Wednesday, August 27, 2014

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:


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

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

Thursday, August 21, 2014

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!

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

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!