Training & O/B

This morning, our assignment was out & backs. I know I've explained these before, but now that I've experience several times, including twice this week, I'd like to expand.

First - let me remind you what they are -

Out & Backs - "the objective is to control your pace on the way out and then return 2-5"/minute faster on the way back. i.e. if you ran out for 2', then your return trip shouldn't be faster than 1:50. If so, then run out harder on the next set. The recovery is 60". "




Our first week, the time frame was 2 minutes, second week was 3 minutes, today was 4 minutes. 




Here is a picture of me doing 2 minute out & backs

Wiki

Here is a picture of me doing 3 minute out & backs

source, I'm on the left

Me doing 4 minute out & backs

source

The thing is, I can do anything for 2 minutes. I can keep up with the best of them for 2 minutes. Surprisingly, I did okay on the 2 minute out & backs, even though they were 4 minutes total because I did a pretty good job of pushing myself/pacing myself to come back quickly. 

Fast forward to an 8 full minutes of essentially running at a faster pace, I struggled. In addition to the challenge of that, I had to figure out how to adjust my pace to go up hill. Our out was up hill, and our back was downhill. The difference between your out and back can't be more than 5-10 seconds per minute out so it's not like I could just chill going out and kill it on the hill coming back. No - I had to actually push hard up the hill, but not too hard that I pooped out before the top of the hill and not too hard that I couldn't punch it coming back so that I would beat the 4 minutes. AAAGUUUUGHHUAHGUAHKLHAUHRJEDFUAHG

But I will say that if this doesn't make me faster, nothing will! 

Have you ever done out & backs? 

Do you like tempo/speed work?

Workouts & a Bonfire

Last weeks workouts were this -

workout 1
5 x 45 strides
4 x 1/4 repeats at mile TT minus 5 seconds

workout 2
4 x 3' out & backs

workout 3
40-60' alternate 1 mile easy, with 1 mile sub 5k goal 2-3x


I was supposed to run tuesday, thursday and saturday. But I got messed up so I got workout 1 done on thursday and that was it. Yeah, not great. So yesterday, I did workout #2 and today started on this weeks' workouts which are

workout 1
5 x 45 strides
4 x 1/4 repeats at mile TT minus 5
I did this workout this morning


workout 2
3 x 4' out & backs
I will do this thursday


workout 3
easy 30-40' run
I will actually be doing the Greenville Mud Run


I will work in workout #3 from last week into wednesday of this week probably & will be caught up :)

This morning's run felt so so so good! It was hard, but it was good.

This weekend, we had a bonfire and made smores, yum!!

that's me making smores and my husband doing something, I don't know. 

the photo was taken with a phone camera, so not as pretty

I also made a lemon cake this weekend from a recipe I found on Pinterest

it was a recipe courtesy of Martha Stewart via Marsha McComas

And finally on Sunday, I got to relax and read my new book!

I probably should've been working on workout #3, but oh well!

How was your weekend? 

Did you do anything fun for Easter? 

Namaste y'all!

Stoix Training - day I don't know

Total Mileage - 3.4 miles
Total Time - 45 minutes (I think, I don't have my garmin)

Warm up - .75 miles at a 10:30 pace
6 sets of out & backs
Cool down - walk .25 miles

I actually READ THE INSTRUCTIONS for my workout today and I think I actually did it right. Another thing that's kind of funny about it, I started out real slow because today was my "taking it easy since I have to race saturday" day. What happened, I ended up doing it the way I was supposed to.

The first 3 sets, I started off slower than I thought which was around a 9:30-9:45 pace. I was returning at around a 9:15 pace. By the last 3 sets, I was running out around a 9:15-9:30 pace and returning at around a 8:45 pace. Let me explain -

Out & Backs - "the objective is to control your pace on the way out and then return 2-5"/minute faster on the way back. i.e. if you ran out for 2', then your return trip shouldn't be faster than 1:50. If so, then run out harder on the next set. The recovery is 60". "

Each set should get further like when we perform strides/repeats. So I should be negative splitting all the time. And I actually did it today. The last set, I was done. I didn't want to do anymore. So that's mean I did it right! Yay!


My other issue for this weekend - 


I am doing the Cooper River Bridge Run. I have not been training for a 10k distance. My longest run since my last half marathon (at my own pace) has been 3 miles. So, what to do. Should I attempt to run the whole thing or should I split it up into a run/walk?

THE DREADED WALK/RUN


If I walk, then I'm not a runner
Only casual runners walk
blah blah blah


I hear this so many times but I will say some of my PR's have come from a walk./run. To quote Jeff Milliman:

"Why do walk breaks work? 

By using muscles in different ways from the beginning, your legs keep their bounce as they conserve resources. When a muscle group, such as your calf, is used continuously step by step, it fatigues relatively soon. The weak areas get overused and force you to slow down later or scream at you in pain afterward. By shifting back and forth between walking and running muscles, you distribute the workload among a variety of muscles, increasing your overall performance capacity. For veteran marathoners, this is often the difference between achieving a time goal or not.

Walk breaks will significantly speed up recovery because there is less damage to repair. The early walk breaks erase fatigue, and the later walk breaks will reduce or eliminate overuse muscle breakdown."

Last year, when I ran this race, I ran the whole time at just under a 10 minute pace BUT I had been half marathon training, so my long runs were typically longer than 5-6 miles. This year, I'm not in that same shape, so I'm thinking walk/run. I think my ratio will be run 3 minutes/walk 30 seconds. I can always adjust during the race. 

So I'll report back on Monday and let everyone know how it went. My ideal time would be under 60 minutes but since i haven't been training for it, I can't get that upset if I don't hit it. In my mind though - we're going 59:59. 

What would you do in this situation? 

Namaste, y'all!

Health Activist Writer's Month

Workout for yesterday -
Run
Total Time - 46 minutes

The workout was to run for 30-40 minutes with 1 mile at goal 5k pace. My goal 5k pace is 9:40.

Mile 1 - 10:30
Mile 2 - 9:39 (success)
Mile 3 - 11:13 (not success)
Cool Down walk with the hubby - .68 miles, 15 minutes
I was torn up after that fast mile, so the last mile was a disaster! I will mention that I live in the hilliest part of Greenville (at least I think so). 




Workout for Today
Run
Total Time - 44 minutes

Warm up drills
4 minute warm up job
5 sets of 45 strides (30 second repeats)
5 sets of 90 strides (60 second repeats)
5 sets of 45 strides (30 second repeats)

Total Mileage - 3.08 miles

I just let the watch run continuously and hit lap for every repeat

I just signed up to do a challenge with Wego health. It'll be interesting to see what exactly it is, but basically, they send you a topic to discus every day for 30 days. If you're interested, here is the link -

Health Activist Writer's Challenge

I can't wait!!

Namaste Y'all!

Workout Day 2 - Stoix 8 Week Training

Temp - 63 and humid as all get out

Total miles - 3.06
Total Workout Time - 42 minutes (approximately)

Tempo Work -
Warm up - .75 miles at 10:30 pace
5 sets of 2:00 minute out and backs
Cool down - .50 mile walk

Lesson #1 - READ THE TRAINING PLAN
especially when you pay for it


I'm so used to just doing repeats, I thought - oh we're doing 2 minute repeats which is not what we were doing. Holly describes the out & back as:

"The objective is to control your pace on the way out and then return 2-5 seconds faster on the way back"

So if we ran out 2 minutes, then we should be back in around 1:50-1:55.
 I just figured out another mistake too because it says your return trip shouldn't be faster than 1:50 and OF COURSE, 3 of the 5 of mine were faster. I am really bad at reading instructions. Then it also says the recovery interval is 60 seconds and we took 120 seconds. 


SO - now that I have actually READ THE INSTRUCTIONS - maybe next time, I'll do them right. awesome.

Either way, at least I now know. I know this, I was straight up tired by the end.

Lap 1 - returned 1:50 - so I actually did that one right
Lap 2  - returned back in 1:47
Lap 3 - returned back in 1:48
Lap 4 - forgot we started later and stopped running at 1:30 so I returned in 1:11 but I don't what in the world
Lap 5 - returned in 1:49

So based on what I know now, today's workout was a disaster, but now I know.

Namaste y'all!

Workout - Day 1 of 8 week Stoix Training

Location - Downtown Starbucks

Total miles - 2.42

Total time - 27:42

Warm up - 4 minutes

Mile TT - 8:49

5 sets of 45 strides

Cool down - .25 mile

I'm going to start logging my workouts here so I can come back to review if I need to. I'm on daily mile, but it's sometimes hard to be as specific. 

New Training Program

If you've been reading my blog over the past 4-5 months, you know how much I've been complaining about running and how burnt out I was and how I'm not doing any endurance training, etc etc etc. Well, one of the things I've been thinking about doing is just focusing on increasing my speed and specifically shortening my times for the 5k and 10k distance. Now - I actually have a plan. Well, I don't, Holly Di Giovine does.

I stole from her facebook page for Holly PT Training

She's basically designing me a 10k training program for me which, I'm thinking, will consist of speed work, interval work and long distance on the weekends (which long distance will be focused for 10k - I'm sticking with no long runs for a while). 

My training will also include 1 boot camp with Holly per week, a strength training session on my own (courtesy for the one and only moi), and 2-3 yoga classes per week. The other thing I will try to incorporate, not because I just want more cardio, but because I enjoy it so much, is riding my bike. 

This weekend, I rode with my friend, Elisa, and let me tell you. I. STRAIGHT UP. LOVE. MY. BIKE. 

I don't have a picture of me on my bike, so I thought I'd throw in a pic of me on a moped - same thing, right? 

One of my friends was like, you know you can take that helmet off & i was like, eh, whatevs. 




So.. I got off topic a bit, but back to training.


I am excited that I have a plan so I'm going to try very hard to be a little bit more consistent. What happens is I don't like going to bed early, then I have a hard time getting up in the morning, then I think I can do the workout at night, then I don't want to work out at night, then I get a day behind and so on and so forth. Now, I'm going to forced a little to follow a plan and maybe I'll be better about keeping schedule.

My overall goal for 2012 will be to reduce my 5k time by a minute 3 minutes. With a trip to Africa in the middle of August, that may change a bit, but we'll see.

I know this. I will not be training for a half marathon for a while. I was riding on sunday and I saw a couple of runners just pounding the pavement and I thought, I am so grateful that I'm not out here banging out miles. Thank you Lord for some clarity!

Are you training for anything? 

The Allure of 13.1

Half marathons are the new black. They are super popular. And I know why, they are fun. It's challenging enough for one to feel proud of oneself, BUT, it's not a marathon which takes a lot of time to train.

source

I've run 5 half marathons, 1 trail half marathon and 4 Rock'n'Rolls - 

My running story is this - 

In 2007, I had reached a point where I was completely unhappy with my body/myself. I had been trying to work out for several years but never really knew what to do or how to do it. I started doing Crossfit in late 2007 and did that for a couple of years. Then I met a runner. 

I officially started running in November of 2009. I ran my first half marathon in February of 2010. I ran my second half marathon in April of 2010. Then I ran 3 half marathons in 2011. I fell in love with the distance, but  

1) got burnt out on training and 

2) improved my times a little bit but never really got very fast

I was running in this group with people that had run multiple half and full marathons, so naturally, that's what I wanted to do as well. But I never really built a strong foundation of running 5ks and 10ks. So now that I've decided I'm not running a half marathon this year, I want to use this time to build a very strong base/foundation and build up some speed. I'm not a natural runner. I'm slow and I have to work hard to get to a speed that most people started out with. 

So my goal for 2011 is to speed up. I'd like to get a solid 5k time of under 28 minutes and be able to keep it there. I'd like my 10k time to be in the 50 minute time frame. Once I can do that consistently, then I will look at longer distances again. Those times aren't super amazing or anything, but I think if I can be fairly solid in those times, THEN, my half marathons will be more enjoyable. 

Since I ran a 5k in 33 minutes on saturday - yes I know, not my best, I have a long way to go :)

Tempo Tuesday

Ha - that is a funny name for Tuesday but it fits with my workout this morning. I will say that today, getting up at 5 am was REALLY REALLY REALLY tough. But I did it. I'm trying to be consistent and get to 5:30 am run workouts because they're with people which is fun, and I don't have to think, just do.


Warm up mile
200 m - 57 seconds 
200 m - 54 seconds 
400 m - 2:07 
400 m - 2:17 
400 m - 2:14 
400 m - 2:11 
200 m - 54 seconds
200 m - 47 seconds

Cool down mile 

Total Distance: 3.5 miles

It was cold this morning and I have this weird thing where my body gets hot and sweats, but my hands freeze the whole time. In Vegas, my hands got so cold that I couldn't move my fingers, so I had to put my long sleeve shirt back on so that I could cover my wrists, but my body was still hot. I had to borrow mom's gloves so I could wear a t shirt, but still have some protection for my hands. The temperature also drops as the sun rises, so the comfortable 40 degree temp went to mid 30's while we were still out there and my little handsy's got cold :(

But anywhos, it feels good to be back on track. 2 days in a row of working out - BAM

I feel like I also need to add something about the lingo here. I know that most people view a tempo run as running for a short distance at a faster pace, so I guess I should say these are most like intervals. But what happens is depending on your pace, the distance you're repeating varies. So Holly had a group of people doing "mile repeats" which essentially was more like a tempo run. If you want to learn more about it, go to The Stoix website. 

I so slow

Today was my first day back to running after my sickness after my first week back to running after a 2 month break. I've gained a little bit of weight, which is okay, but that coupled with the sickness and the lack of running, I slow. I so slow.

But that's ok because it felt good to get out there and run.

Today's workout -

Warm up mile - I actually didn't end up doing the full mile because I was late because I couldn't find the running pants I really wanted to wear, and I took a new way so the group started running and I caught up with them and got probably half a mile


6 sets of 1/4 mile repeats - my goal was to stay around the 2:40 mark. My first one was 2:30 and then I pretty much stayed under 2:30, ending my 6th lap at 2:19. 


I tried a couple of different ways to speed up. One time, I did 25 strides and then a 15 second rest which resulted in a 2:20 time. One time, I ran 30 seconds fast, 30 seconds slow which resulted in 2:22. Then I did 25 strides fast, 25 strides slow which resulted in a 2:24. My last one, I just ran slow up the hill and ran fast down it which is where I got the 2:19.

*just a reference point - I was running a 1:47, 1:50 quarter mile repeat before - not blowing any doors off but a difference none the less*

The thing I noticed most was my lack of endurance/stamina. I was tired after 6 sets. So, obviously I have lots to build on.

Here is my pattern - I run, get faster, run get faster, run get faster then burn out and don't run for 2 months and get slow again. My goal for 2012 - DON'T BURN OUT.

How do I plan to meet that goal - I am NOT running a half marathon in 2012. I'm focusing only on 5k's and 10k's. That way, I never really have to bang out miles on the weekend and I can focus on getting faster. I think that will really help. I kind of just jumped into marathon running and never really worked on getting faster, hence the reason I'm not fast. So, this will be nice to just focus on speed work/tempo work and not having to do long runs.

And I raaaan, I ran so far away....

I wish I were creative enough to start each blog post with a song lyric. That makes it more fun, right??

Today's workout -

Repeats again!!!

1/2 mile warm up
4 x 30 second repeats
4 x 45 second repeats
4 x 60 second repeats
1/2 mile cool down

It was nice to get back out there with the group again. I really do enjoy running in the morning even though that actual getting up a 5 am kind of sucks.


Last night's workout

warm up -
3 rounds:

10 push ups
10 sit ups
10 jumping pull ups
10 squats

baseline test -

max reps:

sit ups in 2 minutes
push ups in 1 minute
burpees in 1 minute
50 SDHP with a 30 lb weight
400m

I thought it would be kind of easy but I thought, hey let's ease back in anyway, and it ended up being a pretty good workout!

I also made some cookies the other day with my new mixer and they were very good, so I ate those last night. And my home made soup again!!

It's also about time to start on my living room curtains, so I'll be talking to my mother in law about that. This is the style I'm going to do -

image source

I don't typically like curtains, but I got a really cute fabric, so I'm excited about making them. By this style, I mean, I like the simplicity of the style, not a lot of ruffley things at the top. I'll take a pic and show the fabric later. It's yellow, gray and lavender then I got yellow chevron style fabric for a pillow and another gray and lavender style for the other pillow!!! 

Thanks for reading Random Thursday! 

Repeats, Daily Yoga Challenge, and getting up at 5:00 am

Morning workout - 30 second repeats

half mile warm up
1 mile run
20 minutes of 30 second repeats
10 minutes of doing something I can't really explain
half mile cool down

____________________________________________

It was good getting back into some running and it was nice to not have to plan it or follow a plan. I do like running in the morning so much more because it doesn't really register what I'm doing and I can run a bit faster. Getting up at 4:55 am is tough. I can't do it on my own, I have to have a plan to meet someone because otherwise, I'll just be like, eh, I'll do it later. But then later sucks, so I wish I would just do it anyway. That is my dilemma. 

I actually have no idea how far I ran, but I listed 3 mile on daily mile because I think that's probably about right. I ran 523 miles last year!!! I don't think I'll run that much this year, but I'd like to just get faster. I'm focusing on short distances, 10k is the longest race I will do, and I'm focusing on getting faster. That is my goal. I do not know how much faster, but that's what I'm doing. I'm also focusing on just liking running again and not necessarily following a regimented plan. 

______________________________________________

Yoga Journal is doing a 21 day yoga challenge. They send an email every day and it has a yoga video, usually about 15 minutes, a meditation and a recipe for a vegetarian meal. I have not done today's video yet, I'll do that at lunch. 

If you want to sign up, go to 21 day challenge

Yesterday's video was pretty basic but it was nice just to focus on breath with movement 

I'll report back on how it goes each day

I FINALLY RAN

As most of you know, I haven't been running or really doing anything other than yoga for the past 6 weeks. It's been difficult for me to get started because I have been too tired to get up early, busy at lunch and unmotivated at night. Yes, I did just run a half marathon, and got my worst time ever so motivation has been an issue.

Last night, I got home and again didnt' want to run. I thought, I'm just going to run a mile. That is it. I made my husband go. So, we warmed up for 5 minutes, ran for 10 minutes and cooled down for 5. That's all I did but I was excited to actually go out and do something. Tonight, I'm doing yoga because my right ankle hurts and I think it's leftover from the half and instead of creating a new nagging injury, I'm just going to ease back into it. Tomorrow, I might got for 2 - woo hoo

I don't have any specific goals right now other than to just move every day. If I can get into the habit of that, I think I'll be okay. The other thing is that my movement is going to be whatever I want it to be. If I only want to run 1 mile, that's what I'm doing. If I want to do a nike training club workout, I'll do that. If I want to do zumba, I'll do that. But I'm not going to follow any plan or force myself to do anything I don't want to for now. I think that was the problem I had this past time is that I was just SO FRIGGIN TIRED OF FOLLOWING A PLAN. And also, when every run has to be 7-8 miles or longer, it gets old when you've got a bunch of other stuff going on.

I was going to do the Half Marathon resolution run in January, but i'm downgrading to the 5k. I'm also not doing the Greer Earth day but am doing the RnR nashville, a race I said I wouldn't do again. Oh well. I change my mind a lot.

_____________________________________________________________

You know what I really want - 

this - 

image source

I want orange, of course. Or Green or like a light blueish color. 

I could bake so much more if I had a daggum electric mixer. Like a stand mixer, not a hand mixer. 

Tonight, I'm going to try a recipe from 

It's mesquite chocolate chip cookies and hopefully they'll turn out okay. I can't seem to find mesquite flour, so I'm going to try my regular whole wheat flour and add cayenne pepper. I'll report back tomorrow with some pics. 

Lunes, Lunedi, Lundi, Montag

It's Monday!!! How different does German look from latin based languages? It's like, one of these things is not like the other. Anyways, today's post is going to be mainly focused on Race etiquette because 1) I still have yet to add my photos to my computer and 2) that's on my mind right now. A couple of things first -

1. Check out Tina's post about spandex and obesity. Let me know your thoughts, I'll probably post something about this later.

2. One of my yoga buddies, Peggy (who is so awesome), let me borrow a couple of vegan cookbooks. I'm not going vegan, but I'd like to try out some different recipes because there's a whole land of food out there that is different from the way I eat and I'd love to try all of them. So this morning, I made "Oatmeal Medley" from one of the books, of course I can't remember the title so I'll have to find it and give tell you about it.

Recipe -

2 cups of rolled oats
4 cups of water
1/2 cup coconut (it calls for unsweetened but of course, I accidentally bought the sweetened)
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
blueberries

Just cook all of the ingredients together on the stove for about 10 minutes. Add the blue berries and cook another 3 minutes.

It was delicious. I did add some honey which is not vegan, so whoopsy, but you get my drift. It was really really good and I kind of struggle with rolled oats, so I was pleasantly surprised about how delicious it was. I'll be discussing some other recipes on here as well. I also should've taken a picture.

obviously, this isn't my oatmeal and we'll just pretend that's what it looked like image source

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Now to our main topic, Race Etiquette. 

As I was running in Las Vegas, I saw a number of things that could have happened to make the race much more enjoyable for everyone involved. I was not upset because honestly, how do you know what to do if you've never raced before. And even if you have, if it's never been explained to you, then again, are you just supposed to use psychic powers? So I'm hoping this post will come across as something more helpful vs bitchy because I mean it all in a nice way. 

1. Choosing a Corral 

If you're in a race that's actually big enough to have corrals, i.e. any RnR race, you have the option of choosing where you start. This may not seem like a big deal, but actually, it's huge in making sure that you are comfortable as well as others around you. And this goes to runners at all paces. Here are the issues if you sign up for the wrong corral - 

You are rushing past every one in the first 3-5 miles. If you're in mile 5, and you're still running past everyone and weaving in and out of traffic, you signed up for the wrong corral. If you're in mile 5 and people are rushing past you still, you're in the wrong corral. If you're a 8 minute mile runner, please don't sign up for the 2:15 finish. You're going to be rude and weave in and out of everyone because you signed up to slow. If you're an 11:00 mile runner, please don't sign up for the 1:45 finish. And lastly, if you sign up for the pace you actually are, then start in your corral. If you get there and realize that your friend is in a different corral than you, you either need to run at the pace of your friend or not run together. 

2. How to pass

Honestly, I'm not sure the rule for passing. The one thing I do know is that if you need to walk, then typically, you should be on the outside edge of the road so that you are not prohibiting people that are continuing at their same pace. So my assumption is that faster runners stay towards the middle. One thing that gets my goat is when people do a walk/run ratio and they walk in the middle. No, you need to go to the side and walk, out of the way of others. So the other side of that is this, if you are a faster runner - especially if you've signed up for the wrong corral - whizzing by slower people on the outside. It ends up being a cluster when it really could be a lot more organized if we all followed the same rules. 

3. Finish Line

Once you cross the finish line, keep moving. Move out of the way until you get to an open spot. The fact that people got trampled at the RnR Vegas is so absurd to me because most of the hold up was that people were stopped in the road talking to other runners. One thing I will say, RnR typically has you take a pic with your medal after the race so that slowed the process way down. They need to fix that. But after I passed through the picture taking part (I went around the outside because I didn't want one) and people were still just standing there. I can see how people get frustrated but to get crazy and start trampling people, that seems a little wild. I guess people just felt trapped. I know that when I was walking through Mandalay Bay, I was feeling a little overwhelmed by the crowd. 

4. Extras

This is a little bit of common sense, but don't push people out of the way. When I was running, someone pushed me out of the way. Not Appropriate. 

Listen, I get that we're all competitive and we're trying to beat our times and all of that but people and how you treat them are more important than your time. Take a step back and look at the bigger picture. Why are you running this race? It's an extra curricular activity unless you're an Olympic runner and if that's the case, you're not running in corral 18, so let's get real. Sometimes, as runners, I feel like we get a little caught up in our time and lose sight of the fast that this is for our health and it doesn't matter at the end of the day. If you don't PR, you're not going to die. So, please be nice to others, stay calm and remember this is all temporary. You'll run a different race, you'll have a better time at some point, you'll get out of the crowd, you'll get your race t shirt and your medal, just chill. It would be a good time to practice deep breathing and meditation. :)

Back to training - vegas edition

So according to my plan yesterday, I was supposed to do yoga and swim last night. That didn't happen because I had to meet the oil man about filling our oil tank with sand, and it was an ordeal and a long story. So, that being said, today was the day to get back to running.

The lake near work where I run - the pic just doesn't do it justice

Today my plan was to run 1/4 mile repeats at a 10k pace with 2 minute recovery in between. Total mileage was around 3.2 miles 

A couple of things -

*When I first started and actually, even before I went out there, I did NOT want to run and really, was just purely going because I am committed to a race. My SI joint/lower back was hurting so I was worried about that plus, I've just had a hard time getting motivated lately. 

*I normally run without music but since I've been lacking motivation, I thought today I would try something different. Music was awesome and I'm glad I did that. I think I might need to use it for a while to get back into it. Maybe that's why I've been so uninspired lately, I don't know. 

*I forgot my garmin so I decided to use Runkeeper on my phone. I liked it because it talked to me while I was running 

The thing I discovered is that it felt good to run and once I got moving, the pain my hip went away. Maybe that was just a pain from not running? The music felt really good and made me enjoy what i was doing, especially the last song, so I'm going to use that for a while. I was using running at meditation time but since I've been meditating 15 minutes in the morning, I'll give myself a break and enjoy what I'm doing. Lastly, running at a 10k pace for 2 minutes was hard. I wanted to run much much faster. I typically do quarter mile repeats at an 8 min/mile pace but honestly, my 10k pace is probably more 9:30-9:45/mile. I haven't run a 10k in a while, but I am probably pretty close. So to force myself to run at a 9:00 pace for 2 minutes was hard. I definitely wanted to run closer to 8 and had to constantly look at my phone and slow down. I've just trained myself to run full speed for short intervals. 

I had on pants today that I don't like to run in but only had "yoga" clothes so it was hot, but other than that, it was a good run. 

The thing I was thinking about today as I was running was how am I going to tackle Vegas. I can't decide if I want to run a 4/1 or if I want to do an 8/2. I guess I'll do my long run next week at an 8/2 and see how it feels. I still am not thinking I'll PR, but I just want to enjoy the race and feel good. We'll see. 

Next Race and Fundraising Goal

Hello to my new followers! I'm so excited to have you and hope I can entertain you even 1/3 as much as SkinnyRunner. If you haven't been reading or are new, I was planning on running the full marathon this weekend (would've been my first), but didn't realize how time consuming it would be. Since I'm moving in 3 weeks, it's football season, I've had 4 weddings and yoga teacher training, I had to realize my scheduling error and adjust accordingly. So, with all that being said - here is my racing schedule for the next 3 months :

1. Rock'n'Roll Savannah - November 5th 

I'm super excited about this race because I LOVE the RnR series. I've done Nashville and New Orleans and they were so fun. I'm wondering about the music because Nashville was country/southern rock, New Orleans was blues inspired... what does Savannah offer musically? I'm not sure. But it's still going to be awesome. Savannah is beautiful and running through the historic district is going to be awesome. I'm also running this half with my mom for her first, so that's going to be cool too. And my grandma is tagging along to cheer her on. So fun!

2. Rock'n'Roll Las Vegas - December 4th

Can you tell I like the RnR series? This is a night race on the strip. Can it get any better than that? No. I don't think so. I want to dress up like Elvis but am not super creative, so probably won't. 

3. Resolution Half Marathon, Greenville, SC - January 7th

Race Website

There was not really a pic to go along with it. I don't know if it'll be as exciting as the first two, but I need to do a better job of supporting local races. So I'm doing that. 

Lastly, my trip is officially set for Rwanda. I am going to be volunteering in an orphanage and will start August 1st. The trip is expensive, so I've always been planning to fundraise. Originally, I was going to do a sprint triathlon but in order to save money, we're quitting the gym so I won't have a pool. What does that mean? Half Marathon. Since I'm trying to raise money for a very expensive trip (around $3,000), so I don't want to waste money by traveling to an expensive race. That's why I've decided to run the........


drum.....


roll.....

GREER EARTH DAY HALF MARATHON IN APRIL!!!

Earth Day Run

They don't have the 2012 date set yet, but I'm assuming it'll be around April 7th/April 8th. I've heard it's a fun race, it's pretty, it's cheap and it's close. I plan on training pretty hard for this one, so I'm hoping I can beat my previous half time of 2:17. I don't think I will beat it before then because I haven't been training as hard. So... 

That's it!! 

Ever run a local race? 

New Greenville peeps, ever run the Earth Day half?? 

This was my view coming into to work today

My phone doesn't do it justice but you can see the rolling hills and tree tops. When you come the other way, you see mountain tops and it's so pretty! It's not like out west where the mountains are huge, we call them foothills. But they are really pretty and I love seeing them every morning. Greenville is beautiful. 

It's Thursday and I haven't worked out at all this week. I am going to run at lunch today, so that'll be nice but I am missing working out. I'm trying to just get through each day without slamming full of activities so unfortunately, due to house hunting, I haven't been able to work out. I'm at the point right now where getting up early is not happening. I haven't gone at lunch since I've been trying to study at lunch for yoga and I've had something to do every night. 

I plan on running at lunch and then Sunday, I have a 12 mile run, last long run before my half. I'm running with mom and we've been running together so I know I can do the long runs. I just miss getting out there and running. Sunday, I have yoga teacher training, but in the afternoon, I plan on running an 8/1 ratio since I'll be by myself. I'm going to take it easy, try to run around a 10:00 minute/10:15 pace and hopefully, I'll just enjoy every moment of it. 

It's nice running in October because it's warm enough to wear short sleeves but cool enough to not be dying while you run, usually mid 60's. Such nice weather to run in !!

I also hope to find out about the house today. We're replacing the roof, so we're hoping that last little bit will be good enough for them. We'll see... 

Long run and shopping

So mom and I started our weekend off with a little 11 mile run. Because I absolutely despise waking up early on the weekend and because we were at a football game the day before, we decided to start running at 10 am. Savannah is flat and so we don't really have to train on hills so we decided to hit up the Swamp Rabbit Trail, which I know I've discussed before.

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Our goal today was 11 miles and mom wanted to start out with run 3 minute/walk 1 minute. The temperature was nice, low 60's, and it was overcast which was nice. The good news about the SRT is that it is mainly covered in trees, so even when the sun is in full force, it's not too bad. 

Mom mentioned that she was struggling a little bit for a couple of reasons - 

1. she has some hamstring issues. I don't know how to describe where the pain is because it's not really IT band, but not necessarily hamstring either. It's kind of on the side in the back. It gets really tight and she has to stop and stretch it a lot

2. Someone drank a little yesterday and that does not help you have a good run!! :)

this was saturday - mom's in the middle with the beer (I'm to the left beside my husband

this was us sunday - i kid, i kid

Anywhos.....

so we changed the walk/run ratio a little bit as we needed to and mom had her first really bad run. So as we're running, I'm giving her tips on what to do before a big race. Some of my suggestions - 

1. Eat right - processed carbs, lots of sugar and unbalanced meals do not make for a good long run. I try to eat like I normally do which includes lean protein, veggies and fruit. I also do eat come grains but typically they are gluten free or are as pure as possible. 

2. Drink lots of water - mom actually does this very well. She has one kidney (she gave the other one to my grandfather) so she has to drink a lot of water. Hydrated, she is. 

3. This is one that is very very important and people do not do. STRETCH. MASSAGE. KNEAD. My muscles can tighten up so easily and since I'm not rich, I don't get a massage once a week. Instead, I use these tools -

source

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to get the knots out and make sure my body is loose. That being said - you STILL need to 

4. Take yoga - in my opinion, this is non negotiable. Take yoga. Take a yoga class. Please, go to a yoga class and take it. There are certain things you just can't do on your own. Instead of just stretching out your tendons and getting tendinitis, go to yoga. 

Those things are super important if you want to have a good, long run. That's just based on experience. 

The second thing I did was buy some fall things to spice up my wardrobe -

NEW BOOTS

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yeah, and I only paid $57 - BAM

express - I got the white and black

express again

Yay for fall. I totally have on the bottom sweater and the boots. I just couldn't resist. And since it's a little below freezing in here, I'm dressed appropriately. Why do offices always have to be so friggin' cold? 

Key Training Run #4 - 120-150 minutes

Yesterday, my key training run was to run 120-150 minutes. I had no issues at 120 so I went for 150, of course. I always like to do the top number... and then some.

Here's how my weekend went:
*Went to Atlanta for a wedding Saturday
*Wore heels to the wedding and reception
*Danced in said heels all night long
*Rode back from Atlanta Sunday morning
*Ate Zaxby's on the ride home at lunch

So... at 5:30 pm when it was time to run for 150 minutes, I had not done a great job of preparing. I knew this run would be tough but also knew that I had to do it no matter what.

How it went - it was okay. The first part of the run was pretty good. I was running very slow, my ratio was run 3, walk 1 and I was averaging around an 11 minute mile. I wasn't sure what it would be like to run the whole time, so I wanted to take it easy. Around mile 6, I looked at my mileage and thought... wow... for me to have only run 6 miles, I am already hurting. Around mile 12, I was thinking, oh my gosh, my back, right leg, right hamstring, everything on the right side of my body hurts. This doesn't seem good. The last mile, I ran 1 minute, walked 1 minute and while I was in pain while walking, I actually felt strong while running. It was weird.

What I saw on my run -

They had aligned the Swamp Rabbit Trail with American Flags in honor of 9/11. I thought that was so cool!!!

The way the sun was setting over this field was really neat. I noticed on the way out and on the way back, really wanted to take a picture. 

The swamp rabbit trail is so pretty and fun to run on. I was nervous a couple of times because it was getting dark. I am usually never nervous, but for whatever reason, I felt a little on guard. I probably need to get some mace. But it was beautiful and peaceful and I enjoy running there, especially without music. 

What I took away from this run -

1. I'm glad I have 8 more weeks. I think I've got to buckle down and get serious now

2. I have to be more consistent in cross training

3. I am hoping that my legs hurt so badly because I had been dancing on them the night before. Otherwise, i'm in trouble

4. I got very nauseous around mile 8, another thing I am hoping is just a result from eating zaxby's and is not from Gu because Gu is the ONLY thing I can eat while running. considering I've done 2 half marathons with Gu and I was fine, I think it was the zaxby's. 

I think I'm also going to increase my distance during taper weeks because the schedule says if you can hold a consistent pace without injury, you can add up to 4 miles. I have been able to do so which means, I probably have the ability to add some miles. 

I'll blog about the wedding separately because it was so much fun!

Marathon Training Update

This week, I have run about 7 miles total.

Wednesday morning - 10 sets of 2 minute repeats with a 1 minute recovery. I was leading the Go Run and since everyone is a different pace, I found a loop that was about .37 miles. We just looped it as we did our 10 sets. We ended covering about 4 miles when you included the warm up mile and cool down half mile.

*The weather was much cooler, temp being in the 60's, so it felt nice to run. I really enjoyed it and I forgot my Garmin which for once, was kind of nice, because I wasn't worried about my pace. I just made sure that I was running hard.

This morning - mom and I ran together. We did a warm up mile. Then I had tummy issues. This is the 3rd morning I've gotten up and been ready to run and during the warm up mile, needed to, for lack of a better word, poop. So, we went back to my house and finished our training there. Today called for a ladder so we did our warm up mile, ran 30/60/90/120/90/60/30. Our run time = our rest time so we again, just did a loop. We finished with a cool down mile for a total mileage of about 3.5.


*One thing I've been nervous about is that my total weekly mileage isn't super high. It's usually 15-20 miles. But I'm just going to trust Holly on this and keep focused on what it says to do. I am supposed to run 150 minutes this weekend which I plan to do on Sunday. It's going to be hot but because of the wedding, it is what it is. I'm going to have to run in the afternoon. period.


I plan on loading up my camelback with water and food, heading on the swamp rabbit trail and just pounding the pavement. My run/walk ratio will be 3/1 because I've found i keep the same pace as my 4/1 but can go longer by reducing the run time by a minute. This will be my first run over 13.1 miles. It will be interesting.