Yes, I'm alive...we just got back yesterday from an 11 day vacation in beautiful Argentina :)
We enjoyed beautiful landscape, meeting friendly people and eating amazing food and wine and food and dessert and coffee and wine...did I mention food? and wine?
Hahaha, but seriously...all things in moderation, right? I guess that includes running...I "only" ran 15 miles while we were gone, but walked a TON, went horseback riding, trekked across a glacier and truly and thoroughly enjoyed myself. (By the way, I actually consider getting the 15 miles in a major success)
I promise to share more of our vacation soon. I'm back at work today, have my gym bag packed to go running after work and am slowly but surely working my way through Google Reader catching up with everyone.
Only 6 weeks until Chickamauga!
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Chickamauga Training: Week 8 Recap
This week looks a little bit different because of college football/traveling/holiday weekend...the key is recognizing that schedule is kind of jacked up, readjusting and then rolling with it :) And yes, I know I am more than halfway through week #9 but that's the way I'm rolling this week too :)The good, the bad and the ugly of week #8...
Monday, August 29
Plan: 4 miles
Actual: Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred (Level 2) + 2.5 mile walk
It was a LONG day at work with meeting after meeting including 2 trips across campus (and back) in 5" heels. (I did not plan that well) I'm counting this because A. even with the walking I do, this is out of the norm and B. the walks to/from the meeting were NOT leisurely, and the pace had me striding out to the point where I'm pretty sure I looked like I was power walking (I was walking with men and needed to keep their pace).
After I got home, I knew I didn't feel like running...my legs/feet were sore from what I put them through at work and I was a little sore from my long run the day prior. Matt was doing his Fantasy Football draft so I popped in Jillian and decided to kick it up to level 2 (which I hadn't done in a while). Holy cow, that was tougher than I remembered! And my upper body strength is TERRIBLE.
Tuesday, August 30
Plan: Boot camp
Actual: 4 miles
I counted my Jillian video as "boot camp" for this week, so tonight was time for a run. I ended up working late again and was starving so I headed home to eat before going to the gym. Ugh. I had about 30-45 min to digest dinner before I jeopardized being able to fit in my 4 miles before the gym closed. Not to be totally TMI but I ended up burping dinner pretty much the entire run and actually threw up in my mouth a couple of times. Pretty gross. But despite that, the run didn't totally suck.
I ended up deciding to run a progression run, partly b/c I was trying to make treadmill time interesting and partly b/c I knew I needed to if I was going to get it done before closing time. I started at warm-up pace (11:30) and every 5 minutes bumped it up by .1 mph...until the last .5 when I bumped it up by .2 or .3 every 1 minute. This was out of necessity and I ended up at an 8:XX pace by the end, feeling pretty good. I'm pretty sure I'm capable of going faster than my current training paces, but I know trying to add speed AND distance can be a recipe for disaster and I'm really not trying to get myself injured. It's something to think about as I work on my half marathon plans later this fall/winter. I think there is a 2:10-2:15 half marathon to be had with some work!
It would have been really easy to blow off this workout tonight but I had no VALID reason. Marathon training is not always supposed to be comfortable and easy, and I know there will be other times that I may have to skip a workout...tonight was not comfortable but I'm so glad I got it done.
Wednesday, August 31
Plan: Yoga
Actual: 3.5 mile walk w/Matt + dogs
I was actually really looking forward to yoga tonight but traffic was JACKED on the way home, so I wasn't able to make it to the gym by the 6:00 class time. My legs/feet were feeling so sore and fatigued (and kind of have been the past few days) so I knew I couldn't try to switch the tempo run to tonight so I opted for a walk instead. Ummm...my legs cramped on more than one occasion, including once completely buckling underneath me. I know I wasn't dehydrated and I have been fueling decently (not optimally, but not terribly either) and it was at this point that I knew I needed to book my massage for tomorrow. I missed it on my recovery week due to scheduling and other things going on and my body was CLEARLY telling me I needed it!
Thursday, September 1
Plan: 40 min tempo
Actual: Rest/Sports massage
I had a nice 9:00pm massage time booked which allowed me to work late and spend some time prepping for my weekend out of town. Massage Envy will let you customize your massage and lately I have been asking for only neck/back/legs/gluts. The last massage I got was AWESOME and he spent tons of time on my gluts/IT bands. This time I had a different chick who didn't seem to be able to apply anything more than light pressure and spent like 2.5 seconds on my gluts. Any massage is better than NO massage, but I am coming to be worked on and I asked for firm/deep pressure. Yes, I know I had one of the late slots, but I usually have one of the late slots and I've never had that be an issue before. Oh well.
I ended up staying up until almost 1am working on some volunteer stuff for the Humane Society and was hoping I could roll out of bed in the morning with time to squeeze in my missed tempo run from today.
Friday, September 2
Plan: Rest
Actual: Rest
Yeah, going to bed so late did NOT agree with me and it was all I could do to get myself together to get to work and get some minimal packing done for my weekend out of town. I was luckily able to leave work around 2:45 so I could get home, throw some more stuff together and get the girls loaded for the trek to Auburn. Matt had gone down Thursday afternoon since he telecommutes and could work from his friend's house Friday during the day. I BARELY made it in time to drop the dogs off at my aunt's vet (so sad!) at 6:00 because traffic was the SUCK going down (not thick, but I couldn't get any separation b/c of multiple idiots going under the speed limit in the LEFT lane). Anyway, my aunt and I got it together and headed to my cousin's football game to watch him march. (He's a sophomore and plays snare in the band.) It's so "Friday Night Lights"...I secretly kind of loved it :)
Saturday, September 3
Plan: 7 miles
Actual: 7.1 miles + 5 miles walk
No, this is not an extreme step-down week :) It is, however, the 1st weekend of college football...it's my favorite time of the year!!! Even though I graduated from FSU, I am a huge Auburn fan. I grew up there, my dad, aunt AND Matt (as well as many, many family friends) are alumni and have spent pretty much my entire life going to games. This year, my aunt Paula ("Auntie P"), cousin (Jimmy) and I got season tickets together, so I will be going to most of the home games.
This week was an 11:00am kick off, which means leaving for the stadium between 8 and 8:30 so we can do Tiger Walk, see friends and head into the stadium before pre-game. NO WAY was I getting in a 15 mile run on that timeline!! I essentially shifted my medium-long run to Saturday and have my 15-miler slotted for Monday since it's a holiday and I'm off work.
I headed out around 5:40 a.m. and dare I say, it was actually cool outside. It was still kind of dark and I saw several other runners along my route. My plan was to run to campus, *possibly* meet up w/the running club for a few miles and then run back to my aunt's. I knew the AORTA route and passed a group of about 5 runners close to the meeting place. I knew it was them and that I wouldn't be catching up to anyone else, but it turns out it was a SLIM crowd on Saturday because there were only a couple of cars parked at the meeting spot (they usually have several dozen runners). It was actually fine, I loved running around campus so early and checking out all of the people setting up their tailgates, security getting set, etc.
At one point I heard solo footsteps behind me and I was hoping not to get passed. About a mile later, I pulled over to take a picture and realized another woman had essentially been using me as her pace bunny. Kind of funny and I almost wished I had kept going to keep up the motivation.
On another random note, one of the security guys joked with me that I looked way too happy for it to be so early, so I jumped into the air and clicked my heels for a "good morning"...I think we both got a kick out of that.
We always park 1.5 miles from the stadium (at my aunt's work) and then walk...good exercise and actually more convenient then it sounds. I was wearing flat sandals (slick bottom) and by the end of the day knew I had (at minimum) a hot spot. Got home and OMG the nastiest blood blister about 3 inches long. BARF. All the running and high heel wearing I do and I end up with a blister from the flat sandals I wore all summer? Doesn't add up, does it?
Sunday, September 4
Plan: Rest
Actual: Rest
I would usually join my aunt at the gym, but between the nasty blister that made it difficult to walk and my pending 15 miler, I opted for the extra rest this morning.
Monday, August 29
Plan: 4 miles
Actual: Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred (Level 2) + 2.5 mile walk
It was a LONG day at work with meeting after meeting including 2 trips across campus (and back) in 5" heels. (I did not plan that well) I'm counting this because A. even with the walking I do, this is out of the norm and B. the walks to/from the meeting were NOT leisurely, and the pace had me striding out to the point where I'm pretty sure I looked like I was power walking (I was walking with men and needed to keep their pace).
After I got home, I knew I didn't feel like running...my legs/feet were sore from what I put them through at work and I was a little sore from my long run the day prior. Matt was doing his Fantasy Football draft so I popped in Jillian and decided to kick it up to level 2 (which I hadn't done in a while). Holy cow, that was tougher than I remembered! And my upper body strength is TERRIBLE.
Tuesday, August 30
Plan: Boot camp
Actual: 4 miles
I counted my Jillian video as "boot camp" for this week, so tonight was time for a run. I ended up working late again and was starving so I headed home to eat before going to the gym. Ugh. I had about 30-45 min to digest dinner before I jeopardized being able to fit in my 4 miles before the gym closed. Not to be totally TMI but I ended up burping dinner pretty much the entire run and actually threw up in my mouth a couple of times. Pretty gross. But despite that, the run didn't totally suck.
I ended up deciding to run a progression run, partly b/c I was trying to make treadmill time interesting and partly b/c I knew I needed to if I was going to get it done before closing time. I started at warm-up pace (11:30) and every 5 minutes bumped it up by .1 mph...until the last .5 when I bumped it up by .2 or .3 every 1 minute. This was out of necessity and I ended up at an 8:XX pace by the end, feeling pretty good. I'm pretty sure I'm capable of going faster than my current training paces, but I know trying to add speed AND distance can be a recipe for disaster and I'm really not trying to get myself injured. It's something to think about as I work on my half marathon plans later this fall/winter. I think there is a 2:10-2:15 half marathon to be had with some work!
It would have been really easy to blow off this workout tonight but I had no VALID reason. Marathon training is not always supposed to be comfortable and easy, and I know there will be other times that I may have to skip a workout...tonight was not comfortable but I'm so glad I got it done.
Wednesday, August 31
Plan: Yoga
Actual: 3.5 mile walk w/Matt + dogs
I was actually really looking forward to yoga tonight but traffic was JACKED on the way home, so I wasn't able to make it to the gym by the 6:00 class time. My legs/feet were feeling so sore and fatigued (and kind of have been the past few days) so I knew I couldn't try to switch the tempo run to tonight so I opted for a walk instead. Ummm...my legs cramped on more than one occasion, including once completely buckling underneath me. I know I wasn't dehydrated and I have been fueling decently (not optimally, but not terribly either) and it was at this point that I knew I needed to book my massage for tomorrow. I missed it on my recovery week due to scheduling and other things going on and my body was CLEARLY telling me I needed it!
Thursday, September 1
Plan: 40 min tempo
Actual: Rest/Sports massage
I had a nice 9:00pm massage time booked which allowed me to work late and spend some time prepping for my weekend out of town. Massage Envy will let you customize your massage and lately I have been asking for only neck/back/legs/gluts. The last massage I got was AWESOME and he spent tons of time on my gluts/IT bands. This time I had a different chick who didn't seem to be able to apply anything more than light pressure and spent like 2.5 seconds on my gluts. Any massage is better than NO massage, but I am coming to be worked on and I asked for firm/deep pressure. Yes, I know I had one of the late slots, but I usually have one of the late slots and I've never had that be an issue before. Oh well.
I ended up staying up until almost 1am working on some volunteer stuff for the Humane Society and was hoping I could roll out of bed in the morning with time to squeeze in my missed tempo run from today.
Friday, September 2
Plan: Rest
Actual: Rest
Yeah, going to bed so late did NOT agree with me and it was all I could do to get myself together to get to work and get some minimal packing done for my weekend out of town. I was luckily able to leave work around 2:45 so I could get home, throw some more stuff together and get the girls loaded for the trek to Auburn. Matt had gone down Thursday afternoon since he telecommutes and could work from his friend's house Friday during the day. I BARELY made it in time to drop the dogs off at my aunt's vet (so sad!) at 6:00 because traffic was the SUCK going down (not thick, but I couldn't get any separation b/c of multiple idiots going under the speed limit in the LEFT lane). Anyway, my aunt and I got it together and headed to my cousin's football game to watch him march. (He's a sophomore and plays snare in the band.) It's so "Friday Night Lights"...I secretly kind of loved it :)
Saturday, September 3
Plan: 7 miles
Actual: 7.1 miles + 5 miles walk
No, this is not an extreme step-down week :) It is, however, the 1st weekend of college football...it's my favorite time of the year!!! Even though I graduated from FSU, I am a huge Auburn fan. I grew up there, my dad, aunt AND Matt (as well as many, many family friends) are alumni and have spent pretty much my entire life going to games. This year, my aunt Paula ("Auntie P"), cousin (Jimmy) and I got season tickets together, so I will be going to most of the home games.
Jimmy was too cool to show his face here
This week was an 11:00am kick off, which means leaving for the stadium between 8 and 8:30 so we can do Tiger Walk, see friends and head into the stadium before pre-game. NO WAY was I getting in a 15 mile run on that timeline!! I essentially shifted my medium-long run to Saturday and have my 15-miler slotted for Monday since it's a holiday and I'm off work.
I headed out around 5:40 a.m. and dare I say, it was actually cool outside. It was still kind of dark and I saw several other runners along my route. My plan was to run to campus, *possibly* meet up w/the running club for a few miles and then run back to my aunt's. I knew the AORTA route and passed a group of about 5 runners close to the meeting place. I knew it was them and that I wouldn't be catching up to anyone else, but it turns out it was a SLIM crowd on Saturday because there were only a couple of cars parked at the meeting spot (they usually have several dozen runners). It was actually fine, I loved running around campus so early and checking out all of the people setting up their tailgates, security getting set, etc.
At one point I heard solo footsteps behind me and I was hoping not to get passed. About a mile later, I pulled over to take a picture and realized another woman had essentially been using me as her pace bunny. Kind of funny and I almost wished I had kept going to keep up the motivation.
Jordan Hare stadium at sunrise
On another random note, one of the security guys joked with me that I looked way too happy for it to be so early, so I jumped into the air and clicked my heels for a "good morning"...I think we both got a kick out of that.
Reason #540 why I love running on the plains...
I was really shocked that by 6:30/45 traffic had REALLY picked up. Getting close to my aunt's house (running on the sidewalk) a car laid on it's horn and I JUMPED in the air...didn't miss a stride but I know it was comical looking. I am used to the occasional "beep beep" but this was shocking...holy MOLY!We always park 1.5 miles from the stadium (at my aunt's work) and then walk...good exercise and actually more convenient then it sounds. I was wearing flat sandals (slick bottom) and by the end of the day knew I had (at minimum) a hot spot. Got home and OMG the nastiest blood blister about 3 inches long. BARF. All the running and high heel wearing I do and I end up with a blister from the flat sandals I wore all summer? Doesn't add up, does it?
Proof that I wear more than just running clothes on occasion
Me with Matt & Jimmy before the game
(Auburn squeaked by with a win against Utah State)
Sunday, September 4
Plan: Rest
Actual: Rest
I would usually join my aunt at the gym, but between the nasty blister that made it difficult to walk and my pending 15 miler, I opted for the extra rest this morning.
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