what I’m doing as I could be, not having had a good, lengthy, and relaxing vacation in a while, and feeling obligated to do something at every moment of the day this month is just about making me crack.

But don’t cry for me. Seriously.  I saw you taking that tissue out and just go ahead and put it back.

The Write Stuff:

Even though I’m stressing about it, NaNoWriMo has been a great experience that I will be immensely proud of, even if I don’t get to 50k words (but I’m not giving up!!).  Just sitting down to write a story and getting through it has been huge for me.  Though it’s been hell some days to find time to write, and yesterday I just couldn’t get inspired, I’m pleased with my consistency of being able to sit down and flow.  While this week was too crazy to write most days (hence, why I got so behind), I pulled over 7000 words out this weekend.

Words needed to be on track: 25000

Words written: 20500

Words per day needed this week to catch up: 2400

One thing I’m also realizing - it doesn’t need to be THE BOOK for me to start writing it.  You know, the masterpiece.  The one that’s going to somehow become a best seller and I’ll be able to retire and go move to Vermont like all writers do or whatever.  If I can speedwrite a short book in one month, I can chip away at a novel a year.  Slow, sure.  But it’s better than not writing and complaining about it.  I think it is going to be a goal from now on to write at least one novel per year.

Food, Glorious Food:

I’d say I lost it here this week, but honestly, I don’t know for sure.  I stopped tracking mid-week and just couldn’t bring myself to start it up again.  The key days were Wednesday, Friday, and the weekend.

Wednesday - work event, which I sailed through.  I ordered a DELICIOUS asian chicken salad and only used half the dressing.  Then later, for dinner, I ate a bunch of fried appetizers after some drinking.  This is sort of a wash.  Sure, I ate crap.  But at least I had the sense to split the crap with other people and then realize I was done eating for the night even though it was an appetizer.

Friday, I had a buffalo burger, wheat bun, no butter and split some fries for lunch.  I was hoping to love it since it’s a fairly healthy option for Fuddruckers, but I just didn’t.  The meat tasted weird.  We had grilled chicken, tiny baked potatoes, and my famous veggie pasta salad for dinner.  However, there were two margaritas on a beautiful patio and some drinks later, so again, kind of a wash.

Saturday, I knew I needed major fortification, so I had a footlong subway turkey with no cheese and lots of veggies and an apple.  That got me through the day until the party, where I cooked a feast (more on the tomorrow) and pushed tropical drinks on my guests!  There was some healthy (veggie tray, veggie curry, etc), and some not so healthy (fried lumpia, fried chicken katsu, etc), and I ate some of both.  Come on, a good cook ALWAYS tastes the creations.

Sunday, minus the pizza that found it’s way into the house during lunch time (Zliten’s fault!  He didn’t even give me the chance to veto, he just left and came back with it), I noshed on the leftover veggies, salad, soup, fruit, and for dinner we made tiny filets.

All in all, I think what happened is I slipped back into “balanced lifestyle” mode instead of “weight loss” mode.  I didn’t go off the deep end.  I balanced out the alcohol and junk with a lot of fruits and veggies.  And this was even left to my own devices.  I’d venture that I averaged maybe 1700 calories per day this week total, which is not what I’m aiming for, but not up to my maintenance calories either.  I’d call it a victory, but I haven’t had the courage to step on a scale yet.  Tomorrow morning, I’ll let you know. :)  Last week, I bounced between 154.2 and 155.4.  Disheartening as I was hoping to continue the downward trend, but encouraging as I was not up and down like normal.  I’ll take what I can get.

This week, my goal is to stay under 1500 calories per day (closer to 1300 if I can), minus a planned event Wednesday which I’ll allow up to 2000.

Body Movin’:

I talked about this a lot this week with my abrupt end to shredding, unplanned day off minus some yoga Wednesday, and my subsequent discovery of DDR circuits that I refined on Friday, so I’ll spare you any more details.  I took the entire weekend off to give myself a rest and am back at it this week.  This is essentially my week 0 for half training, and I’m getting myself prepared to run more by bumping it up to 3 days this week.  I am a week and a half from my 5 mile race, and I just haven’t trained much for it specifically, so I’m just hoping for the best.  Here is the plan:

Monday: 10 mins warmup, 6×400 sprints, 10 minute cooldown

Tuesday: 5 mile run at attempted race pace (45 minutes)

Wednesday: off

Thursday:DDR circuit

Friday: 3.1 mile tempo run (yeah, I’m going to chase my sub 25 5k ONE LAST TIME before half training starts and I need to be a reasonable human and stop running so fast and work on running far)

Weekend: DDR circuit and a bike adventure

Wednesday is off because I have to be into work early anyway to go to said event at 5:30, and I don’t do early early morning workouts so I’ll adjust the rest of my week accordingly.  I may reconsider and do a regular strength session tonight at the gym after my sprints instead of so much on the weekend, but we will see.  Without schedule conflicts, I would have run M/W/F (sprints/tempo/long) and did DDR circuits Tu/Th.

I still owe before and after shred pictures.  I’ll get on that.

So bloggy people, how was your weekend?  Anything supah cool?  Anyone else kinda feeling the blahs and just CANNOT WAIT for some damn time off over the holidays?   Wanna tell me what an arsehole I am for feeling whiny?  Your opportunity awaits…

And yes, it was another Natalie Dee day.  It just felt right.

…and hopefully out like one too!  I’m feeling more optimistic, more hopeful, and more… ready to take on the week than I have in a while.  I’m sure it certainly helped that I got in a FULL workout this morning.  I set some other things in motion this weekend that made me feel like less of a waste of space.  I exercised a little bit more control than usual.  And this morning, I am rewarded.  Let’s break it down…

Doctor doctor:

I went in and got the blood work done - and pretty much everything showed up in the normal range!  My overall cholesterol is 142, my fasting sugars are in the 90s, everything seems to be rockin’.  The only two things that showed up ever so slightly outside were my white blood cell count (slightly low) and the size of my red blood cells (slightly larger).  Apparently it was not anything to worry about, as they didn’t call me in to have a follow up, so I can rest assured that I am in good condition and rock and roll with my life.

When We Pretend That We’re Shred(ed):

Currently listening to L7 right now, so I had to go there (if you get it, YAY!).  Ok, soooo… I shredded 5 times again last week.  And life went on.  I did level 1 on Monday and did level 2 the rest of the week.  I’m not sure if it was that level 2 is actually EASIER or that going from just regular weight training to level 1 was just so much more of a system shock than level 1 to level 2 (I’m guessing that’s it), but I was just fine this week.  The two days of rest started me out fresh, and while I definitely felt it working, I was not cripplingly sore.  The lunge/squat and hold seems to not affect my legs as much as the in and out of it motion.  The cardio I can tell is a little harder (though honestly - it’s still tame compared to speedwork/sprints/just about anything else I do).  The abs - I’m torn.  I’m again less sore than I was last week but I feel like it’s being worked pretty well so I’ll call it a tie.

I am still going to call it a great little workout if all I had was a half hour from start to finish, and much better “bang for the buck” strength training than my home strength workout that I’ve been doing for over a year now, but it will not be replacing my cardio any time soon.

Week In Review:

It was an interesting week.

Monday I just shredded and curled up on the couch and died (<3 u TOM).  I also ate only about 1250 calories.

Tuesday I shredded and ran a fairly fast paced 5k, and ate around 1450.

Wednesday, I shredded, did a few DDR songs, and then went on a 30 minute walk with Zliten, and ate about 1600 calories (there may have been a margarita, oopsie).

Thursday, I shredded WAY early before the vampires got my blood to test, and then ATTEMPTED a 5 mile run and my shoes died on me 3.5 miles in.  I walked about 1 mile between my warmup and getting home (of course they died on the FURTHEST point of my running course away from my house), so I think it was 4.6 in all.  I ate about 1500 calories.

Friday, I got revenge by buying new shoes, shredding, and then rocking the 5 miles (5.3, actually).  I ate a very healthy and lo cal breakfast and lunch (and then oops, forgot to track the rest of the weekend), and then snacked and indulged in some rum at night.  I had INTENDED to actually order a garden burger and/or a salad at least at the bar, but I just ended up not being hungry enough to order my own food.  Until about 3am, when I put the kiebash on food and resolved to just eat an early breakfast/lunch.

Saturday, I rested.  Rum + no real dinner = headache.  I snacked on very healthy stuff for breakfast/lunch (gardenburger, fruit, pistachios, popcorn) and then went with the parents out to dinner.  I had a filet mignon, broccoli, and a salad with just a little bit of dressing.  HOWEVER, I also had a roll or two.  Then - we went out for Halloween and there was beer and snackies and I partook.  But a lot less stupidly than last weekend.

Sunday, I erranded.  We had mexican (which was not SUPER healthy but I did ok) for lunch and then got shopping and other randomness done, so while I didn’t get a workout, I definitely didn’t sit on my ass until after dinner, which was a healthy whole wheat spaghetti, super lean ground beef and meat sauce, with green pepper, onion, and broccoli.  I had some frozy pineapple for desert along with 2 pumpkin spice kisses (um, yeah…can you say LOVE)

So the verdict?   I slacked over the weekend a bit sure, but I didn’t go as nuts.  I got more rest than normal.  I didn’t track or weigh this weekend.  My high weight last week?  Let’s not even go there.  My second highest weight? 158.8.  Yeah.  My low weight of the week?  155.2.  Where am I starting this week? 156.2.  For that, I say yippee, as it’s the lowest Monday weight since before the wedding.

The plan going forward = lots of morning workouting due to the time change.  Trying to have a pretty lean and mean calorie week.  Otherwise, it should look berry, berry familiar.

Monday: shred level 2 and 30 mins DDR in the morning, 1400 or less calories.

Tuesday: 5 mile run in the morning, shred level 2 at night, 1400 or less calories.

Wednesday: shred level 3 and yoga in the morning, 1400 or less calories.

Thursday: shred and 5k in the morning, 1400 or less calories.

Friday: shred level 3 and 30 mins DDR in the morning, 1500 or less calories.

Saturday: CLEANING. 1500 or less calories.

Sunday: rest or bike adventure.   1500 or 2000 calories or less depending.

We have planned a MELLOW week after the last few of crazy parties and general revelry.  I am looking forward to it.  I know by Friday/Saturday I might start feeling a little lame/cabin fever-y, but I think it’s for my own good.

NaNoWriMo:

Well, this sure snuck up on me.  I had decided to participate and was going to write out an outline and then life got hectic and holy geez, yesterday was November 1st!  I had 1667 words to write!

So I’ve determined that this month, my house is either going to get super clean and everything on my to do list is going to get done due to procrastination, or I’m going to write an effing novel.  Blogging, I can bust out 1600 words in an hour while twirling a plate with one hand and directing an orchestra with the other while the house crashes to the ground around me.  Fiction writing, I need a bit more order.  We had to lunch.  Then errands.  Then groceries.  Then laundry.  Then other stuff.  Once I got everything else settled and felt ready to write it was almost 9pm!

However, once I was in the zone, I rocked it.  I got 1677 words done, and it’s not horrible.  I am torn between coming up with a plan for the novel and just letting it flow.  It’s sort of a fictional adaptation of earlier parts of my life (write what you know, right?), so it’s already has a shell of a story so it’s not as if I’ve just created some random characters meandering around my head.  I think I will try tonight to just continue the flow tonight and not worry about more structure until I get stuck.

That’s about it for update Monday.  Send me good thoughts this week so I can rock out the rest of the week and maybe start seeing more of those lovely low 150s.  Who out there is doing NaNoWriMo?  Anyone shredding?  What’s new and exciting in November?