Tuesday May 4, 2010

Workout: 20:00 cross + strength
Weight: 124.6

Did not feel like doing either of these things this morning, but got up and did it anyway. I'm in a taper kind of mindset in terms of everything:) I just want to take the week off, I think. The workout was fine. I actually increased some of my weights in anticipation of being done with this training program.

Yesterday I had 4.5 miles on the schedule and went out and could not complete one mile due to ulcer pain. I had been taking prilosec everyday and was feeling much better. I missed a day or two and didn't feel any different, so I stopped altogether about 1 1/2 weeks ago. Must not have been a good idea. I tried to run through it, but I couldn't. It is a pain that I can't mental my way through... ankle pain I can tough it out, this is different pain and I had to stop. I was too far from home, though, to turn around so I altered my planned route and walked most of the way home. I was able to run the last 1/8 of a mile and felt better about that. I ended up doing 2.5 miles at a 12:22 pace. I wasn't happy about it, but couldn't change it.

This morning I could still feel the pain a bit, but right now I'm feeling better. I'm going to take 2/day this week hoping to calm everything down by the race. Tomorrow I have 2 miles on the schedule so hopefully I'll be able to run them.

One really great thing about the taper is that Cornbread and I can both run in the morning because the run is so much shorter. He ran first yesterday and then I went out when he got home. Scheduling our runs has been kind of troublesome at times throughout the training... its one thing when you have only one person training, its another when two people are trying to figure out how to work things out. However, with both of us training, it has been much easier to be understanding toward one another when we have to figure out a way to get a training run worked into our families schedule. Knowing that I ran 6 miles in a day and Cornbread has to work it in somewhere, too, makes it much easier for me to be understanding if he needs to do it during non-work hours. We didn't run into issues often - during the week I mostly ran in the morning and he ran during the day at the gym. Our biggest issues were the long runs on Saturdays and figuring those out. He has worked every Saturday since we got back from Colorado which ties up 4-5 hours during the morning and early afternoon. We leave for church at 3:30, so it left a small window open for either of us to run - one of us had to get up early to run and the other would have to leave immediately after he got home in the afternoon in order to be back in time for church. There were a couple of Saturdays that he went to church with the girls while I finished showering and getting ready and I would drive separately and meet him there. It certainly was not ideal, but we worked it out. And having us both training meant that we prioritized everything around our Saturday long runs... if only one of us was training it would have been harder to give something up on Friday in order to get to bed on time, or to not be upset if yard work didn't get done on Saturday because one of us had to run. I think it was all around a good thing that we were training on the same schedule... we also encouraged each other a lot throughout because we each did the same run each day. Ultimately, I just love it that we're both interested in the same things... we may not start out interested in the same things, but because we love eachother and love spending time together we support eachother in our respective interests and ultimately are won over, too.

I'm currently contemplating a training plan for the race in the fall. Trying to figure out how many weeks I want to train and what exactly I want to do. I want to increase my weekly mileage for sure. I want to include some speedwork, too. Not sure if I want to run 5 days or 4 days or what. Have to peruse the training plans and get an idea. Before the training starts, though, I'd like to focus a little more on strength training and core conditioning. Back and arms are important to form and I want to hit them pretty hard. I've also skipped every form of ab/core training for the last 4 months, so I should probably add some of that back in. Maybe I'll do a 12 week program and before that starts I can really concentrate on building a base of muscles - which would mean a higher protein diet, which I hate. So I have to really think about it and figure out what I want to do and what I want to accomplish in the next race. First, I should probably get through this one :)

Monday March 1, 2010

Workout: 4 1/2 miles + 10:00 cross training
Weight: 123
Resting Heart Rate: Forgot

Great run this morning. I'm feeling so strong and confident while I'm running. Its incredibly enjoyable and I'm amazed at how quickly 4 1/2 miles became easy again. I'm really looking forward to running outside again - it will be hard, but I can't wait!

Ran at 6.0 until 4.25 miles (totally forgot to increase my pace until then). Ran the last 1/4 mile at 6.5. Feels good to open up like that - my stride is long, pace is steady.

Heart rate was 164/166 for entire run until I increased the pace.

Cross Training = 10 minutes of walking. I did a treadmill program that was designed around getting to and maintaining a certain heart rate. I was supposed to get up to 131 bpm. It took 7 minutes at a 13% incline and 3.8 mph to get back up to 131 and maintain it. I think I could have walked at 4.0 and should try that next time. Told Dave about this and he said he is also struggling to get his heart rate up while walking and doing the eliptical without making the incline or resistance ridiculous.

Today I'm getting back to a more controlled eating plan. I don't have everything planned out, but I'm going to cut out the snacky food - chex mix, target trail mixes, crackers, etc. Out. I need to go grocery shopping, but I'm going to focus back on Plant First. Last week was kind of rough in that regard.

I'm also going to begin painting throughout the house. Might not happen until after we get back from Steamboat because I need to pick out colors, but I'm going to do the entire house this year. Cornbread was offered an opportunity to transfer offices (to FL) and while we ultimately decided not to explore it, it did make us realize that 1) we are willing to move/transfer if the right office becomes available and 2) our house needs some serious work. I'm writing about this in this blog because when I paint I generally lose weight. Probably from the up and down the ladder, paint rolling etc. but also probably due to being too busy/occupied to eat. So, hopefully with a more controlled eating day and the addition of the painting activity I can reach my goal of 115 by race time. Once again, I'm not hung up on the number so much as I recognize that every pound I lose will help me run better/easier. I would like to fluctuate between 115 - 119 rather than 123 - 125.

Wednesday February 24, 2010

Weight: 124.6
Workout: 4 miles + 10:00 cross

Run was good this morning. Better than on Monday morning. I felt good throughout with the exception of ankle pain during the first 3 songs. The pain was not as severe as it was on Monday, but definitely lasted longer into the run than I think I've estimated.

Ran the entire 4 miles without breaks at 6.0 mph. Cranked it up to 6.2 for 3.25 - 3.75 and then 6.5 for 3.75-4.0. Heart rate was 166-168 before cranking it up and ended around 174.

For the cross training I walked for 10 minutes. Mostly because I didn't feel like spending the time wiping down the treadmill, going to a new machine and having to wipe that one down afterward too. I put the incline up to 13% and walked at 3.5 mph. Heart rate was in the 120's most of the time. Incline varied throughout the 10 minutes.

I would like to spend some time re-evaluating my eating. I think that I've gone over to the overconfident, can eat whatever I want side of the pendulum. Ultimately, I'm happy where I'm at and know that I'm probably truly around 123ish and the fluctuations are due to water retention (based on how my clothes fit and the gain/loss amounts over night), but I know that if I lose 5-10 pounds I will be able to run better. So I need to actually sit down and figure out a do-able 1500 calorie/day diet. I get so screwed by my height (5'1"):)

Cornbread, on the other hand, is melting away. He has lost 15 pounds since January 4th. I look at his weight chart every morning and am amazed! I feel like we're in that commercial where the woman is like "we cut out sweets. I shrank one size. HE shrank 6 sizes" lol! I'm happy for him - he looks good, feels good and is being intentional about it. This is the first time in our relationship that he has actually included a change in his eating in order to hopefully lose a little weight. Used to be that all he had to do was start running and he'd drop 20 pounds easily without altering his diet. Age, I believe, has caught up with him. So I'm thrilled to see him take it seriously and make it a priority. I want to be active with him until we are old, old, old!