Mommy to Marathon

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

An early morning run...

I miss Arizona sunrises.

I really could get used to this! The alarm went off at 6:00....I almost didn't get up but my husband rolled over and, "That was your alarm honey." I guess I needed to get up. It took me a while to get change and wipe the sleep from my eyes, but it was worth it. I stepped out the door into a brisk 50 degree weather and was excited! I really focused on my form and, since I wasn't worn out from a full day yet, I was able to keep a good pace. My breathing was in check and my legs didn't hurt at all! I've been testing out something new as well. I'm a huge music fan. I've mentioned before how it keeps my pace steady and that, well, I just love it. The problem, I've just been too lazy to find more good music and my long runs outlast my current playlist by about 15 minutes. Enter, Old-Time Radio shows. I LOVE them. I decided to give it a chance, listen to stories while I run and see if it works. Answer: It does. The first time was a little slow because I kept listening to the story and not running. Now, I'm able to listen to the story and keep moving. The shows last just the length of my run. So, a quick murder mystery and I was back home. It felt sooo good to be done and it was only seven in the morning. After a quick stretch, I made breakfast for the family and hopped in the shower while Big D got the girls up and fed them. By eight I was all ready for the day and I wouldn't have to worry about squeezing in my run later. Such a good feeling.
I'm finally getting back to my "normal" pace of roughly a 14:00/mile and it feels good. My 5k is coming up on saturday and I'm just starting to get the pre-race jitters. I'm excited but I really want to PR on this one. The past two weeks haven't been encouraging in that respect but today helped. I decided I need to make a few goals this time around, other than to finish.

1. Start off slow-During my first 5k I took off way too fast. I was pumped up and running with people much quicker than I am. Though I did make my time goal, I ended up walking for roughly a mile to recover from it. This time, it's slow and steady.

2. Stick to my 5/1 plan-Only run during that five minutes, no matter how much more I think I can do. It is still 3 miles.

3. PR-I finished my first race in 42:35. My goal is under 42 minutes. Completely feasible since that is my pace for training runs. Honestly, I'll be happy with anything around that number, but I would love a new personal record.

Only three more days and run more run before the big day! I've been so focused on my 10k I've almost let my preparation for this one pass by...Well, I'll keep you updated on my outfit(probably quite similar to the last one) and my playlist.

Stats:

Distance

2.41

Mi.

Duration

34:00

Avg. Pace

14:12

Avg Speed

4.22

mph

Intervals	Pace (min/mi)	Elevation (ft)
5:00 (warmup)	15:46	8
5:00 (fast)	12:50	2
1:00 (slow)	17:44	1
5:00 (fast)	13:16	3
1:00 (slow)	18:37	-1
5:00 (fast)	13:09	-4
1:00 (slow)	15:50	-1
5:00 (fast)	13:17	-4
1:00 (slow)	14:08	1
5:00 (cooldown)	15:57	-4

Friday, June 10, 2011

The numbers....Oh the NUMBERS!

source

Okay, So I have decided the scale and I.....we need a break. I have been doing so well with getting out and just running but I know my size is really slowing me down. I do need to focus on getting healthier(translation, not have ice cream every night before bed. Realizing chocolate is NOT a food group) My eating habits aren't the best and I can tell even more now than ever before. The problem is, every time I focus on losing weight, I psych myself out and end up eating more just "prove" I can't do it. The little red numbers that pop up scare me. I don't want to see them any more. Therefore, I propose a change in the plans for me.

First- no more scale. Really and honestly, I don't care what I weigh as long as I am healthy and my cloths fit. If I set a goal of a certain number, I may not get there in the best way, or I really get mad at myself for not reaching the number. This, of course, lead to some emotional eating and well....you know the cycle. That said, I do need to track my progress in some way...

Second-measurments twice a ~~week~~(wrote this late at night, meant every other week.) I'm going to post them here so you can see my progress as well. This is a much better number for me. 1. because I will only check twice per ~~week~~ *month* and 2. I've already seen my waist go down two inches from when I started running while the scale hasn't budged.

Third, and final goal-Track my eating. I'm simply going to track everything that passes my lips. I will have a plan to follow. Not calories, but how many fruits, veggies, protiens and starches I eat and try not to eat any extras. For each month I successfully follow the plan, no matter what the numbers look like on the scale or measuring tape, I will get a reward.

I really want to focus on integrating good habits. Any diet that works in the long term requires change. It can't just be a diet, but has to be a lifestyle change for healthy eating. You can lose weight doing almost anything-calories in, calories out-but the important thing to me is to eat healthy, act healthy, become healthy. If the numbers move too, great! If they don't, I am at least trying to become a better me.

It has been A WEEK

And I'm not just referring to the last time I posted. It has just been one of those weeks. Long and tiring. I will say this though, I did NOT let it get in the way of my training. Last Friday my knee was still hurting a bit and I really wondered if The four miles I had planned was going to happen. I iced and I rolled and I stretched. Then I received a good reminder from my neighbor(who also happens to be a bit of a running junkie)

I was walking home as she was heading out on her run. She came over to chat a little bit and I immediately lamented the pain in my knees and dumped my woes on her. The first question she asked, "what is your running form looking like?" Ummmm......Running form? You mean I still have to pay attention to that? Yeah, I hadn't been working on it. I was so focused on just surviving my schedule that I kinda let that slip. There is always something to work on...Thanks for the reminder Lisa!

Saturday didn't start as early as I hoped but I did get out there. I had a new strategy for the miles, just to finish. If I didn't run the whole thing that was fine. I needed to take it slow, really listen to my body and focus on form. I planned on stopping the minute there was too much pain. It was also the first run that I needed a hydration/fuel plan. I decided to do a two mile loop past my house. I had a water bottle and some GU waiting for me. I would walk that interval and, if I wasn't feeling good, I would stop there. If I felt ok, I would do another loop and finish up the four miles.

I started nice and slow and really paying attention to how my feet were striking the ground and where my posture was. I couldn't believe the difference. These are things I know I need to watch, but sometimes I forget. Paying attention to them, I was able to go the whole time with NO pain! As I finished the first loop, I could tell I was getting tired. The water and GU really helped. I took the walking break and then picked up the pace again. As I began to run, my legs finally felt numb. Not the tingly, falling asleep numb that is a bad sign, but the nice, finally giving up sending tired signals, numb. I haven't pushed myself that hard in a long time and it felt soooo good! My Brain was finally able to relax and enjoy the run instead of constantly having to ignore my whiny legs. Four mile and 57 minutes later I finished a new distance PR. I have to say, six miles doesn't seem as bad on this side of four miles as it did before. I mean, it's only two more miles, 30 minutes if I'm tired (and I'm sure I will be) and I can do that. I feel so much more confident having gone over this hump.

That said, the rest of my week has consisted of multiple middle of the night wakings(explosive diapers, vomit, you moms know the drill) and my other two training runs were less than stellar. In fact, on Tuesday my average pace was 15 min/mile Something I haven't seen in MONTHS! However, I did get out and run, thanks to a great husband who practically pushed me out the door. I love when he does that for me. On the upside, I did win two giveaways this week! My first ever BondiBand, which I LOVE in the heat, from Bigger girls can run too. I also won a SPIbelt(yes I have the band, but now I'm ready to try the belt, first time with something around my waist, eeek!) by entering the National Running Day contest on their facebook page. I guess it pays to enter every single giveaway you see. It drives my husband crazy.

This one had the perfect phrase for me.
It says, "Looks like walking, feels like running"

Tomorrow brings another four miler, only one week left until the 5K with Big D. I can't wait to run with him. Have I mentioned that before? I might just be a little excited. I've been checking his times, and I'm pretty sure he is going to smoke me, he has been doing really well. We'll see how it goes.

Friday, June 3, 2011

Good news!

So....My husband got a new job this week! I am sooo excited for him. Mostly because it actually pertains to his field of study, and is a permanent position. We've been looking for internships for awhile now, but this job kind of fell into his lap. Such a blessing. The other, more selfish reason, is that he will no longer be working early mornings! That means no more 4:30 alarms, no more 8:00 crashes at night. And for me? It means I can now run first thing in the morning! Such perfect timing with mother nature finally deciding it could be spring. I am a wimp when it comes to heat (well, running in it anyway. I secretly want to move to Arizona) and it's only going to get hotter. Night runs don't work because after chasing two kids all day I'm too exhausted. Plus the 8:00 bed meant I only had that one hour to spend with him and I don't want to run in the dark. All of the rambling to really just say, I get to run when it's still nice and cool and BEFORE I've taken my first shower of the day. I can't wait. He has to finish out his last week at his old job, then it's a whole new world for us. (anyone else have visions of Aladdin and Jasmine? No? Just me then.)

In other news, my knee still hurts a bit, but I've been icing and massaging it several times a day. I did go and run yesterday, slow and one less interval than I had planned, but I went. I actually walked quite a bit of it. Mostly I felt really stiff and I was amazed at how much stamina I had lost by just missing on day of training. Though it is funny that 14:30 has become my new "slow." I'm going to take it really easy tomorrow, I may not even run, but I want to make sure I get out there. I've been thinking about why this would crop up now and I'm pretty sure it's because I have increased my running time. I'm pushing my body much harder now and I might need to just hold steady in place of adding time to my running intervals. I really feel like 5/1 intervals are the best for me right now. Though I would love someday to be able to run straight through, I think that will have to wait until I'm not training for distance. Trying to push my distance and the amount of time I run is just proving a bit too much for my body right now.
I will say, my kids have been getting quite the kick out of my roller massager. I got a video from when I was rolling my foot. Every time I rolled it forward, S would try and grab it, she thought it was a great game.

You can turn off the sound....

no, really, turn it off, I sound ridiculous talking to her.

So I'll leave you with that and....

Stats: