The body was willing but the mind was weak

Last Thursday, I ran 8x400 on the treadmill. It was hard, but I got it done. 1 mile warm up at 5.5, 8x400 at 7.0 with a 90 second walk at 3.5, 1 mile cool down at 5.5. Nothing to write home about.

Yesterday, I ran 10.5 miles. I did a fabulous job on Wednesday eating the right amount of food in preparation. Spaghetti with french bread is the best dinner for me the night before a race or long run! I was sure to have two and a half + nalgene bottles and a glass of nuun as well. I thought I was well hydrated.

Thursday morning my alarm went off at 6:00 am. I got up and my first thought was, "Why am I doing this?" I remember thinking that it wasn't the way to start off a long run. Had a bowl of steel cut oats (microwaved from the day before) and a glass of water and then crawled back into bed for 30 minutes. I was hoping to fall back asleep (I set my alarm) but sleep eluded me. Got up at 6:45 and started getting dressed. I kept asking myself why I was out of bed instead of sleeping. It's been a rough week in the sleep department, hence the obsession with needing more sleep.

Headed out the door just a few minutes past 7:00. The sun was set to rise and I was trying to time my run so that I wouldn't start too early and have to wear the reflective vest, but I also didn't want to start too late and run in the heat. 7:00 was the perfect time this week!

I remembered to keep it slow and steady at the beginning. I always go out too fast and blow my wad early. I took gels at miles 4 and 8. I brought two flasks of water and two flasks of nuun. I did a great job with my pace. Miles 6 and 7 were slow, but not too horribly. I was struggling mentally then, but my pace was decent. Miles 9 and 10 totally kicked my butt. All I could think about was how much I wanted to get home. It was more of a mental struggle than physical. I remember thinking that my legs and lungs felt really great, it was my motivation that was lacking.

I finished up 10.5 miles in 2:03. Not bad for me. I am thinking about taking that second gel at 7.5 miles instead of 8 to help me out with the latter part of my run. Maybe that will help on my next long run? Also, my hands got really swollen. This happened to me in New Orleans as well. I will try to drink the same amount of water and nuun the day before, but also add a glass of coconut water. I have been finding myself obsessing about water in the last few miles of these long runs. Apparently, I'm dehydrating easily. I did notice a major sloshing in my gut in the last two miles and I did struggle with even more light-headedness than usual. I am light-headed on all of my runs. I assume that is normal? Maybe not? Who knows.

Next Thursday is 4x800 on the treadmill and the following Thursday is 12 miles.

It's a great day for running y'all!

Filet mignon and a baked potato are not fuel for a long run

Monday night, my garmin started freaking out in the middle of the night. Beeping, turning off, turning back on, beeping again, turning off again and so forth until I died. The next day I googled ideas on how to fix it. I ended up plugging it in for 30 minutes and trying to reset it (interpret pushing a bunch of buttons that really did nothing) only to discover that the batter was dead. My mom blamed the solar flares and I have to agree with her. Only because I had fully charged it a day before. Suffice to say, that I somehow turned off the mile lap statistics so I do not have any of my mile splits from my long run. The whole run was one lap. I think (hope) I fixed it and will be able to tell my mile splits on tomorrow's run. Otherwise I'm up a crick!

Wednesday was hubby's birthday so we all piled into the car to go down to hubby's restaurant to eat our once a month free meal. We splurged on filet mignon and baked potatoes. I started with a Manhattan and finished with some wine. It was a fabulous meal all around and I was curious as to how well a baked potato (or half of one) would fuel me for my 9 miles the next day. I can say that it wasn't the best fuel; my first two miles were craptastic and I struggled in the energy department the whole run, but I've definitely had worse runs. The good 'ol standby of spaghetti and meat sauce with french bread is definitely the best for me! Lesson learned. There was no way I was going to pass on that yummy dinner!

Thursday's run was nice and cool. I started off at 7 am. It was 61 degrees, 93% humidity and a 59 degree dew point. Cool and thick. I loved the temperature and the humidity didn't really zap me like it usually does. Maybe because it was below 94%? The first two miles were really hard, then my legs woke up. I ran 4 minutes and walked every 1 minute. I took gels at miles 4 and 7.5. I struggled with filling my lungs, I think it was the weed pollen levels combined with the humidity. It was nice to not have to run with my reflective vest, I really hate that thing! The traffic was low because the local school district is on their fall break. Overall, it was a good run. Not as epic as my last long run, but not as hard as it could have been.

Next Thursday I'll be doing 8x400 repeats on the treadmill.

It's a great day for running y'all!

6x400

Today I ran 6x400 on the treadmill. Wishing I had a track closer, but knowing that it would be on high school property and they don't like people using their track during school hours. I slept like crap last night. I blame the pizza and the bourbon. Woke up before my alarm (as usual on a running day) and hit the treadmill at 7. 1 mile warmup at a slow pace, which felt abnormally hard. I think my legs were still waking up. 6x400 at 8 min pace with 90 sec rest in between. I kept paperclips in the cup holder so I could keep track of how many I had completed. 1 mile cool down and my workout was in the books. Nothing too exciting to report. I hope this is making me faster and stronger.

Next Thursday is 9 miles. I hope this humidity drops by then.

It's a great day for running y'all!

Two Week Catch Up

So the 4x400 intervals on the treadmill at 8:30 pace worked out well. It was challenging, but not impossible. I will repeat that strategy for 6x400 next Thursday. I did a mile warmup, 4x400, 1 mile cool down. I will repeat whilst increasing the interval quantity. It did require a bit of time calculation in my head which is never easy while running, but success! I had a 90 second rest between each interval and ended up stretching that a tad to make the distances even since I can't program my treadmill to do 1 mi w/u, 4x400 at 8:30 pace with 90 sec rest, 1 mi c/d. That would be awesome if I could!

Yesterday, I ran 7.5 miles. It was 71 degrees, 97% humidity (yuck) and the dew point was at 70 degrees. I had zero expectations given this weather other than finishing standing up. I was surprised at how well this run went! I had a pre-run banana and some water. I took two flasks of water and two flasks of nuun in my fuel belt and one gel in my skirt pocket. I set my timer and ran. Since it was pitch black out when I started, I was wearing my much hated but much needed reflective vest. I had no idea what my splits were until mile 3 which was probably a good thing. I ran on feel other than the watch.

The humidity did get to me, but I was able to clear my head and push on through. This was good training for race day. While the weather won't be as brutal on Thanksgiving day, the second half of the race will be hard and I will feel similar to how I did yesterday.

I took my gel at the half way point, turned around and headed home. I did hit quite a few stop lights; one of the many drawbacks of running during the morning commute. Overall, it was a fabulous long run!

It's a great day for running y'all!

Treadmill Conversion Chart

Since I live in a hilly area and the nearest track is too far to drive to on a Thursday morning, I will be doing my speed work on the treadmill.

Here's a handy-dandy conversion chart that I'll be using:

source

Tomorrow I'll be running 4x400 shooting for an 8:30 pace. Wish me luck.

It's a great day for running y'all!

What is the antonym for epic anyway?

Today's six miler kicked my butt. Totally sucked. I blame it on my fueling (or lack thereof) and the humidity. Last night, I went to bed hungry (epic fail). This morning, I woke up hungry and didn't have any bananas in the house (epic fail). So I sucked down a gel, guzzled some water and called it good (epic fail).

Now that I've set the scene...

Hit the road at 6:30 this morning. I love to hear the frogs, crickets and other over-night animals that are incredibly loud here in Georgia! I checked the weather stats and saw that it was 67 degrees, 95% humidity and the dew point was at 66. Not good. I have run in worse humidity, but anything above 94% kicks my butt. AND before you Northerners ask, yes, there is a difference between 94% and 95% humidity. Trust me.

That first hill winded me more than usual. I hate that hill. I have to run up it every.single.time I go for a run. Then, because I'm a sick person, I run up it multiple times on Mondays and call it hill repeats. Commit me now hubby. It was too dark for me to see my first mile split, maybe that was a good thing?

Since school has started back, I'm running with a reflective vest so the drivers will see me. I swear it increases my body temperature by 10 degrees. I actually feel safer running in the dark with the vest on than during day light with or without the vest. These stinking commuters look right and left at a distance for other cars but don't bother checking their closer peripherals for pedestrians.

By mile 2.5 the hunger pains started and boy were they painful! I know that the humidity dropped a tad by the end of my run, but I could feel the temperature rising and with it, stomach cramping. I did get through the whole six miles and was shocked to only see one mile over 13 minutes, 13:09 to be exact. I did a lot of waiting for stop lights and cars as well as way more walking than I should have. Oh well, you win some and you loose some!

Lessons learned from today's epic failure:

1. Respect the distance, no matter how far or short it is
2. Fuel properly for said respected distance, both food and hydration. I didn't drink enough yesterday.
3. Have zero expectations other than finishing upright when the humidity is 95%+

Regardless of how much it sucked, I'm still thankful that I can get out there and run; fast or slow.

It's a great day for running y'all!

Run More, Post Less

It has been an incredibly restful summer here in the ATL. As compared to last summer in New Orleans, we as a family have re-discovered our peace and that puts a smile on my face. Just this last week, I was able to put my treadmill back together after the movers broke it last February. Yes, you read that right, February. We moved into our house in early March and discovered the treadmill was broken in transit. It took us MONTHS to complete the claims process with the Van Lines and it was finally, FINALLY settled at the end of July! We received the check and I ordered the part that was broken. Elated to finally have my treadmill back, I was devastated to discover more broken pieces that were not originally noticed. (Not to mention, that they were not on our original claim and could not be added since it had been closed.) After receiving the next parts, I took the whole machine apart and then put it back together. I’m glad that I did, because the man who started to put it together during our move in, did not ground the machine. Yikes! I can officially say that our New Orleans chapter is finally closed!

On to running. I have been running all summer long in an attempt to strengthen my base. I had zero interest or drive for our first two months back in GA. The stress and depression let down. I started running again in May, post ATL pollen. I don’t remember too much about that base building. I know I ran about 3-4 times a week, 2-3 shorter runs (5k) and one long run. I increased my mileage by 2 miles every other week and threw in a 3-4 mile run on the off weeks. I got up to 8 miles by Memorial Day. Took a trip up the E Coast with my parents and did zero running. By the time we got back, the heat and humidity had hit. I ran the same amount of times, but dropped my distance down to 5k and added a weekly walk into the mix. 

As you saw from my last post, I was able to buy a black market bib for the Peachtree Road Race. I am excited to run it again next year as myself! I think I did a great job running considering that 1) I hadn’t trained at all and 2) I had a cyst rupture the day before. I felt pretty crummy the morning of the race, but the endorphins really helped curb the pain. 

Next up on the race schedule is the Atlanta Half Marathon. I have run this race two out of the last three years and only missed last year due to NOLA. I am excited to see what I can do on this course this year. Unfortunately, my weight is still up about five pounds from the last time I raced. I am hoping to bring that back down, but I have noticed that I have more muscle in my legs and butt. I have been making a conscious effort this summer to do more squats. 

I have taken the two Jeff Galloway Half Marathon Training Plans and have merged them. I want more than the “Finish It” plan and don’t have the time to complete the “Time Goal” plan. 17 miles is too long for me to run whilst homeschooling our boys. 

So, here is what I have managed to come up with:

ATL Half 2014: Jeff Galloway Hybrid Training Schedule

Week	Fri	Sat	Sun	Mon Hills	Tues	Wed	Thurs
1	8/1/17	8/2/14	8/3/14	8/4/14	8/5/14	8/6/14	8/7/14
	off	40 min run	off	40 min run	easy walk	off	4 miles
2	8/8/14	8/9/14	8/10/14	8/11/14	8/12/14	8/13/14	8/14/14
	off	40 min run	off	40 min run	easy walk	off	5 miles
3	8/15/14	8/16/14	8/17/14	8/18/14	8/19/14	8/20/14	8/21/14
	off	40 min run	off	40 min run	easy walk	off	6 miles
4	8/22/14	8/23/14	8/24/14	8/25/14	8/26/14	8/27/14	8/28/14
	off	40 min run	off	40 min run	easy walk	off	4x400
5	8/29/14	8/30/14	8/31/14	9/1/14	9/2/14	9/3/14	9/4/14
	off	40 min run	off	40 min run	easy walk	off	7.5 miles
6	9/5/14	9/6/14	9/7/14	9/8/14	9/9/14	9/10/14	9/11/14
	off	40 min run	off	40 min/MM	easy walk	off	6x400
7	9/12/14	9/13/14	9/14/14	9/15/14	9/16/14	9/17/14	9/18/14
	off	40 min run	off	40 min run	easy walk	off	9 miles
8	9/19/14	9/20/14	9/21/14	9/22/14	9/23/14	9/24/14	9/25/14
	off	40 min run	off	40 min/MM	easy walk	off	8x400
9	9/26/14	9/27/14	9/28/14	9/29/14	9/30/14	10/1/14	10/2/14
	off	40 min run	off	40 min run	easy walk	off	10.5 miles
10	10/3/14	10/4/14	10/5/14	10/6/14	10/7/14	10/8/14	10/9/14
	off	40 min run	off	40 min run	easy walk	off	4x800
11	10/10/14	10/11/14	10/12/14	10/13/14	10/14/14	10/15/14	10/16/14
	off	40 min run	off	40 min run	easy walk	off	12 miles
12	10/17/14	10/18/14	10/19/14	10/20/14	10/21/14	10/22/14	10/23/14
	off	40 min run	off	40 min/MM	easy walk	off	6x800
13	10/24/14	10/25/14	10/26/14	10/27/14	10/28/14	10/29/14	10/30/14
	off	40 min run	off	40 min run	easy walk	off	13.5 miles
14	10/31/14	11/1/14	11/2/14	11/3/14	11/4/14	11/5/14	11/6/14
	off	40 min run	off	40 min/MM	easy walk	off	8x800
15	11/7/14	11/8/14	11/9/14	11/10/14	11/11/14	11/12/14	11/13/14
	off	40 min run	off	40 min run	easy walk	off	15 miles
16	11/14/14	11/15/14	11/16/14	11/17/14	11/18/14	11/19/14	11/20/14
	off	40 min run	off	40 min run	easy walk	off	5 miles
17	11/21/14	11/22/14	11/23/14	11/24/14	11/25/14	11/26/14	11/27/14
	off	40 min run	off	40 min run	easy walk	off	Half Marathon!!!
18	11/28/14	11/29/14	11/30/14	12/1/14	12/2/14	12/3/14	12/4/14
	off	40 min run	off	40 min run	easy walk	off	5 miles
19	12/5/14	12/6/14	12/7/14	12/8/14	12/9/14	12/10/14	12/11/14
	off	40 min run	off	40 min run	easy walk	off	6-8 miles

I am almost done with week 3. I will be running six miles on Thursday. I’ll try to post once every few weeks to keep up with the schedule and let you know how this turns out. I’m hoping for a PR at 2:15 which would be 12 minutes faster than the last time I ran this race. I will also go for a negative split, which means hill training on very tired legs. This race has been described as a 10k with a 10k warm up. The race really doesn’t start until mile 7 when you leave the park and start climbing hills. Usually, by the time I exit the park, my tank is empty. Not this year. My goal is to exit the park with energy and finish exhausted and empty!

It’s a great day for running y’all!