I finallyyyyy have internet at work, so I can psych myself up for my runs before I even leave the office, and hopefully that will also remind me to DRINK WATER!
I meant to post after my run on 22Mar07, but my internet was down and I haven;t run since then ( dagger) , so I haven't posted much...
Thursday's run was very cold and kind of shitty. I did my normal 3 miler in about 37 minutes. I had dry throat again and for the 3rd consecutive time, my iPod shit the bed mid run. Oh other highlights: I ran through a watermain break, I had some dude tell me i was losing weight "in all of the right places if you know what I mean (ewww)" and I also had a homeless man tell me to stop being lazy and run when I took a walk break. Speaking of walk breaks, I don't understand why I am walking. I am usually not out of breath or in pain, but I think I mentally give up and I walk. I usually think to myself, why the !$#% are you walking, then jog some more. Am I bored with my route??
I meant to go for a 6 miler on Sunday but slept too late then had crap to do. The only thing I did accoplish on Sunday was going to church. Well that's not true. I saw an old friend, but of the 3 things I had scheduled for Sunday, I only did one. Guess that's better than nothing.
Plan for today : 3 miles at a hard pace today, tomorrow and Thursday then 6 miles Sunday so i can finally move to HH Week 2 ( and get ready for my 10K). Wish me luck!
27 March 2007
21 March 2007
Blaahhhh
I was falling asleep on metro on the way home today and was like nooooooo, I don't want to run. I have had this nasty wheezy/rattling thing going on for about a month and today started feeling rundown and slightly sick. I hope it doesn't turn into something bad! Anyways, I planned on napping for 40 min when I got home, but hoping for inspiration, logged into Runner's World and went on my 3 miler today, in reverse order, like I did yesterday. My IPod shit the bed about 5 feet out my front door and rather than go back in, I ran with it. Stupid. So I lugged weight around for no reason. Blah. Ran my 3 miler, no dry throat, in 34 min. Man was it windy! Hopefully I'll feel stronger tomorrow and then I will go for 6 on Saturday!
20 March 2007
must drink more water
After Sunday's race, I took yesterday off from running and opted for 30min on the bike and some weight lifting for my arms ( I will be selling tickets to the gun show in about 2 months!). I did my regular 3 miler today but in reverse order. When I used Google pedometer to look at the elevation going in the normal direction (down M from 5th to 21st and back up L to 10th to M and 5th), it said the whole thing was uphill. I knew the last bit on L was uphill b/c it always bums me out...it's at the end of the run, I am tired and or bored and the hill, however almost flat it may be, still slows me down. Running in reverse would have made all of today downhill right? Hmm maybe. The first part was a nice change up, but I still feel like the end was uphill. Oh well.
I definitely did not drink enough water at work today or yesterday. Actually yesterday perplexed me. I consider myself as well hydrated when my water looks the same going out as it did going in. Yesterday, knowing I wasn't going to run that afternoon, I drank 2 cups of coffee and a Sobe LifeWater and lo and behold....I looked hydrated. Weird. Today I drank my coffee and about a liter of water. (I usually drink like 3-4, then a Propel right before my run). I kept meaning to drink more but before I knew it, it was time to go home and run. Cue return of the dry throat!!!! I thought it might have something to do with the wind, but Sunday's race was wayyy more windy and I was definitely waaayyyy hydrated for that race and no dry throat. Now I know..... that was really the only thing that made me slow/walk for a bit. It sucks to not even have enough spit in your mouth to swallow.
I did some reading yesterday about training for a 10K. i signed up for the Stop the Silence 10K on 14APR2007. After all, what's another mile added onto what I ran Sunday. ( I've run 6.2 before ... in 70min ... ouch). Anyhow, it talked about speed work and how to incorporate it a little bit each run and how just that little bit can shave minutes off of your next race. So, after running one mile, I began to run fast for about 15 seconds and then at slightly slower than normal pace for about 45-50 seconds. I am also trying to consciously remember that I should pick up the cadence of my stride, taking smaller strides and more steps (quicker turnover). Anyhow, I ran today's 3 miler in 33 min ... my fastest yet ( I think...I don't remember).
I am still feeling like running is WORK, as much as I love it. When does it get easier? When will I start getting into a groove where I am running and not thinking about it? Do I need to run longer time-wise? Distance-wise?
I definitely did not drink enough water at work today or yesterday. Actually yesterday perplexed me. I consider myself as well hydrated when my water looks the same going out as it did going in. Yesterday, knowing I wasn't going to run that afternoon, I drank 2 cups of coffee and a Sobe LifeWater and lo and behold....I looked hydrated. Weird. Today I drank my coffee and about a liter of water. (I usually drink like 3-4, then a Propel right before my run). I kept meaning to drink more but before I knew it, it was time to go home and run. Cue return of the dry throat!!!! I thought it might have something to do with the wind, but Sunday's race was wayyy more windy and I was definitely waaayyyy hydrated for that race and no dry throat. Now I know..... that was really the only thing that made me slow/walk for a bit. It sucks to not even have enough spit in your mouth to swallow.
I did some reading yesterday about training for a 10K. i signed up for the Stop the Silence 10K on 14APR2007. After all, what's another mile added onto what I ran Sunday. ( I've run 6.2 before ... in 70min ... ouch). Anyhow, it talked about speed work and how to incorporate it a little bit each run and how just that little bit can shave minutes off of your next race. So, after running one mile, I began to run fast for about 15 seconds and then at slightly slower than normal pace for about 45-50 seconds. I am also trying to consciously remember that I should pick up the cadence of my stride, taking smaller strides and more steps (quicker turnover). Anyhow, I ran today's 3 miler in 33 min ... my fastest yet ( I think...I don't remember).
I am still feeling like running is WORK, as much as I love it. When does it get easier? When will I start getting into a groove where I am running and not thinking about it? Do I need to run longer time-wise? Distance-wise?
18 March 2007
I.am.AWESOME!!
After a fitful night's sleep, I woke up around 730 today, burned 2 pieces of toast, had a SMALL cup of coffee ( I know.....bad idea, but I needed it to wake me up), a non-burned toast and a banana and I hit the road for my 1st race ever - the Washington DC St. Patrick's Day 8K.
As I have blogged earlier, my training runs have usually been on the TM, with the exception of this past TWR - which were 3 mile loops outside. On the TM I was averaging 10:40s or something like that and outside, not counting traffic lights under 60s, I was running 11s. I have run 5 and 6 miles on the TM before. I forget what the 5 mi time was ( it's written down at the gym) but I know my 6 miler was about 70min. With all of the reading I have been doing about how the TM and the road are vastly different, I was hoping to finish the 8K in under 60m ( at the most) and ideally in 55 ( hence the 11min mi...I know 8K is just under 5mi, but I was running on the outside of the loop and the course is measured running inside, so I probably ran more than 5mi).
Fast foward to race day ...I get off metro at Federal Triangle and I can hear bagpipes and I instantly get a little rush of adrenaline. Awesome. Then I turn the corner and see all of these people running and stretching and warming up. Also awesome. I hit the WC a few times ( thanks mostly to my coffee and bottle of Propel I drank on the way to the race and lined up with the 12s, thinking I would run mile 1 slow, and adjust after I see how my pace is. We take off, things are going well. The only thing I hated about this course was the stupid hairpin turns. I would rather run out and back without sidetracking down a tiny street for 2 blocks only to turn around and get back on the main drag. Don't even get me started about the cocktease one 0.1 mi from the finish line, which I am pretty sure WAS NOT ON THE MAP! I digress...
We hit mile 1 and I look at my watch...9:10!?!?!? Shit! I am feeling good at this point but I slow waaayyyyy down to conserve energy. I am very nervous at this point b/c I have not trained OUTSIDE for a 5 mile run yet. Good thing to note though - I can probably run a little faster on my 3 milers. At mile 2 looked at my watch , 21:40. (So 12:30) That is more like it. Mile 3 was annoying and under a sketchy bridge with a lot of wind. I ran that one by 33:08 (11:22). That's pretty much where the straight part of the course ended. Lots of turns, lots of weaving in and out, some walking and finally someone says we are at mile 4 and my watch says 43:00 (9:58!?!? wtf that can't be right because I WALKED a few times this mile..whatever). Sweet! I have 12 minutes to come in under my 55 min goal!! We turn a corner and I can see balloons in the distance. I started running fast and then I saw the friggin left hand turn. I wish I had seen that earlier b/c I wouldn't have kicked up my pace so much. To top it all off, I can't see how deep said left hairpin turn is. It could be 10 feet, it could be 0.4 mi. I am a horrible distance judger! So I maintain pace and then it started catching up to me just as I turn left. I struggle through the left hand turn, get stuck in a kind of slow mob of peeps, turn left back onto Penn and turn up the heat. I am not even looking at my watch at this point b/c I just want this to be OVERRRRR. So I sprint across the orange mat (now I am scared that ChampionChip did not pick up my start or finish time..I seriously need to get a life and stop worrying). I see the race clock says 58:07. My watch says 55:21. Sooooo definitely under my 60 min mark .. hooray!!!! And slightly over my 11min/mile goal of 55 min. Dagger. Oh well. I am also secretly excited b/c I found out one of my friends ran this race last year and I think she finished in like 70 mins or something. Haha I win!
Lessons learned : 1)You are running faster than you think you are at the start of the race even though a: you are in a pack that you think looks sloooowwww. b: you can breathe. 2) You can sneak your IPod to this race!!! Everyone else did! This was my 1st run ever without one. Could have helped a little!!
All in all, an awesome morning. I woke up, ate breakfast (twice) and a ran an effing race in good time for me, before any of my friends even thought about waking up with their silly hangovers from yesterday's beerfest (where I was chugging club + lime!). I feel like running some more! Why do I always get the runners high about 15 mins after I stop running!?!?
As I have blogged earlier, my training runs have usually been on the TM, with the exception of this past TWR - which were 3 mile loops outside. On the TM I was averaging 10:40s or something like that and outside, not counting traffic lights under 60s, I was running 11s. I have run 5 and 6 miles on the TM before. I forget what the 5 mi time was ( it's written down at the gym) but I know my 6 miler was about 70min. With all of the reading I have been doing about how the TM and the road are vastly different, I was hoping to finish the 8K in under 60m ( at the most) and ideally in 55 ( hence the 11min mi...I know 8K is just under 5mi, but I was running on the outside of the loop and the course is measured running inside, so I probably ran more than 5mi).
Fast foward to race day ...I get off metro at Federal Triangle and I can hear bagpipes and I instantly get a little rush of adrenaline. Awesome. Then I turn the corner and see all of these people running and stretching and warming up. Also awesome. I hit the WC a few times ( thanks mostly to my coffee and bottle of Propel I drank on the way to the race and lined up with the 12s, thinking I would run mile 1 slow, and adjust after I see how my pace is. We take off, things are going well. The only thing I hated about this course was the stupid hairpin turns. I would rather run out and back without sidetracking down a tiny street for 2 blocks only to turn around and get back on the main drag. Don't even get me started about the cocktease one 0.1 mi from the finish line, which I am pretty sure WAS NOT ON THE MAP! I digress...
We hit mile 1 and I look at my watch...9:10!?!?!? Shit! I am feeling good at this point but I slow waaayyyyy down to conserve energy. I am very nervous at this point b/c I have not trained OUTSIDE for a 5 mile run yet. Good thing to note though - I can probably run a little faster on my 3 milers. At mile 2 looked at my watch , 21:40. (So 12:30) That is more like it. Mile 3 was annoying and under a sketchy bridge with a lot of wind. I ran that one by 33:08 (11:22). That's pretty much where the straight part of the course ended. Lots of turns, lots of weaving in and out, some walking and finally someone says we are at mile 4 and my watch says 43:00 (9:58!?!? wtf that can't be right because I WALKED a few times this mile..whatever). Sweet! I have 12 minutes to come in under my 55 min goal!! We turn a corner and I can see balloons in the distance. I started running fast and then I saw the friggin left hand turn. I wish I had seen that earlier b/c I wouldn't have kicked up my pace so much. To top it all off, I can't see how deep said left hairpin turn is. It could be 10 feet, it could be 0.4 mi. I am a horrible distance judger! So I maintain pace and then it started catching up to me just as I turn left. I struggle through the left hand turn, get stuck in a kind of slow mob of peeps, turn left back onto Penn and turn up the heat. I am not even looking at my watch at this point b/c I just want this to be OVERRRRR. So I sprint across the orange mat (now I am scared that ChampionChip did not pick up my start or finish time..I seriously need to get a life and stop worrying). I see the race clock says 58:07. My watch says 55:21. Sooooo definitely under my 60 min mark .. hooray!!!! And slightly over my 11min/mile goal of 55 min. Dagger. Oh well. I am also secretly excited b/c I found out one of my friends ran this race last year and I think she finished in like 70 mins or something. Haha I win!
Lessons learned : 1)You are running faster than you think you are at the start of the race even though a: you are in a pack that you think looks sloooowwww. b: you can breathe. 2) You can sneak your IPod to this race!!! Everyone else did! This was my 1st run ever without one. Could have helped a little!!
All in all, an awesome morning. I woke up, ate breakfast (twice) and a ran an effing race in good time for me, before any of my friends even thought about waking up with their silly hangovers from yesterday's beerfest (where I was chugging club + lime!). I feel like running some more! Why do I always get the runners high about 15 mins after I stop running!?!?
17 March 2007
Nervousness Ensues
At this time tomorrow, I will have finished ( hopefully), my first ever race - the Washington DC St.Patrick's Day 8K. I am petrified. I am excited. I am petrified. Did I mention that I am petrified?
I have all of these what if scenarios floating around in my head ... what if I don't finish? What if I oversleep" What if it's icing outside? What if I finish in 2 hours instead of the stupid 55:00 that has been kicking around in my head for the last 3 weeks. What if what if what if...
I have all of these what if scenarios floating around in my head ... what if I don't finish? What if I oversleep" What if it's icing outside? What if I finish in 2 hours instead of the stupid 55:00 that has been kicking around in my head for the last 3 weeks. What if what if what if...
15 March 2007
Wet and Loving It ( No Not like THAT)
So today was my 3rd run outside (in as many days)...and my first in the rain. Also my first try at layering. Man I wish I had some technical T's. I opted to skip the waterproof jacket....just as it prevents water from getting in, it also prevents sweat from getting OUT and even though its only 45ish here, I do not want to get too toasty. Todays temp is also what is predicted for Sunday's 8K, minus the wet. I think I will wear what I wore today - DriFit workout pants, a cotton short sleeve and a cotton long sleeve.
I didnt have the problem with the dry throat today, probably b/c it was cooler/wetter outside. I also didn't tire as fast as I did yesterday and the only real walk break I took was on an uphill, uneven and wet stretch of sidewalk about 2.67 miles into the run. I experimented a little bit with gait and stride today as well. I hit mile 1 at 13:02 BUT I waited to cross Thomas circle for a 1:20, and while I don't usually subrtract time at stoplights from the daily run time, I am subtracting this one b/c it totally daggered my 1st mile. I hit mile 2 at 24:02 - exactly 11 min. I also hit mile 3 at 35:01, another 11 min/mile. So I think it is safe to say that run...an 11min/mi. That the pace at which I feel most comfy I guess. Hopefully I will punch that up a little bit on race day! Those mins also do not factor in waiting to cross the street, as I said before, so I am probably doing more like 10:50s. I feel good...I feel accomplished...now if the scale would start moving DOWN I would be ecstatic. I don;t get it. I have been running 5 days a week, not drinking a single drop of alcohol and not being too huge a pig...what gives? Until this week, I was doing weights at the gym after every run. I definitely have bigger arms. I can see that and feel it even, but I feel like the scale should be trending downward by at least like a pound or something..... c'est la vie!
I didnt have the problem with the dry throat today, probably b/c it was cooler/wetter outside. I also didn't tire as fast as I did yesterday and the only real walk break I took was on an uphill, uneven and wet stretch of sidewalk about 2.67 miles into the run. I experimented a little bit with gait and stride today as well. I hit mile 1 at 13:02 BUT I waited to cross Thomas circle for a 1:20, and while I don't usually subrtract time at stoplights from the daily run time, I am subtracting this one b/c it totally daggered my 1st mile. I hit mile 2 at 24:02 - exactly 11 min. I also hit mile 3 at 35:01, another 11 min/mile. So I think it is safe to say that run...an 11min/mi. That the pace at which I feel most comfy I guess. Hopefully I will punch that up a little bit on race day! Those mins also do not factor in waiting to cross the street, as I said before, so I am probably doing more like 10:50s. I feel good...I feel accomplished...now if the scale would start moving DOWN I would be ecstatic. I don;t get it. I have been running 5 days a week, not drinking a single drop of alcohol and not being too huge a pig...what gives? Until this week, I was doing weights at the gym after every run. I definitely have bigger arms. I can see that and feel it even, but I feel like the scale should be trending downward by at least like a pound or something..... c'est la vie!
14 March 2007
Getting Stronger of Just Good Timing?
After waging a mental battle with myself over whether or not I should take a day off since I have a race this weekend, I decided I need the outside running, so I repeated the 3.something miler I did yesterday. It took me 37 mins yesterday and 34 min today. I stopped into City Sports on the way home from work today and bought a 15$ sports watch. I also made sure to get a sense of where my mile markers were in the run, so I could adjust my pace after the 1st mile. I made a conscious effort to slooowwww down early today and hit mile 1 at about 11 minutes. I hit mile 2 at about 22:40, so not too bad. I felt better, throat wise today, and I tried to breathe in through my nose and out through my mouth, which helped. I am happy with the watch purchase...I think it will help me a lot. Now I am trying to decide if slowing down helped me finish quicker b/c I stopped less or if I just hit less fewer traffic lights!!!! I will take the optimistic route and say I am getting stronger!
I need some new running music...ideas???
I need some new running music...ideas???
13 March 2007
Toss Up
Soooooooo today was my first run outside since I made the exciting decision to try my hand at running. As I have stated below, I've been running for about a month now, with my max distance being 6 miles so far. I am registered to run an 8K on Sunday and I am petrified. I need to get used to running outside vs. the TM and today was my 1st stab at that since I was lazzzzzzzyyyyy this past weekend. My official route ( as laid out by Google pedometer) was supposed to be 3.1 mi. But I had to make a small detour due to a sidewalk closure and I ran on the outside of the "loop" that I am calling 3 mi midtown run in the box on the right hand side of this page. If I had to guess at how much extra I ran, I'd say 0.3 mi is about right. I finished this distance just 4 minutes slower than I run 3mi on the TM at a 0% incline. I think this is pretty good, considering it was longer than my usual run ( at least by a definite 0.1 mile) and that I had to stop at countless traffic lights ( some for 45 seconds each!!!). I did not carry a watch, but used my IPod to time it out. I ran from 7pm - 737pm and I am pretty sure I did 3/4 of the run but 722pm! I definitely went out too fast, and when I was conscious of this ( not too often early on), I slowed down. Being sooo nice out here in DC though, everyone downtown was eating and drinking outside, including several dozen GORGEOUS boys, so I ran very fast from about 19th and M, down 21 to L and from 21 back to 19th and L. I guess it all evened out in the end, but gosh my throat is/was soooo dry. I am fairly confident this was from sucking wind during the 1st half of the run, but I also did not carry a water bottle or a camelback pack, and having run on the TM only, I am used to swigging water whenever I want to. I am going to try this again tomrorow and try to slow dowwwwwnnnnnnnn. I might even opt for a different route tomorrow that takes me down to the Nat'l Mall where there are water fountains.
Race in T minus 5 days....ahhhhh!!!!
Race in T minus 5 days....ahhhhh!!!!
11 March 2007
Bollocks
I hydrated well yesterday, ate a bagel for dinner and tried to go to bed early last night, all in the hopes of waking up at 0800 this morning and doing a 6 mile circuit around Penn Qtr and the Nat'l Mall. I hit sleep waayyy too many times and finally rolled out of bed at 11 something. I had planned on running, going to Eastern Market, cleaning and going to Mass. Scratch some of that ... I ended up cleaning the apt., and the fridge and the freezer, all so I could put off my run. I did, however spend a lot of time reading about training. If running was a consulting job, I could bill for that right? Anyhow, after Mass I decided to go for an indoor run on the trusty old TM, as it was 7pm when I got home from Mass and as gorgeous as it is outside, I do not want to be running on the Mall in the dark (e.g. not safe...ahh the joys of Washington DC). In preparation for Sunday's 8K I decided to do the whole run (which was supposed to be 6 mi) in a 1.3% incline, to mimick running outside. Well I got to 2.6 miles and I was BEAT. So I quickly decided to make this a 3 mi run, and ramped up the incline to 4.5 for the last 0.4 mi. I finished today's 3 mi run just shy of 33 min. Not too bad for a 3 miler. I think I ran it a little fast, and the addition of the incline for the whole run defintely made a difference. I was also running in a new Enell sports bra (AWESOME) that doesn't do a super awesome job of wicking, so I got very warm very fast. All in all I might even say I was BORED and was looking for a semi decent goal to achieve so I could call it quits for the night.I am going to have to run every day this week (except Saturday and do some light jogging Friday),if I don't want Sunday to be a complete disaster. Dammit...there are sooo many 5K's for St. Patrick's Day....why the hell did I pick an 8K?
10 March 2007
I want to be a runner?
This will serve as my 1st entry into what I hope will be come a blog about how a 5-7, 200 something pound, 25 year old, transformed herself from a binge-drinking, late-sleeping pile of crap, into a healthy, fit, energetic marathoner!
A Little Background
A few years ago I made the commitment to myself to get healthy. I weighed a ton and one day, when I tried to go out for a run I was disgusted at how an athletic, energetic high school soccer player had turned into a tub of crap that could barely do anything. I used to be able to run, although I never enjoyed it. This day I could hardly run 2 blocks without stopping. I decided all of the extra weight that countless frat parties, late nights, pints of Ben and Jerry's had packed on me, was contributing to my difficulty, so that very day I went through our cabinets and threw out anything and everything that contained carbs ( my skinny little roommate wasn't too excited about this), and I began Atkins. Over the next 8 months I proceeded to follow that way of life, went to the amazing gym down the street every single day for 1-2 hours and lost 70 lbs (I contribute the last 20 of that to being stressed out to the max about moving 600 miles from home for the 1st time ever, (e.g. I wasn't eating and hardly had any money with which to buy food once I moved...that was when I was at my lowest weight!). 70 lbs. sounds like a lot, and it is, but when you have somewhere in the neighborhood of 110-120 lbs to lose before your doctor considers you "ideal", it doesn't look as impressive as it sounds.
The Decision
Needless to say, as I settled into my new environment and my paycheck started to cover the debt I found myself in after moving, I began buying food, and going out for dinner, and buying beer and joining teams that focused around happy hours...and I gained about 20 lbs back. I moved again about a year later - another great chance to clean out my cupboards and start Atkins again. Yeah right...... I ended up eating high fat/low carb food and then ruining it on the weekends/out at dinner with high carb food, which completely defeats the point and actually makes you gain weight. So I joined the gym down the street for the new year and while 45 minutes on the elliptical machine is certainly a goal, I needed more. It's one thing to say, "I want to lose X lbs. by such a such a date", because you can always slack off and make up for it later. So I decided to set a fitness goal for myself. I know that running is the most efficient way to burn calories, so I decided I would run. But what kind of running goal should I set for myself? I am a firm believer in the "go big or go home" philosophy, so on a whim one day I decided to commit myself to running the 2007 Marine Corps Marathon in Washington DC. It's open to whomever signs up on a 1st come/1st served basis, while there is a little elevation play involved, it's not like Boston, where the whole things is downhill and then uphill towards the end. All in all, it's a decent race for a first time out. Plus, I feel if I have a fitness/health goal rather than a weight goal, I will drop weight regardless and have something to feel awesome about when I cross that finish mat in Arlington on 28 Oct, even if I weigh 200 lbs.
And Now
So I made the decision to run on 11FEB 2007. I started on the treadmill at the gym and I was seriously dying at about 1.2 miles, running at a blisteringly SLOW speed of 4.5 mph. I toughed it out to 2 miles though and enthusiastically hit STOP as hard as I could the second the pedometer clicked to 2.0. I was very proud of myself! I am pretty sure I even fist pumped and got a smile out of the guy on the bike behind me. The following week I put in 2 miles on the 13th and 14th and 1.37 on the 15th because I was just too tired to keep going. I bumped myself up to 3 on the 18th and was so excited when I finished that night! I found Hal Higdon's 18-week marathon prep schedules online and after doing a little research, Novice I is the plan I have decided to follow. Yeah I realize the race is like 30+ weeks away, but this gives me the chance to repeat weeks when I am feeling shaky ( e.g. the beginning) and also repeat at peak, maybe even sneak in a 26.2 in August before IO kick it down and start to taper in October. According to the HHG, I will be/am currently running on T,W,R, with a long run on S/S and the other weekend day reserved for cross-training. I have yet to to the cross training deal, but I did complete my 1st long run on 24 Feb, of 6 miles. I am not counting that week as a 1st though b/c I only ran 2x during the work week prior, for 3 miles each. The week after my long run, I had a weird head/chest cold and was way too tired to crunch out 3 miles on T, so I ended up doing 1.2 on T, and 3 on W,R,F with a 5 mile run on that following Sunday, 04MAR2007.
So here we are, on 10MAR2007 and so far this week I have successfully run 3 mi on T,W and R. If I can pull off a 6 mi run today or tomorrow, I will consider this to be week 1 of my training, which will be super exciting for me. I am hoping to get outside a little bit today. I have been reading that while treadmill training is great for running when you can't outside, it's technically cheating b/c it's a little bit easier. To compensate for this, I should be setting the treadmill to a 1-2% incline, which I did do for about 1/2 of Thursday's run. I had a little fun with speed this past week. I ran 3 mi on Tuesday in 32 min flat, fluctuating between 4.8 and 6.8 mph (The 4.8 was a recovery jog after running at 6.8 for about 5 min...yeah I know it;s slow but I'm a novice so give me a break!). Wednesday I ran a few fast min. at 7 mph and was able to finish the run in 31:34, so far my PR! Thursday saw the incline but I was still able to finish in 32:34. A little slower but decent considering it was technically a more difficult run.
I have been spending a some time this morning with Google's pedometer tool, trying to map out some 3 and 6 mile outside courses. I decided to sign up for the St. Patrick's Day 8K, which is a 5mi out and back in downtown DC I am hoping that the atmosphere and the whole being outside thing will make me run a little bit faster that I do on the treadmill, but we'll see. As long as I don;t finish LAST, I will be okay. It's really just to get me into a pack mentality and to get a technical T! Plus I have been reading that racing is addictive. The whole crowd yelling for you thing is a great high. I am hoping I finish in an hour or less. That will be my goal! am very nervous and excited at the same time.
Okay so that's enough babbling from me. I am pretty sure I am all caught up with my training now. And honestly, to re-think the past month while I write this makes me feel very accomplished!
A Little Background
A few years ago I made the commitment to myself to get healthy. I weighed a ton and one day, when I tried to go out for a run I was disgusted at how an athletic, energetic high school soccer player had turned into a tub of crap that could barely do anything. I used to be able to run, although I never enjoyed it. This day I could hardly run 2 blocks without stopping. I decided all of the extra weight that countless frat parties, late nights, pints of Ben and Jerry's had packed on me, was contributing to my difficulty, so that very day I went through our cabinets and threw out anything and everything that contained carbs ( my skinny little roommate wasn't too excited about this), and I began Atkins. Over the next 8 months I proceeded to follow that way of life, went to the amazing gym down the street every single day for 1-2 hours and lost 70 lbs (I contribute the last 20 of that to being stressed out to the max about moving 600 miles from home for the 1st time ever, (e.g. I wasn't eating and hardly had any money with which to buy food once I moved...that was when I was at my lowest weight!). 70 lbs. sounds like a lot, and it is, but when you have somewhere in the neighborhood of 110-120 lbs to lose before your doctor considers you "ideal", it doesn't look as impressive as it sounds.
The Decision
Needless to say, as I settled into my new environment and my paycheck started to cover the debt I found myself in after moving, I began buying food, and going out for dinner, and buying beer and joining teams that focused around happy hours...and I gained about 20 lbs back. I moved again about a year later - another great chance to clean out my cupboards and start Atkins again. Yeah right...... I ended up eating high fat/low carb food and then ruining it on the weekends/out at dinner with high carb food, which completely defeats the point and actually makes you gain weight. So I joined the gym down the street for the new year and while 45 minutes on the elliptical machine is certainly a goal, I needed more. It's one thing to say, "I want to lose X lbs. by such a such a date", because you can always slack off and make up for it later. So I decided to set a fitness goal for myself. I know that running is the most efficient way to burn calories, so I decided I would run. But what kind of running goal should I set for myself? I am a firm believer in the "go big or go home" philosophy, so on a whim one day I decided to commit myself to running the 2007 Marine Corps Marathon in Washington DC. It's open to whomever signs up on a 1st come/1st served basis, while there is a little elevation play involved, it's not like Boston, where the whole things is downhill and then uphill towards the end. All in all, it's a decent race for a first time out. Plus, I feel if I have a fitness/health goal rather than a weight goal, I will drop weight regardless and have something to feel awesome about when I cross that finish mat in Arlington on 28 Oct, even if I weigh 200 lbs.
And Now
So I made the decision to run on 11FEB 2007. I started on the treadmill at the gym and I was seriously dying at about 1.2 miles, running at a blisteringly SLOW speed of 4.5 mph. I toughed it out to 2 miles though and enthusiastically hit STOP as hard as I could the second the pedometer clicked to 2.0. I was very proud of myself! I am pretty sure I even fist pumped and got a smile out of the guy on the bike behind me. The following week I put in 2 miles on the 13th and 14th and 1.37 on the 15th because I was just too tired to keep going. I bumped myself up to 3 on the 18th and was so excited when I finished that night! I found Hal Higdon's 18-week marathon prep schedules online and after doing a little research, Novice I is the plan I have decided to follow. Yeah I realize the race is like 30+ weeks away, but this gives me the chance to repeat weeks when I am feeling shaky ( e.g. the beginning) and also repeat at peak, maybe even sneak in a 26.2 in August before IO kick it down and start to taper in October. According to the HHG, I will be/am currently running on T,W,R, with a long run on S/S and the other weekend day reserved for cross-training. I have yet to to the cross training deal, but I did complete my 1st long run on 24 Feb, of 6 miles. I am not counting that week as a 1st though b/c I only ran 2x during the work week prior, for 3 miles each. The week after my long run, I had a weird head/chest cold and was way too tired to crunch out 3 miles on T, so I ended up doing 1.2 on T, and 3 on W,R,F with a 5 mile run on that following Sunday, 04MAR2007.
So here we are, on 10MAR2007 and so far this week I have successfully run 3 mi on T,W and R. If I can pull off a 6 mi run today or tomorrow, I will consider this to be week 1 of my training, which will be super exciting for me. I am hoping to get outside a little bit today. I have been reading that while treadmill training is great for running when you can't outside, it's technically cheating b/c it's a little bit easier. To compensate for this, I should be setting the treadmill to a 1-2% incline, which I did do for about 1/2 of Thursday's run. I had a little fun with speed this past week. I ran 3 mi on Tuesday in 32 min flat, fluctuating between 4.8 and 6.8 mph (The 4.8 was a recovery jog after running at 6.8 for about 5 min...yeah I know it;s slow but I'm a novice so give me a break!). Wednesday I ran a few fast min. at 7 mph and was able to finish the run in 31:34, so far my PR! Thursday saw the incline but I was still able to finish in 32:34. A little slower but decent considering it was technically a more difficult run.
I have been spending a some time this morning with Google's pedometer tool, trying to map out some 3 and 6 mile outside courses. I decided to sign up for the St. Patrick's Day 8K, which is a 5mi out and back in downtown DC I am hoping that the atmosphere and the whole being outside thing will make me run a little bit faster that I do on the treadmill, but we'll see. As long as I don;t finish LAST, I will be okay. It's really just to get me into a pack mentality and to get a technical T! Plus I have been reading that racing is addictive. The whole crowd yelling for you thing is a great high. I am hoping I finish in an hour or less. That will be my goal! am very nervous and excited at the same time.
Okay so that's enough babbling from me. I am pretty sure I am all caught up with my training now. And honestly, to re-think the past month while I write this makes me feel very accomplished!
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