Week 2 Training Summary

Another week of training is done! Good thing I'm working tomorrow because I would otherwise be tempted to skip my rest day and make up the yoga session I missed yesterday due to shoulder pain. I vaguely remember feeling a pop in my shoulder/upper back area on Thursday while lifting weights. It didn't hurt terribly and I didn't really notice it again until I tried to sleep that night. Then it bothered me on my early morning (5:30!) run on Friday. I already had an appointment with my chiropractor so that was handy. He said it was a displaced rib head and nearly killed me adjusted it back into place. I was more sore after the adjustment than before but I feel good today. At any rate, I knew there was no way I could tolerate doing any downward dogs yesterday so I skipped yoga. I didn't exactly nail my training plan due to heat and pain, but I had 2 solid runs between my speedwork and the early morning trail run today, which ended up being my longest run due to cutting short my 9 miler on Monday night. We ended up doing one loop, which my Garmin called 7.09 miles. There were 9 women from the run club who met at the park. We all pretty much ran our own pace, maybe breaking into 2 smaller groups, but then meeting back up as a big group every mile or so. I enjoyed the trails. There were some areas of open fields, but the majority gave us shade in the trees. Whoever said running is cheap exercise was a liar. I spend so much money on my running gear and race fees! At least my trail shoes were/will be free (whenever they arrive!), but now I need a backpack for water. I carried my handheld bottle and wore my Amphipod belt. I'd gotten used to it when I was wearing it so much but I've been carrying water and using my Spibelt for my phone and now the Amphipod bugs the crap out of me. I think my hips are too big and my natural waist is so high that it just won't stay snug unless I wear it right below my boobs (which then makes me look like an 80 year old runner). I was worried that I might tear my Lululemon skirts or my favorite (and only) pair of running shorts, so I wore my turquoise Nike running skirt that's ok but I don't love. I was thinking I looked like Punky Brewster in all of my brightness, but one of the other girls more accurately pegged it- Rainbow Brite.

I finished the week with 20.36 miles over 4 runs. A little lower than planned, but I'm ok with that. I also got in 2 strength training sessions and a core class.

I Did IT!

"IT" being this week's speedwork. My plan called for 2 x 1 mile @ 8:25 pace. That's 7.1 MPH on the treadmill with a 1% incline. That's super scary for this girl who is still scared of punching in 6.0 on the speed. Speed workouts are probably better on the track so you can feel yourself push for the speed (and maybe even pleasantly surprise yourself by running faster) but that wasn't an option today. The good thing about the treadmill, though, is that you can dial in the speed and know that as long as you slap your own hands away from the speed buttons, you'll hit the goal pace.

I chose the Woodway treadmills on the other side of the gym. Those are supposed to be better for you, but my number one reason for choosing them was that they're closer to the bathrooms. 8:25 seems awfully close to puke pace. ;)

I did a half mile warm up (perhaps it should have been a full mile, I don't really know, but I felt warm after the half mile so I went with it). Then it was time to crank it up. Immediately my lungs and legs began a dialogue with my brain...

Lungs & Legs: This sucks. 400's will be fine. That's still a speed workout.
Brain: No, you did that last week. I'll meet you halfway, though. How about 800's? But you still have to do the 2 miles of speedwork.
Lungs & Legs: Awesome. We love you, Brain!
... now with 800 complete...
Brain: Guess what, girls? You can do this- keep running! Do what you always have and get what you've always got!!! You have a sub-2 half to run.
Lungs & Legs: B!+**

It hurt. Badly. I was so glad when my mile was finished. I walked for a 1/4 mile then dialed it in again. Pretty much the same conversation took place between my lungs, legs, and brain. At one point a girl hopped on the treadmill next to me and must have been running the same pace or close to it. I tried to distract myself by running "with" her. Maybe she only planned to run for a couple minutes, maybe that treadmill sucked, maybe the sounds of me sucking wind was too much for her- but she left before my mile was over.

I walked another 1/4 mile, then finished with half a mile at 10:30 pace, which feels A LOT easier after running 8:25 pace. My total distance was 3.5 miles at right around 37 minutes.

Long Run Suspended

Last night I met with 4 other women from NTX Runners for a 9 mile run. In the winter I checked the weather like I was an 80 year old woman. Multiple. Times. A. Day. !!! I don't bother in the summer because it's all the same. 20-something days straight over 100 degrees, and that's all I need to know. It's hot. So I don't even know if it was hotter last night or more humid or what, but something was different. We all had a tough time. We lost one friend after the first loop (3.35 miles) and another was feeling faint toward the end of the loop but wanted to keep running. We all agreed to slow our pace after that but it didn't get any better. I didn't feel like I was sweating as much as I should have been on the 2nd loop which was concerning for heat stroke so I decided there would be no 3rd loop. Everyone else was fine with that- we all struggled. If I die of heat stroke, it won't matter that I did the long run, because there won't be a race. I finished with 6.7 miles in 1:15:xx. Average pace was something like 11:15. We're going to run trails on Saturday morning, so maybe I can make up the long run mileage then.

Custom Orthotics for Running?

This morning I saw the other doctor at my chiropractor's office. I guess he's more into feet and soft tissue work. He evaluated my feet and legs and pretty much the only problem he found was that my right IT band is a little tight compared to the left. I'm having zero pain in my feet, ankles, legs, hips. Nothing. But he recommended custom orthotics. I asked why and the answer seemed to be "because it's better for your feet/legs and your running in general." But I don't have any pain, so why fix something that's not broken? Does anyone else wear orthotics? Why? Do they help you? How?

Sub-2 Half Marathon Week 1 Review

I made it through week 1 of my 10 week plan. I got in my 4 runs, 1 core class, 1 yoga class, and 2 strength training sessions over 6 days and I took one day off from everything (well, I actually worked at the job that pays me). I posted my Monday-Wednesday workouts in my "Three Things Thursday" post.

On Thursday I did strength training, which was great. I like lifting weights. I increased the weight on about half of my exercises.

I worked on Saturday, but a group of moms from my friend's Baby Bootcamp franchise were meeting at 6am to run 5 miles. I decided I could join them and still make it to work on time if I showered at our gym rather than driving all the way home. I participated in this program when my kids were younger and it was called StrollerFit. I knew a few of the moms and one other former member also came out for the run. We ended up running together for about the first 3 miles. She is FAST. I was breathing heavy and she wasn't, but I knew it was good for me to hang with her for as long as I could. After about 3 miles I needed a walk break so I waved her on. I ran 5.1 miles in 51:13 (average pace 10:03). My fastest mile was 9:25. It felt like we were hauling ass, so it baffles me that I will be able to run 13.1 miles at a pace 20 seconds faster! But I know that the temperature plays a huge role in my performance right now. I trust my plan!

Today I went to yoga. I really liked the instructor- she was a sub. She was tough. There were no child's pose breaks!!! Class also ran long at about an hour and 20 minutes. I know my hips are very tight but she took us through some poses that made me realize just how tight they really are. But we did some good stretches that I'll have to incorporate to help loosen up through the hips.

I'm looking forward to week 2! I have 3 runs planned with women from my run club. The only one I have to do by myself is speedwork.

Summer Half Marathon

I've gone back and forth on this race several times... half marathon - 10k - half marathon - 10k.

Half marathon. And yes, that's my final answer. I registered for the 10k, then I'm not sure who convinced whom, but a friend and I agreed to run the half together, so the difference in registration fees is in the mail. This will be my second half marathon.

On August 14th, I'm going to run the Hottest Half with several friends (because misery loves company). I am NOT racing. I'm in it to finish without medical intervention. This race was featured in Runner's World this month, in an article that discussed surviving racing in the heat. The medal is HOT and I can't wait to have it hang from my medal display... love the flames!

Three Things Thursday

I finally got on Daily Mile, so I've been posting my workouts there but not in detail here. I'm going to use TTT as my way to catch up this week. Training has been going great. I'm really happy the way it's starting.

1- (Monday) I did 2 rotations of my strength training circuit then ran 4 miles on the treadmill at my prescribed pace of 10:30. It wasn't easy but I wasn't dying either. 

2- (Tuesday) I did a 30 minute core class with group fitness at the gym in the morning. I posted my planned 8 mile long run on the members page for my run club and ended up with 6 other women joining me at night. We dropped the run/walk intervals from last week. Our route has a turnaround point at just over 2 miles, so we'd run almost continuously (stopping for lights or to allow everyone to catch back up since it was dark) and rest for a few minutes at the turnaround points. I did switch my Garmin to auto pause, so those breaks aren't included in the times. We ran a total of 8.3 miles in 1:34:24 with an average pace of 11:23. My fastest mile was 10:49 and slowest was 11:49.

3- (Wednesday) The run club had an organized speedwork session, which got me out of that scary tempo run that my plan called for. It comes back for me in a couple weeks, so it's not like I can avoid it forever. Jake and I ran together while the kids played with some other children of run club parents inside the track. I set my watch to 0.25 mile intervals with 1 minute walk breaks between. I jogged 2 laps each for a warm up and cool down. My total time was 29:25 with 2.95 miles. I used the McMillan calculator to get an idea for what times I should be aiming for. My 5k PR said something like 2:00 - 2:08. Out of curiosity I punched in a 1:59:59 half marathon and it said 1:54-2:00. I'm not really sure which times I should use- it kinda makes sense to me to try and hit the times for my goal half marathon. At any rate...
#1- 2:00
#2- 1:55
#3- 1:54
#4- 1:53
#5- 2:03
#6- 1:48

I'm really happy with those times. I got a little faster each time and hit the goal paces, other than that 5th interval.  After 3 days of running, my legs are ready for the next 2 days off from running.