Week Three Wrap-up

It meant to get this posted a few days ago, but time just got away from me. Anyway, I have finished my third week and I'm still moving along. I had my first "bad" run on Sunday. My dad came down and ran with me again. He took me on a super hilly course that I swear was up hill both ways. We got out at 7 AM, but it was already 80 degrees. By the time we got back at 8:30 AM it was 89 degrees. So in addition to the grueling hills, there was sweltering heat.

The first half of the run was better than the second even though it was mostly uphill. I kept thinking the second half would be great because it would be mostly downhill, but it didn't turn out that way. I survived though and went eight miles. I wasn't as fast as I was last week, but that was to be expected. Overall, given the situation, I guess the run wasn't that bad, it just felt like it at the time, and for a few hours afterward. I'm glad my dad was with me though, he definitely pushed me through the hard parts and made me keep running up those hills!

So here is the wrap-up of week 3:

Planned: 23 miles
Actual: 24.6 miles
Average Pace: 10:32
Calories burned: 3210

Once again I surpassed my planned miles. This week I want work on stretching and not feeling as stiff throughout the day. my legs feel tight all the time now. That is one downside of being a banker, I stand for eight hours a day so my legs don't really get to rest in between runs.

Weigh-in 6/25/09

Dude, I felt like that cat when I squished into my spandex this morning! Despite the feeling though, things did go in a good direction this past week. I had a great 4 miler today consisting of hill repeats. I noticed they felt easier than the last two weeks. I'm very proud of myself for sticking with the repeats. This is the first time I have consistently done them. Feels good! I'm still working on the Chi running. That is not coming as easily but I know it takes time and I am willing to work at it.

Here are the results of this week:

Weight: 165 (-1 lb)
Body fat: 33% (no change)
Waist: 31" (-.5")
Hips: 38" (no change)
Thigh: 25 " (no change)
Bust: 37.5" (+.5")
Arm: 12" (no change)

I'm please with the loss of 1lb and the loss of the 1/2" in my waist. Hopefully this next week will bring more losses!

Let the Music Move You

I had to drag myself out of bed this morning to run. All I wanted to do was sleep. I made the mistake of staying up really late a few nights ago and now it's catching up to me. I tried to think of an excuse to bail on my run, but alas, I had none. So I laced up my shoes, popped in my ear buds and took off for my 4 miler. I got out about 7:30 am and it was already hot. I fear the summer heat is upon us. The first week or so of heat always effects my runs and makes me fatigue much quicker. Once I get use to it though, I hardly seem to notice the increased temperature. Despite my lack of motivation, I persevered and was happy at my accomplishment.

That is one thing about running, it can sometimes get very boring which can cause ones motivation to wane. It's always a challenge to find new ways to be motivated. For me, music can be a great inspiration. When I start losing the desire to hit the pavement, I know it's time to change up my playlist. Sometimes I will just replenish my list with some songs I haven't heard in awhile and other times I will download new ones. My playlist has quite a mix on it. Everything from The Beatles to Marylin Manson. I'm always on a search for new songs. When I hear a song I think might work for my list my husband and I "test" it out, but pretending to run in place. It's actually pretty funny to watch us. Here are a few of my favorite running songs of all time:

"Only" - Nine Inch Nails
"Hung Up" - Madonna
"Beautiful Day"-U2
"We Will Rock You"- Queen
"Major Tom"-Shiny Toy Guns
"Hand that Feeds"-Nine Inch Nails
"Upside Down"-Jack Johnson
"Let's Get it Started"-Black Eyed Peas
"We're From America"-Marilyn Manson
"Big Wheel"-Tori Amos
"The Saints are Coming" -Greenday and U2
"Doesn't Remind Me"- Audioslave
"How Far We've Come"-Matchbox Twenty
"Toxic"-Britney Spears
"Eye of the Tiger"-Rocky Soundtrack (I forgot who sings this)
"Viva La Vida" - Coldplay
"Hot n Cold" - Katy Perry
"Discipline"-Nine Inch Nails
"The Great Unravel"-Gandolph Murphy and the Slambovian Circus of Dreams
"World Wide Suicide"- Pearl Jam
"Running Down a Dream"-Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
"Fast Cars"-U2
"Sexy Back"-Justin Timberlake
"Gone Daddy Gone"-Gnarls Barkley

Week Two Wrap-up

I had a great long run with my dad on Saturday. We ran over the new Folsom Dam bridge and then onto the American River bike trail. It was my fastest run since I started training. We did 7.71 miles in 75 minutes. That came out to an average pace of 9:44. Like I said in a previous post, I always run faster with my dad. He pushes me to my limits. The last two miles of the run were difficult for me. My quads were screaming and had I been by myself, I would have walked. Dad, however, would not allow that as an option. He talked me through the pain and eventually it subsided and I was once again cruising along.

About a year ago my dad bought a book called "Chi Running", by Danny Dreyer at Jamba Juice. It was a new approach to running which Incorporated the fundamental principles of Tai Chi. He read it and started following it. Within a short amount of time he was noticing dramatic improvements in his performance. In the 2009 Boston Marathon he was able to take 19 minutes off his previous time by using the Chi running techniques. I too have been reading the book with the hopes that its ideas will assist me with my race. While I am not using it so much to better my time, I am using it to help delay the onset of fatigue. My dad was using our run to help me practice the chi running form. It was awkward at first and I kept going in and out of the rhythm. Towards the end, when I was tired, my dad kept telling me to relax my legs to let them revive. It was hard, but once I was able to, I did find it to be helpful. I will continue to practice the Chi form on my future runs as I think it will help once I get the hang of it.

Here are the numbers for this week:

Planned miles: 19.5
Actual miles: 21.64
Avg Pace: 10:06
Calories: 2838

I am pleased with my average pace for the week and I like that I exceeded my planned miles. This week I will continue to work on my Chi running and concentrate on my strength training. I look forward to another great week of training.

Weigh-in 6/18/2009

Measurements are still holding fairly steady. I had a slight weight gain, but I'm not too concerned. I made rice crispy treats and ate most of them as post running snacks. Healthy, I know, but they tasted so good!

Weight: 166 lbs (+1.5 lbs)
Body Fat: 33% (-1%)
Waist: 31.5" (-.5")
Hips: 38" (no change)
Thigh: 25" (no change)
Bust: 37" (no change)
Arm: 12" (no change)

Like I said before, I am looking forward to my long run tomorrow with my dad. I took today as my rest day so I would be prepared. I think we are going to run across the new Folsom bridge. This is one of my favorite running routes. The wildflowers are all in bloom and when you get to the top of the hill, you look over and the lake is full and sparkling early in the morning.

With the weather being so pleasant these past few weeks, I have found myself taking time to just enjoy being outside while I'm running. There is one point on one of my routes that I can't wait to get to. It is a wall of flowering Jasmine that smells absolutely fantastic. The scent is so invigorating. I consider myself lucky to live in an area where people enjoy gardening and have all of these beautiful flowers for me to enjoy during my runs.

Never Say Never

These last few runs have gone well. While I'm running, it seems like I'm always stiff, and I feel like I have weights tied to my feet. But when I'm done, I look back and say, man...that was a great run. I guess that's a good thing. I did a little bit of a tempo run yesterday. Today was another four miles of hill repeats. Last week I ran 6 of them and this week I only ran 5, but I turned up the intensity a bit. It felt good, but the fatigue was definitely there when I finished.

I can't wait for my long run on Saturday. My dad is going to come down and run with me. For the most part I enjoy running with him; however, he has been know to take me on some brutal 20 milers. He is also a really bad judge of distance or he pretends to be. He says, oh it's just another mile, and then it turns out to be like 3 miles. I've learned to take the distance that he says and then multiple it by three. We have fun though on our runs. I always run faster with him than I do by myself. To this day it still amazes me that I'm able to run with him. I never thought I would be good enough. Once again, never say never!

Tomorrow I am going to take it easy and just do a light 2-3 miler. Friday will be my rest day and then Saturday my long run. So far I am still enjoying this whole process. Hopefully I will still be saying that in three months. I still have no doubts that I can accomplish this goal. I think there are a few people out there who think I won't make it but I will prove you non-believers wrong! When I get certain ideas in my head, there is only plan A, no plan B and this is one of those ideas.

Training Recap: Week One

Today was my first long run and the completion of my first week of training. I was scheduled to do a 60 minute run. I was hoping to do 6 miles within this time frame, but I would have settled for 5 and a 1/2. The temperature was a pleasant 64 degrees with a breeze. I did a newer route that I discovered about 2 months ago. It's a 5.75 mile loop with rolling hills through a well landscaped neighborhood. The first half of the run was stiff and it took some time to loosen up. I was having difficulty finding a groove and never truly did for the duration of the run. The second half was better. I loosened up but felt the fatigue the last mile. Even though I was tired, I pushed on and I managed not to have to walk. To complete the last 1/4 mile, I went to the track and finished with my signature "kick." To this day I do not know where it comes from. Even when I seriously think there is absolutely nothing left in the tank, I manage to dig down into the depths of something and pull out a sprint. I was able to finish the last part of my run at a 7:07 pace. When I was done, I looked down at my watch and I saw that I had done the 6 miles in 60 minutes. I was floored and so proud of myself. It was the fastest I have run all week and also the furthest. Here I thought I was plodding along just trying to finish and in reality I was right on target. All in all a satisfying run and a great start to training.

This is a recap for the first week:

Planned Miles: 19
Actual Miles: 20.5
Average pace for the week: 10:24
Total time: 210.5 minutes
Calories burned: 2630

Weigh-In:June 11, 2009

Not a huge change in measurements but I did like the weight change. I'm not expecting to see a noticeable change in my measurements for at least a month. As for the body fat, I don't think my scale is all that accurate when it comes to that but at least it's something.

Weight: 164.5 (-2.5 lbs)

Body Fat: 34% (+2%)

Waist: 32" (no change)

Hips: 38" (no change)

Thigh: 25" (-1")

Bust: 37" (-.5")

Arm: 12 (no change)

Today was a satisfying run. I chose to run my 4 miles today instead of tomorrow. The weather looked a bit sketchy so I stuck close to home in case of a down pour. The focus of this run was light hills. I live 1/2 mile from what I consider to be a "great" training hill. It's about 1/4 mile of moderate sloping, enough to be challenging, but not enough to kill you. I usually end up running this at the end of my runs. My reward for running up it is a short walk to the stop light once I reach the top. Today I used it for hill repeats. Hill repeats are a form of speed training. The idea is to run quickly up the hill, and then walk or jog back down slowly to recover. You then repeat this as many times as you wish. The benefits of these repeats are the increased leg strength and increasing your body's ability to process lactic acid (the chemical that causes sore muscles). Any type of speed work should be approached gradually. Today I did a total of 6 repeats, with a 1/2 mile warm-up and cool down. My average pace for the entire run was 10:26. So I wasn't sprinting up the hills, but I certainly wasn't taking my time either. When I was through my legs were tired and a little stiff, but overall felt good. In addition to the repeats, I also did my strength training. I know I am going to be feeling that tomorrow. I did 10 minutes of ab exercises and then 12 reps of each of the following: calf raises, squats, lunges, push ups and tricep dips. I plan on running 2-3 miles tomorrow, it will all depend on how my legs feel.

Starting Weigh-in

In the past when I have started hard-core training I have always thought I would just automatically lose a ton of weight. Unfortunately that has never been the case. Since my last race, I have gained about 10 pounds. I don't really show it in appearance, but I definitely feel it while running. While dropping the pounds is not the primary focus of my training, I am hoping that it might happen. I would like to lose 12-15lbs over the course of the next few months. I am not going to officially diet, but I will try to watch what I eat and I am not going to fall into the trap of "oh I ran 15 miles today so I can eat that box of cookies" To keep myself accountable and track how this training changes my body shape I will be doing a weigh-in every Thursday. I will post my current weight and body measurements. Here are my starting figures:

Weight: 167 lbs (in case you didn't know I'm 5'8")
Waist: 32"
Hips: 38"
Thigh: 26"
Bust: 37.5"
Arm: 12"
Body fat: 32%

Hopefully I will start to see some changes quickly because that always motivates me.

P.S. I want to stress the following: I am not fat, nor do I think I am fat. I simply want to lose a few pounds to help my running and to feel more comfortable in my clothes. I carry most of my weight in the hips and thighs and this does make it hard to find clothes that fit.

And So The Training Begins

Well I'm back from vacation and officially had my first day of training. It was a simple 3 mile run. While I was on vacation I did not run at all, but I walked plenty. Today's run was actually much better than I had anticipated. My calves felt tight for most of the run, but that was pretty much it. They did start to loosen up the last 1/2 mile or so. I always have issues with my calf muscles so I'm use to that happening. The weather was great. A nice cool breeze and a temp around 60 degrees. I am going to enjoy it while I can, for I know those hot days are just around the corner. Tomorrow is another 3 miler and I anticipate it will feel similar to today's run.

I downloaded a few new tunes last night to add to my running play list. It was great to hear them today. Something new and fresh always perks up a boring run. when I get into the longer distances, I am going to try books on tape to see how that works. I've listened to old radio shows in the past while running and they were a pleasant change. So we will see.