Adjusted Reality

If you’ve been following me here this shouldn’t be any surprise, but for the rest of you and for my posterity, here is how last week went.

Monday: 15k race (unofficial)

Check.  Since I had Memorial Day off, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to have a long run not end in a mad rush to get me off to work.  Sadly, that also meant I slept in ’til almost 10 and got on the road running at a fairly hot part of the day.  While it was a pretty miserable run and I wasn’t thrilled with the pace (I really wanted 10 min miles and it was more like 10:30), I got through it and happily stretched, showered, and lazed around on the couch for 2 hours before BBQ time.

Tuesday: 50 mins DDR and yoga

Check and check.  Since I was an idiot and stayed up WAY too late and drank WAY too much Monday at various parties and outings, it was definitely a cross training day.  But – I got through it and actually felt better after.  I love that.

Wednesday: 5 mile run and weights at the gym

Check and check.  Nothing much to report except this ends up being a REALLY LONG FREAKING WORKOUT – over 2 hours with warmup/cooldown/stretching.

Thursday: 9×400 track intervals (1 lap at 2:00 or less pace, 1 lap jog, repeat) and yoga

Check and check.  Did the yoga in the morning.  Just as I got out that evening to run the sun went behind the clouds and trees so it was actually quite nice, which was a nice surprise.  I was glad I stuck to my guns and didn’t do this inside on the treaddy.  However, I went out a little too fast and eager (my second lap, I did 1:41 which is a 6:44 mile if I could keep that up 3 more times) and got tired enough that lap 7 and 8 were over 2 mins.  But – I made it through.  4.5 miles of intervals is a lot of freaking interval work.

Friday: 5 mile run and weights at home

Check and check.  I did the weights in the morning because I slept in, and then after getting home from work I really had to talk myself into this run.  But I did it.  What made me go?  When I skip a workout due to the “I don’t wanna”, I always feel worse, guilty, and regret it for way longer than it would have taken me to do it.  When I do a workout that “I didn’t wanna”, I usually feel better after and there’s no evil voice in my head telling me I suck.

Weekend: Rest

Week 10’s long run was Sunday, so Saturday I sat on my hiney all day and made necklaces and fixed my sweater, and other domestically inclined and completely out-of-character things for myself.

Total week 9 mileage 24.3 (running):   (plus 1-2 miles of walking)

Week 10 – Two more weeks ’til taper.

Sunday: 11 mile race

Monday: 2.7 mile run and yoga (yes, this is a wussy workout but I have plans)

Tuesday: 60 mins DDR and weights at home (here is the 5000 hour workout to make up for it)

Wednesday: 45 minute tempo run and yoga (that is – 35 mins at race pace/5 mins warmup and cooldown…youch)

Thursday: 5 mile run and weights at the gym.

Weekend: Maybe an easy neighborhood lap run to make up for missing a lap today.  Or maybe not.  I have friends in town staying with me, and I don’t think missing 2.5 miles is going to really break me.

Things I learned last week:

1.  I know I’ve said this before, but I am so ready to be done and run this race.  I’ve resigned myself that I am going to spend the majority of the next 2 weeks with sore muscles, just due to the sheer amount of mileage/time I need to put in.   I am crunching last week’s and this weeks workouts together a bit though because of friends coming into town Thursday afternoon and leaving Sunday – so maybe that 3 days off will be just the break I need to be energized and ready to go jumping into Week 11 (the last real week of training).

2.  I really dread the long runs, for some reason.  They are just daunting.  However, once I get into them, they feel good, I’m comfortable running for 2 hours straight now, and I feel great after (sore legs, yeah, but I’m not wiped).   I measure how I feel by whether I can kick at the end.  If I’m worn out, I ran too hard.  If I can speed up the last 2 miles and really speed up about half a mile out, I ran just right and I’m confident for the next week’s run.

3.  Five miles now feels like a pretty short run.  Three months ago, I had run six miles MAX and that was stretching it.  I’m really happy I did this to stretch my comfort zone.  If I would have kept increasing my mileage at the previous pace, I would have been at half marathon length in October.  And I really don’t think one is supposed to do a long, long run once a week for that long.  I still feel great body-wise now, and that makes me confident cause I don’t have that much to go, but I can see that I’d be suceptable to injury if I kept this up much longer.

4. So this endeavour has put about 2-3 lbs on me.  I’m weighing in regularly at about 152-153 something.  Zliten, however, seems to think I look significantly more muscular now, so maybe that’s it.  I hope that is, because muscles rock!  I’ll have to find a good before picture from the end of March and see how I compare now.  I said and I will maintain that I will eat in a way that keeps me fueled and comfortable for the race, no matter what happens with the weight – but it doesn’t mean that I want to keep creeping up towards 155 and leave it unchecked after I cross the finish line.

5.  Still trying to decide what I want for my post race meal.  Considering I’ve had lisence for at least the last 6 weeks to eat whatever I want (sorta) because of all the training, it’s not as special as it was in my head when I first started.  I do believe there will be some sort of a milkshake/frosty/frozen blendy treat though.

If you’ve been following me here this shouldn’t be any surprise, but for the rest of you and for my posterity, here is how last week went.

Monday: weights at home and 4.5 mile run

Check and check.  It was the *perfect* weather just around dusk to be out for a run and I got done just as it was getting dark.  I even actually pushed myself pretty hard because I was feeling so good, and it could have almost qualified as a tempo run.

Tuesday: tempo run and yoga

Check and check.  Since I pushed myself the day before, I wasn’t able to get the awesome pace I had the week before, but I definitely still booked it pretty good!

Wednesday: 4.5 mile run and weights at the gym

Sorta-fail and sorta check.  I had – how shall I say – body problems that morning, and was able to get about 3.7 miles before I gave up.  Close enough – right?  Also, we had an event to go to after work at 6 (which meant no time for the gym), but I made the weights up Saturday morning, at least half-assedly.  Instead of heading to the gym, I watched the end of the biggest loser with my ass planted on the couch and finally felt guilty enough that I got out the weights and did my home strength routine.  But hey, it’s better than nothing, right?

Thursday: 50 mins DDR and yoga

Check and check.  Planned this on a different day because of the event the night before (I needed today to be an easy day).

Friday: 10 mile run

Check!  I made it!  Somehow, running a double digit distance felt more epic than just getting further.  I’m just excited because I told myself that if I could do 10 miles, I could do 13 so I would feel good about signing up for the half.  So I get to sign up this week!

Sunday: Bike trail adventure

Epic fail.  But it was the weather’s fault, not ours.  We were so ready to go, and it was raining off and on.  It was the only time we had carved out to do it, so we had to pass.

Total week 8 mileage 22.7 (running):   (plus 1-2 miles of walking)

Week 9 -almost there.  Please?

Monday: 15k pseudo race

Tuesday: 50 mins DDR + yoga

Wednesday: 5 mile run and weights at the gym

Thursday: 9×400 intervals (warmup on the way to the track, run 9 laps under 2:00 pace, jog a lap in between each, cooldown on the way home)

Friday: 5 mile run and weights at home.

Weekend: Maybe a bike ride.  Or maybe not.  I’m not getting my hopes up this time. 🙂

Things I learned last week:

1.  After doing this run, I have decided that long run days either need to be on a weekend, or I need to take half days to recover after.  I was just *dead* after this.  My body was so physically tired until after lunch my brain barely worked.  I can definitely envision being able to do 3 more miles on the end of this if it was race day, but I imagine I will be worthless for a little while after I finish.

2.  My pace degenerates from a solid 10 minute mile or faster to a 1030 or slower sometime between 7 and 9 miles.  I mean that as in when I run 7 miles total, I can keep that 10 minute pace.  When I’m above that, I seem to run quite a bit slower even if it’s only a *little* more.  My super-unattainable goal for the half is under 2 minutes, but I’m not running the long runs anywhere close to that pace.  I think I’ll be happy under 2:15.

3.  Let me reiterate to folks out there – training for a distance running event is not, I repeat NOT a way to lose weight.  I heard the warnings, I laughed it off and thought I could buck the odds, but your body WILL force you to eat back what you lose when you push it so hard, or you’ll feel weak and super injury prone.  Though I’ve been told I look like I’ve lost a little since I started this, I haven’t seen my low weight of 150.2 for at least a month, I”m hangin’ closer to 152-153.   I decided 3 weeks in that I was going to give my body whatever it needed to do this race, but I am really feeling like a piggie lately.

4.  That being said as well – I am really looking forward now to finishing up the training, doing the race, and moving on to something else for a while.  4 runs per week which are now at least 5 miles each is time consuming, tiring, and just a whole lot of miles.  I just keep telling myself that there’s only 3 weeks really to go (and the last week of taper before the race), and I’m almost there.  I had visions of being super excited to get up to the double digit runs and getting used to them and keep running the distance all the time – yeah, no.  I’m already looking forward to putting together a plan for July which is extremely different!  I think I’d like to pick up the training again in the fall and go for a half marathon here in Austin in January/February, but my body is definitely going to need a break.

5.  Week 7 was sorta rough, but this week I had my head back into it.  I’m glad, because if I had another crappy week where I was just tired all the time and had to drag my butt off the couch to work out kicking and screaming every day, I dunno if I would have continued.  Ok, I would have, because I’m stubborn like that, but I would have been miserable.  I’m glad last week came a little easier – on Monday’s run I actually even pushed myself harder than I planned, just because I felt so good.  That’s a sign that things are thumbs up.

This week is getting both a great (already did my long run!) and rough (stayed up way, way too late having way, way too much fun yesterday and now I am EXHAUSTED and not really in the position to take the day off) start, so we shall see which way the wind blows…

If you’ve been following me here this shouldn’t be any surprise, but for the rest of you and for my posterity, here is how last week went.  It was a super short week due to the Vegasing.

Wednesday: 50 mins DDR and yoga

Check and check.  Man, this was even rough.  I think standing and walking is more tiring than running.  Or it could be the partying until sunrise.  No, can’t be that.  Must be the standing and walking

Thursday: 4.5  mile run and weights at the gym

Check and check.  Was a nice outside run in the morning though I DID NOT WANT to get up AT ALL EVER after being on vacation but I did it and I didn’t die.  I think the gym is getting busier because it seems harder to get on the weight machines I want, even on a Thursday.

Friday: 9 mile run

Almost check.  I mapped out my run AFTER and found out it was only 8.75.  Oops.  Close enough, right?  I tried the sport beans this time and they were my absolute favorite.  I also strapped on my camelback and after tying down the front, it was fairly non-annoying.  And it was totally worth it – I drank the whole thing on the run.  I also felt, though I was indeed tired, after about mile 7 I could have just kept plodding along for a few more (but probably would have just wanted to go die instead of going to work), so this bodes well for actually reaching the distance.

Vacation: Bike adventure or other activity

Total uncheck.  Friday’s run and subsequent partying until dawn (Again? Why?  What am I thinking?) wiiiiiped me out.  Saturday we sat around all day and then had evening plans, and Sunday we had errands and chores and had to fit in Star Trek somewhere, and then it was dark.  It’s probably for the best I didn’t push myself (I was also feeling almost like I was coming down with something Sunday – feel better today though), but it makes me all the more motivated to have a bike adventure this coming weekend.

Total week 6 mileage (running):  13.25 (plus a ton of walking)

I’d be disappointed with that, but I did it in 2 days.  That’s pretty bad ass, no?

Week 8 – back to normal.

Monday: Weights at home, 4.5 mile run

Tuesday: 40 min tempo run (5 mins jog, 30 mins tempo (try to beat my 8:20, 5 mins jog), yoga

Wednesday: yoga and 50 mins of DDR

Thursday: 4.5 mile run and weights at the gym

Friday: 10 mile run (holy crap – double digit run!)

Weekend: Rest and planning on a bike trail ride on Sunday.  Zliten is going to scope it out this week.  If it’s way too epic, maybe just another ride somewhere out there for lunch.

Things I learned last week:

1.  I think as long as I make it to mile 8 in the half without pushing too hard, I think I’ll be fine.  At 9 miles I felt like I could keep going.  I felt like I would be pretty wasted afterwards (not like I wasn’t, but I was able to function and attend a full day of work without a rest).  I think I’m going to run this 10, and if I can do it, actually put down the money and book the hotel and really do this puppy.  No, I haven’t done it yet.  Yes, that makes me a wuss or something.

2.  I’m going to try to keep up the strength training at it’s current level this week.  I am definitely not getting stronger (weight training-wise), and I want to stave off getting weaker.  I’m just not sure next week when short runs are 5 miles that I’ll be able to keep up with 2 full body sessions a week.  I’ve also considered shortening one short run.  Any advice?  Would you cut down to the equivalent of 1 – 1.5 full body sessions per week of weights in favor of running or keep the sessions and run a little less one day?  I think the smart thing would probably be cut the weights a bit since I’m training for running, but…I dunno.  I have a week to decide anyway.

3.  I think part of the success on the long run last week was the camelback.   Seriously – water anytime you want without carrying a bottle?  Awesome!  I think that the sport beans worked well with it – munch a bean, sip some water, munch a bean, sip some water.  I think for racing, since I won’t have the camelback, I might stick to the moons because they were easier to get down fast right before a water stop.   The gel kinda upset my stomach (I think it was just so much sugar ALLATONCE) so I think I’m going to stay away from it.  For those of you out there who have run the distance, how many munchies did you bring?  I’m considering bringing 2 (one at 45 mins, one at 1:30) but is that excessive?

4.  I also tried listening to podcasts instead of music and strangely enough it was good to lose myself in the babble.  I’m surprised I didn’t miss the beat of the music at all.  Fast runs, I don’t think it would work.  Long/mellow runs?  Super.

5.  I’m not quite sure what was with the grumps/introspection/etc last week but I think I’m out of it.  I had a bit more rest this weekend than I would have liked (I really wanted to bike/skate/walk/something), but I think it paid off because I feel rested, confident, and ready to tackle this week instead of fearful of the sheer amount of activity I was going to ask my body to do.  I was afraid this was going to be like the pushup challenge – I was so excited about it but then I hit week 6 and I could only do 45 – so I stopped doing it because it was taking up a lot of my workout time.  I can still do about 40, but I really wanted to say I could do 100 pushups.  At least this time, I’m about 3/4 there already with a month left to go and can actually visualize myself completing this.

I hope these aren’t getting tedious.  I just want to have a record of this to look back on!  Later this week, I’ll have more varied fare, I promise!

If you’ve been following me here this shouldn’t be any surprise, but for the rest of you and for my posterity, here is how last week went.  Since this is all P4DoV (pre-4 days of Vegas), I’m just going to list most of the workouts as complete, I don’t *really* remember what I was thinking and feeling last Monday.

Monday: 4 mile run and weights at the gym

Check and check.

Tuesday: 40 minute tempo run and yoga

Check and check.  Though I fail miserably at running true tempos (all one pace), I did push myself pretty hard and clocked the tempo part around a 8:20 pace.  I do remember not being into this run AT ALL until about 10 mins before cooldown though.  Bad, bad.

Wednesday: DDR and yoga

Check and check.

Thursday: 4 mile run and weights at home

Half check and check.  My body just needed sleep that morning so I slept instead of running (hence the “I slept in and blah blah” post last week).  Then, I was going to make it up as a really really long warmup before my weights session, but I felt the tired coming on around the end of mile 2 and just stopped there.  I didn’t want to really kill myself within about 14 hours of the long run.

Friday: 8 mile run

Check.  I was actually about 3 mins late to work.  Oops.  Must get up earlier.  Oddly enough – about mile 4 to 7 was totally rough, but I started getting my second wind around 7.  I’m hoping this bodes well for the next one.

Vacation: No running, lots of walking/swimming

Check.  Walked at least 10 miles total, swam for about an hour, didn’t even bring the running shoes.  I did enough activity that I still feel pretty sore though (however if I had to choose between standing for an hour and running for an hour – standing would make me more sore)!

Total week 6 mileage (running):  18.5 (plus a ton of walking)

Week 7 – not a normal week, but a week it is.

Wednesday: yoga and 50 mins of DDR

Thursday: 4.5 mile run and weights at the gym

Friday: 9 mile run

Weekend: Rest and bike riding somewhere.  Not going to try to make up all the missed training, but want to do *something*

Things I learned last week:

1.  Vacations are never restful.  On the mind, usually, yes.  On the body – never.  I don’t think I’ve ever come back from a vacation raring to go the next day.  I don’t know why I thought this would be different, but I was hoping.  I already knocked off one run I was going to do this weekend, and considering how I feel right now and how HARD it was for me to get outta bed this morning, I’m hoping I can make it through the 3 days I have planned.

If I had my perfect world, I would NOT have scheduled a vacation in the 3 months while trying to train for a half.  I need to get my head back into what I’m doing, and ignore the fact that I work out way more than normal people and that I shouldn’t feel entitled to slack because of it.  I also have to remember that I *eat* more than a regular human female of my size who doesn’t train like I do, so if I lower the activity, I need to start watching myself instead of devouring 2 bowls of soup and a whole chicken and a half worth of breasts at the dinner show.

2.  8 miles is much different than 7, but I got through it.  Hopefully, 9 miles will be just about like 8.  If it’s much more difficult, I’m going to have a hard time upping my mileage like this every week.  Until I have another longer-than-7 mile run under my belt, I can’t be sure if I just had a crappy run last week or pushing myself this far this fast is too much for me.

3.  Just so everything in here isn’t all about me being tired and having rough runs – I’m starting to have a feeling that 150 lbs might be my happy weight for a while.   Planning on posting more about that later though.

4.  Once I’m done with this, I really need to work on tempo runs.  Maybe start the week running the distance slow enough that I am FOR SURE going to be able to keep one pace and then keep upping it until it’s a challenge, but do-able.  Running one pace and slow just BORES me though, especially on a treaddy.  However, it seems like an important skill to have for a runner.  Maybe?

5.  Anyone start feeling intimidated by the sheer number of time you have to put in to log the miles you need to run/increase in the last half of training the first time you did a half or a marathon?  I’m just looking at the training schedule coming up and when I don’t see any days under 4.5 miles (and then none under 5 miles in 2 weeks)…oy.  I’m thinking next week is when I’m going to have to make some modifications.  First thing to go is one strength session a week – I’ll split a full body workout into 2 half body workouts so it goes from 45-60 minutes to 20-30 mins.  Then, I’ll start counting any bike riding I do on the weekends against my Wednesday cross training day.  Yoga will be non-negotiable.

A little gloomy?  Mebbe.  I’m sure it will pass by the time I get a run or 2 under my belt this week.  What’s going on out there in internet land?  Any sunshine for me?

If you’ve been following me here this shouldn’t be any surprise, but for the rest of you and for my posterity, here is how last week went:

Monday: 4 mile run and weights at the gym

Check, and check.   Run was good, I’m really liking the morning run.  Weights at the gym SUCKED, I had a headache and it just kept getting worse, plus the gym was so crowded I had to stalk each machine I wanted.  However, I got through it, and I don’t regret pushing through.

Tuesday: yoga and 7×400 track sprints (walk/jog to the track, run 1 lap at a little under 5k pace, jog one lap, repeat 6 more times, then jog/walk home)

Check and not check (right away at least).   This afternoon – happy hour happened.  I skipped my run.  But – I made up for it and did it on Saturday morning so it wasn’t slacking per se, just rescheduling!

Wednesday: DDR and yoga

Check and check.  Was feeling a little rough from the night before, but I got through it.

Thursday: 4 mile run and weights at home

Check and check.  Zliten joined me for both of these!  Poor guy says he’ s still sore from my weights workout.  I told him he didn’t HAVE to keep up with me, but did he listen? Noooo…

Friday: 7 mile run

Check.  I was almost late to work because I got out a bit late, but I did it.  Longest run ever.  First time eating during a run (I probably didn’t have to until I got to the 8 miler, but wanted to practice early).  Luna watermelon moons are yummy!  Believe it or not though, it took some coordination to eat and run.  And I really wanted some water after.  I’m definitely packing the camelback this week.

Saturday: Rest!

Not Check, but on purpose.  I had to make up the intervals from Tuesday and it was actually pretty nice to do them on a weekend morning, watching the kiddies play soccer.  Since we didn’t do an epic ride this week, it was also good to have some activity over the weekend.  I don’t comprehend 2 days of butt-sitting anymore.

Sunday: Rest.

Check.  After derby day festivities, I enjoyed doing a whole lot of nothing.

Total week 4 mileage (running):  19 (plus about a mile of walking)

Week 6 already?  After this week, I’m halfway there?  Crazy…

Monday: 4 mile run and weights at home

Tuesday: yoga and 40 minute tempo run (ouch – that’s 30 mins straight at a breakneck pace)

Wednesday: yoga and 40 mins of DDR

Thursday: 4 mile run and weights at the gym

Friday: 8 mile run

Weekend: Vegas, baby!  Regular training will resume next Wednesday. 🙂

Things I learned last week:

1.  It helps put into perspective how entirely crazy you are when you watch someone else try to rock your workout with you.  Running 4 miles in the morning and doing my weight workout at night is just another Monday or Thursday to me, but seeing Zliten try to get through it opens my eyes how crazy I am – and how much I’ve progressed in the last few years!  Hopefully he will keep at it and be totally crazy with me!

2.  I really missed biking this weekend.  I guess I’m just used to the level of activity I’m getting.  I felt almost a little lazy ONLY doing my running training.

3.  Eating and running takes coordination!  It took me about a mile total to eat the package of moons because I had to get it out of the package, chew it thoroughly and slowly, and swallow it carefully while still breathing properly.  Also – still trying to figure out what to do with them.  In the bra felt funny, in the pants was slipping, so I just held it in my hands but that was annoying.  Maybe I need to designate one outfit my long run outfit and sew a little pocket somewhere?

4.  I am definitely feeling a change this last week in difficulty.  This is hard stuff!  I’m almost up to 20 mile weeks, which is about double what I was running before I started this.  Next week is going to start being really rough though – everything jumps up a little bit and I don’t have any really easy days anymore.  I’m feeling a little intimidated by what the plan has me doing over the next few weeks, but all I can do is get out there and put one foot in front of the other and see how far I can go.  I think I have it in me.

5.  I went into this process really concerned about doing exactly what training I was supposed to do on the proper day.  I’ve gotten a bit lacksidasical about it.  I hope that ends up being ok – though I’m pretty sure as long as I make sure to keep increasing my distance on the long run each week and accumulate some mileage other than that I’ll be fine.

What’s everyone else’s plan for the week?