Whole30 Recap

I wanted to do a write-up of something I tried over this past month. I don’t necessarily care if anyone reads this, but it’s more for my benefit. But if you want to continue reading, be my guest!

I have drastically reduced the amount of running I have been doing the last few months. Partly because I was done with marathon training and just needed a break and partly because I just simply haven’t been motivated. However, a side effect of not running, for me, is gaining weight. My weight had been creeping up and up for the past six months or so and I really wanted to get a handle on it. I struggle with nutrition and had to somehow get a handle of what I was eating.

I had seen several blogger and FB friends who had completed the Whole30. Since you rarely hear about 100% improvement from everyone who tries it, I figured I had to look into it.

It appealed to me for several reasons:

1. It’s not a “diet”. This program is meant to change the way that you view food and the way your craving work. It is not necessarily intended to be the way you will eat forever (although you could). It is mostly just a 30 day “reset”.
2. It gave strict rules. I’m kind of a black or white person. Any diet that preaches “moderation” probably won’t work for me (or at least wouldn’t have *more on that later). I appreciated that it said exactly what I could and could not eat
3. It focuses less on weight loss and more on health-both physical and mental. I know that I didn’t have the best relationship with food. I’m an emotional and boredom eater. Whole30 focused on getting rid of my cravings and helping me find a way to get control over what I ate.
4. It was only 30 days. If I could eat this way for 30 days, I would at the very least be proud of myself.

So I went for it. Here’s a summary of how I ate for the last 30 days:

1. No added sugars (real or artificial)
2. No grains
3. No dairy
4. No legumes
5. No alcohol
6. No carrageenan, MSG, or sulfites
7. No re-created baked goods, junk foods, or treats

Yes it was difficult. No it was not impossible. In fact, I found it easier than I thought it would be. I’m a planner by nature and that really helped me. I had to plan out my meals and prepare every night.

In the end, it was 100% worth it. I feel a lot better and healthier. Most people can point to one thing and say “Whole30 cured this!”. I’m not necessarily like that, but I know that I am healthier. I had a doctor’s appointment a week ago and all the tests came back perfect. I also lost 10 pounds.

Most importantly, my relationship with food has changed. I am much more in control. I’m sure I won’t eat this strictly for the rest of my life, but I think I’m in a much better place to make informed decisions about what I am putting in my mouth. I’m no longer a slave to the ice cream that will inevitably be sitting in the freezer at some point, but I may still have some :)

If anyone is interested in more information, you can find all the resources here: http://whole30.com/whole30-program-rules/

I also have a copy of the Whole30 book if anyone wants to borrow it.

Thanks for reading!

Rock N Roll Chicago Half Marathon Recap and I'm Back!

Hey y'all! After a long hiatus, I finally am back so you can read all about my exciting life :)

So here's a brief summary of the last month or so:

"Oh, I should probably run because I signed up for that half marathon in July"
Saturdays: "I'll do a long run, as far as I can!" (farthest I went was 7 miles)
Tuesdays: "Ok, I need to do some shorter runs this week" (usually only ran on Tuesday)
July 19th: "Shoot. Now I need to run a half marathon and I have NOT trained one bit"

Basically, I didn't do what I should have but in the end, I'm kind of glad I didn't. I had gotten so down on myself especially in the running department. After not being able to run the full marathon, running just wasn't fun anymore. Even a training plan didn't really get me motivated. I was officially burnt-out.

I went into the race this weekend knowing that I wasn't prepared, but hoping that I could just finish. I wasn't going to worry about time and I wasn't going to worry about how I felt. Just finishing. Turns out, this no pressure approach made it much more fun!

Race Recap:

So because this race was in Chicago, it also meant lots of family time! So for the expo me, my mom, and my brother ventured downtown to McCormick Place to pick up the packet. Let's just say that Chicago is waaaay more complicated than Nashville to navigate! However, the expo was a lot of fun and I enjoyed more than my fair share of Dunkin Donuts iced coffee samples. I also won the race before it started, so that was convenient.

Race day was warm, but not nearly as hot as it has been in Nashville. My family didn't believe me, but it was actually a nice break from the extreme heat. 

The first couple of miles felt fantastic! I had super fresh legs (aka no training) and lots of coffee! However, around mile 4 I realized that my Garmin had somehow gotten off (it was showing 5.5 miles) so that was a little disappointing. However, I continued to run/walk and just plug away at the miles. It was so fun to run through one of the best cities in the country! 

I had one major complication in this race. My marriage really started to feel restrictive. Totally kidding! Kind of...  This is a picture of me running up to my husband to try to get my ring off my finger because it was cutting off the circulation to my hand. My fingers had swollen so much that I could barely get them off! It was a strange problem that I've never had before, but I was thankful he was there to hold them for me until my hands went back to normal :) 

So to summarize: this was my second slowest half marathon ever. I was exhausted and really had no business running a half. However, I finished my sixth half marathon and I think this will go down as one of my favorites ever. Having my family there was truly special to me! Running through Chicago was special to me! And maybe most importantly, I'm learning how to believe in myself again. Marathon training took a toll on me, but it's not going to keep me down forever! 

And in case you are wondering: yes, I am incredibly sore. Yes, I look like a toddler learning to walk. I'm proud of every ache! 

I'm going to take a week or so off from running and then hopefully start training for another half in November. I'm starting now so that I can train SLOWLY and hopefully maybe enjoy a little bit of it :)

Thanks for reading!

Recovery

Sorry for the lack of blog posts! I'm sure y'all have been going crazy not knowing every little thing that happens in my life!

So here's a quick summary of my last two weeks:

Week 1: RICE (Rest, ice, compression, elevation) for my stupid ankle part 2
Week 2: Trying to kinda do stuff and doing a 5k.

This sprained ankle is nowhere near as bad as the first time (thank goodness!) and I am not wearing a brace or really a wrap anymore. The plan is to get back to normal this week and get a few miles in. I'd still love to run the half marathon I'm signed up for in a month and a half.

Brad and I were already signed up to run the Titans 5k this past Saturday, so of course we still did! This race rocked last year and this year did not disappoint.

I love that the race starts and finishes at LP Field and the runners can sit in the stands. It's a really fun experience for those of us who love running and football!

At the start line, you run  through a tunnel of Titans players and get to give them high-fives as you start! (Of course it'd be better if it were the Denver Broncos, but the Titans will do for now).

The finish line is probably the best part. You run out onto the field and loop around to finish through the same tunnel that the players come out of on game day! The Titans cheerleaders were there to greet us.

And the second best part of the race: Papa John's Pizza at the finish line. Worth every step.

I'll be honest, I think I maybe ran .25 miles of this 3.1 mile run. We took it way easy and walked it. This was beneficial to my ankle, my brain, and my husband :) It was a great day and a great race. I'd highly recommend it to anyone who lives in Nashville!

I'll be posting all the pictures from this event, as well as a video of the finish line to my FB page later today.
Thanks for reading!

Stupid Ankle Part 2

Recap of the week:

• Monday: Rest
• Tuesday: 1.5 mile run + strength
• Wednesday: Rest
• Thursday: 2 mile run + strength
• Friday: Rest
• Saturday: Personal Training
• Sunday: None

Well the hits just keep on coming! For those of you who have been reading my blog for a few months, you'll remember that I sprained my ankle last October. Well we are back to square one. 

(My stupid ankle and some Wrigley butt)

At personal training on Saturday, I was walking and my ankle decided to roll a way it's not supposed to. So while I'm not going to go to a doctor, I'm about 90% sure it's sprained again. After a couple very emotional outbursts, I think I've come to the logical conclusion that I need to strengthen my ankles. I think that running constantly is making any side-to-side movement really weak in my ankles because I don't use those muscles when I run. And both times I have sprained it have been after some "moving" around that my ankles aren't used to. 

Here's the question of the day for y'all. I need a better story though. I mean, the first time I sprained it, I was doing step ups. This time, I was literally walking. Who wants to write a more epic story to how I sprained my ankle twice? It would be much appreciated :)

Training in the Summer

Monday: Rest
Tuesday: 15min eliptical, 30 min strength (LiveFit Day 1), 20 min lunch walk
Wednesday: Rest
Thursday: 1.5 mile run on treadmill, 30 min strength LiveFit Day 2, 20 min lunch walk
Friday: Rest
Saturday: 4 mile run, personal training
Sunday: Rest

I'm extremely proud of this week! I'm trying to incorporate running back into my life as well as strength and low-intensity fitness. I'm also trying to eat healthier (I feel like I say that everyday) because marathon training did a doozy to my nutrition.

There has been one new, major development this week though. Heat, humidity, and sun. I love these three things in general! I've been eating my lunch outside and taking lunchtime walks because I absolutely love the heat. Here's the issue though: my runs suffer big time in the summer weather. Here are some tips I have picked up through reading blogs and my own personal experience with dealing with summer running.

1. Early morning is my friend. I am a modified morning person. I enjoy being up and going in the morning, but that somehow doesn't include wanting to run in the mornings. So I need to get better at that so I can at least mostly beat the heat.

2. Drink lots of fluids. I'm much more conscious of my hydration in the summers. I know I need to drink water constantly and some kind of electrolyte after a hard run.

3. Wear the right stuff. I make sure that I am wearing sweat-wicking clothing and not much of it. (don't worry, I'm not usually indecent). I also try to wear compression shorts/capris because shorts make me worried about chafing (although it doesn't actually happen very often). I also wear a hat and sunglasses. Some advice that I should head is to wear sunscreen. I'm really bad about that and pretty much burn every time I'm in the sun. Whoops.

4. Be ok with not running. This is rarely an issue for me because I give myself all kinds of excuses to not run. But if it's too hot out, don't go running. If I do go, I make sure to tell someone where I will be and when I'll be back. Heat stroke is real and it's no joke. Treadmills=just as many miles. As does horizontal running.

5. Slurpees. Unfortunately there are no official 7-11's here in Nashville, but an Icee is pretty close. It's the perfect after summer run snack.

Hope y'all have a great week!

Recovery and a Birthday!

First my recap of my week:

Monday: Rest
Tuesday: 30 minutes walking on treadmill
Wednesday: 30 minutes cycling
Thursday: Rest
Friday: Rest
Saturday: Walked around dog park (more on that later)
Sunday: 2 mile run

It was great to have a week that was no pressure and no schedule. I did what felt good and when it felt good. I'm going to try to add one more cross training day this next week, just to keep myself motivated!

My one run this week was with gorgeous weather and it felt great!

I made sure to stretch extra well, because my legs are still a little dead from last week.

Introducing: My new shoes! I'm trying out the Brooks Launch 2 because I've heard so many good things about them. Don't worry, they aren't replacing my Ghosts. The Launch are much lighter and I'm going to do short distances/speed work with them. I'll still use my Ghosts for long runs and long races.

Now to the real news: this past week was Wrigley's 1st Birthday!

He got two new toys including a Pound Puppy! (I love the Pound Puppies because we always read their book when we went to Grandma and Grandpa's)

We also went to a super cool dog park in Nashville to celebrate. It was probably the size of a couple football fields and all fenced in. Needless to say, our little dude had a ton of fun and was a little sleepy when we got home :)

Have a great week everyone!

The Next Step

The natural next question is, so what now?

I want to preface this post by mentioning that these are my feelings as of right now. I purposefully waited a few days post-race to write this because I wanted to have a clear head.

My first instinct was to never ever run again because it hurt and I failed. I know that isn't pleasant, I'm just being real.
I did quickly get over that sentiment because I do love running. I just didn't particularly like it on Saturday. So then my next thought was, 26.2.
I know that finishing a full marathon would be an awesome experience. I know that it would take a lot of work and a lot of dedication. I know I would have to take more time than I did this training cycle. However, the question keeps coming into my head: "do I even really want to?". And since I've always been fairly honest with you, right now I don't want to. This whole experience of training and running the marathon has not been a great experience. That's why for right now, I want to focus on the half marathon. I want to get my time to where I want it to be. I want the half marathon to feel "conquered" before I try to push out a full marathon again.

As for the next few months, I want to run a couple 5ks and shorter distances just to keep some running base. I will probably start training for the Rock N Roll Chicago Half Marathon in about three weeks. I hope that training and race goes really well! I'm also signed up for the Zooma Nashville Half Marathon in November. I'm going to try to run both of those, but I need to shift my focus away from training like a crazy person. I need running to be fun again because until I really enjoy it again, I'm not going to even think about 26.2.

Thanks for all the support! I'm blown away by how family, friends, and complete strangers follow my story and actually care. It means the world to me :)

The Journey Continues...

This is a really hard blog post for me to write. I thought that at this moment, I'd be writing to tell you that I ran 26.2 miles and that it was really hard and I'm really sore, but I accomplished my goal. However, that's not how Saturday went. So here's the real story,

I showed up at the start line *mostly* ready. As any runner will tell you, the start line is a nervous and exciting place. However, I was way more nervous than excited.

I was also thrown off by the weather. It was supposed to thunderstorm and be awful. It ended up not raining at all, but being equally as awful. I think that was the first majorly humid day that Nashville has had this year (at least that I've run in). I also started out the race in an oversized rain jacket that waay over-heated me. 

So anyway, the race started. I was still optimistic, but very nervous. Within the first mile, I knew something was off with my body. I was getting light-headed and dizzy. So I readjusted all my race gear and got rid of the jacket, thinking I was just over heating. 

That helped, but not much. At around miles 4 or 5, I started getting reallly dizzy and light headed again. I went over to the curb because I thought I was going to fall over, but ended up throwing up instead. A cop came over and helped me to the medical tent where they took my temp and blood pressure. The nice medical lady said that everything looked ok, but that I needed to keep drinking the loads of water and she made me promise that I would split off from the marathon and only run the half. 

That was not as devastating as it should have been because I kind of already knew I couldn't do the full that day. I had trouble breathing and the dizzy/light headed stuff never really went away. I did some kind of run/walk thing that I made up where I ran 2 minutes and walked 2 minutes. My husband run/walked the last three miles with me. I finished the half marathon with my second worst time, but I was just happy to be done.

I'll share some more of my thoughts on this later this week, but I'm honestly ok with it right now. (The snot all over my husband's shirt from me crying afterwards would probably say otherwise). It was not my day. I'm still not entirely sure what went wrong, but I know that if I had tried to push and do the full, I would have regretted it.

So anyway, I'm alive! I'm extremely sore! I'm ready for a break from running! But I hope you'll keep reading because I promise to continue running, even if not 26.2 for a while :)

Week 16

Monday: Rest
Tuesday:Nada
Wednesday: 1.5 miles
Thursday: 3 miles
Friday:Rest
Saturday: 10 miles/Personal Training
Sunday: 90 min yoga

This week was great for me! The cutback in mileage felt wonderful! The long run was a little rough because I was dealing with some "dead leg" feeling, but after three miles it was great.

Gorgeous day!

I'm really starting to get excited for this marathon. I've really been dreading it since day 1 and I think that's why I haven't been able to be excited. From what I've heard from people I talk to, I'm right where I need to be as far as training and most everyone has doubts at this point. I know I'm going to have to dig deep, but beyond a physical injury, nothing can stop me from getting to that finish line now. The training is done. The hard work is done. I just need to gear myself for the celebration at the finish line! 

If you haven't already, please go "like" my FB page http://www.facebook.com/rachelrunsmusiccity . That way I can annoy you with more running stuff :)

On a side note: Subway now has Mediterranean flavors (which basically just means feta cheese) and it has made my life better.

Have a good week!

Week 15=PEAK WEEK

Here's my mileage recap:

Monday: 2 miles
Tuesday: 2 miles
Wednesday: 4 miles
Thursday: Rest
Friday: 20 miles
Saturday: Rest
Sunday: Rest

For non-runners, peak week is the week in training where you are running the most miles that you are going to during training. It typically includes the longest training run.
This was my peak week. That means that starting next week, I start the "taper". Most runners dread this, but I am more than ready for it. My body and I are tired and we are ready for a little bit less mileage. The goal in the taper is to rest your body enough that come April 25, I will be able to run 26.2 miles. It doesn't mean no running, just less.
Back to peak week, it was still hard. I had to shift my running days to M,T,W instead of T,W,Thur. Somehow that threw me all off. But I was proud of myself for getting all my runs in even if they weren't quite the distance I wanted.

To top it all off, I RAN 20 MILES! I ran the first 20 miles of the race course and it was fantastic. Not going to say it wasn't hard, but it was exactly what I needed. I know I'll regret saying this, but if I can run 20 miles, I can run 26.2.

Here's where the start line will be:

Here's my finish line:

Here's city I ran!

Here's the girl who ran it:

Thoughts going into taper:

• I have done my best. It still has to be proven if my best will be good enough, but I have given the best I can and I have to be happy with that.
• I'm going to attempt to focus on perfecting my nutrition during this time. I'm hoping that will help me come race day.
• I'm going to try to add one yoga day to my week because that will help me relieve the stress of the upcoming race, but also keep me injury-free

I've worked on my mental game a lot this week, and I think I'm getting better at it.
I'm very excited to cut back on miles this next week. I am even more excited to run a marathon in 18 days!

Week 14 and Marathon Fears

Monday: Rest
Tuesday: Time Trial (3.5 miles total)
Wednesday: None
Thursday: 3 miles
Friday: Rest
Saturday: 14 miles
Sunday: 90 min sweet surrender yoga

This week has been very hard for me. I'm starting to realize that I'm not where I wanted to be at this point in my training.  It is far too easy for me right now to get down on myself when after 10 miles, I feel like I'm dying. I have a 20 mile run next week and the farthest I've gone at one time is 16. I feel like my training has gotten very half-hearted. To be honest, at the end of my long (14) run this week, I was ready to switch to the half marathon and just say that I was not made to run 26.2 miles at one time.

However, talking with my trainer and reading some blogs of people who are training for Boston (a week before mine) I realize we are all in the same place. These are totally normal feelings, especially because I've never run a full marathon before. I need so somehow figure out how to put my positive hat on and push through. After this race, I give myself permission to never run a full marathon again, but right now, I need to be focused on 26.2.

As I was pondering these things (way more than I probably should) one word came to mind: steady. I need to figure out how to steady my mind, my muscles, and my nerves and just settle in. I've done the vast majority of my training and now I need to hold steady. And while you are reading my random ponderings, I'll keep going on this stream of consciousness. When I think of "steady" the first image that pops into my head is my Grandpa Stadick. He died when I was 9, but most of what I remember about hims was his steadiness. So I'm going to think of him during this next week while I'm running more than the normal person should. This week is for Grandpa Stadick and his steadiness.

Week 13 and 3 Event Week!

Here's the recap y'all are holding your breath for...

Monday: Rest
Tuesday: Speed Sessions (1x1600, 4x800, 4x400) each group was faster than the one before it! It was tough!
Wednesday: 4 miles
Thursday: 3 miles + 6 miles on bike + Cycle Hip Hop
Friday: Rest
Saturday: Predators Fangtastic 5k + 7 miles
Sunday: 8 miles

This week looked a little different than most for several reasons
1. I actually did run every day I was supposed to!
2. I split up my long 18 mile run between Saturday and Sunday (will explain in min)
3. Between my half marathon last Saturday and this Saturday, I participated in 3 running events!
             1. Rock N Roll DC Half
             2. Wilson Duathlon
             3. Predators Fangtastic 5k

So here's some explanation. Tuesday's speed session was tough! It was high mileage and very quick paces for me. So I made it through, but after the tough half marathon the weekend before, I was toast.
Wednesday I  tried to keep it fairly easy because I could tell I was just tired.
Thursday I got to participate in one my favorite events I've ever done! My cousins from Florida had an idea to organize a duathlon that anyone could participate in anywhere. (kinda like a virtual race). So I ran 2 miles, biked 6, and then ran 1 more. It was a lot harder than it seemed like it should have been, but like I said, I was already dead tired! Plus it was fun to know that family was doing it too!
Saturday I got to do another one of my favorite races. The Predators Fangtastic 5k is one of my favorites because my husband does it with me! He's not really a runner so whenever I can get him to run with me it makes me happy!

(I would say my hair looks so bad because I just ran, but this is before the race. Whoops!)

So that was the first 3 miles of my long run. Went home and back out to the trail for what was supposed to be the rest of my 18 miler. However, I had an epiphany at about mile 6. I was having a great morning, I was having a great run. I was very happy at the 9 miles that I had completed. So I ran another mile. However, at that point it started to not feel as good and I was spiraling back into the "I can't run a marathon. There's no way that's going to happen" train of thought. So I called it a day! At this week in my training, I needed a good-feeling run a lot more than I needed the mileage. It was a great decision!

I went back out on Sunday to finish my long run with 8 more miles. 

I'm not going to say this training has been anywhere near easy. I'm not expecting it to get any easier from here on out. However, because I allowed myself to find joy in running this weekend, I remembered why I love running. I am going to push through these last few weeks and I am going to cross that finish line after 26.2 miles in just over a month. I will be dead. It will be one the hardest things I have ever done and will ever do. But it will be done and I will be better for it!

Rachel Runs DC and Week 12

Sorry about the delay in posting, I've needed some time to think before I wrote about last weekend. But first, week 12 marathon training

Monday: Rest
Tuesday: Speed Work 6x400 at fast pace Splits: 2:13, 2:20, 2:20, 2:17, 2:20, 2:16 (nailed it!)
Wednesday: 4 miles
Thursday: Traveling
Friday: Walking/Biking the National Mall
Saturday: Rock N Roll DC Half Marathon
Sunday: Sittin in da car

So overall it was a pretty good training week. Obviously the traveling kind of got in the way, but it wasn't a bad thing.

Sooooo, for the race recap

Rock N' Roll DC Half Marathon 2015


We drove to DC on Thursday morning (and all day). It was a pleasant drive and we ended up getting there about 7pm. We stayed at the Residence Inn in Bethesda, MD and it was wonderful! It was two blocks away from the Metro so it was fairly easy to get wherever we needed to.
We went to the expo on Friday morning after a wonderful breakfast at the hotel. The expo was fantastic! Rock N' Roll really knows how to put together an expo. After picking up my packet, I headed over to Brooks Run Happy Island for some fun! First, I got my gait analyzed.

They pretty much confirmed what I already knew, I am a very neutral runner and the Brooks Ghost 7 are perfect for me! I also got to try on the Launch which I very much enjoyed and might be my next "lighter" shoe. 

We continued on to the rest of the expo. What runner doesn't get excited over this sight?

I ended up signing up for a half marathon in Nashville in November, the  inaugural Zooma Nashville Half Marathon! I also bought a magnet. Because that's what my family does.

After the expo, we toured DC. Brad had never been there so we did the typical stuff. 

At the Capitol

At the Washington Memorial

This was our best friend for the day. It made seeing all the monuments quicker and less walking. I would suggest it to anyone touring DC

After a very fun day of sightseeing, it was time for my race on Saturday morning.

We took the Metro downtown and it was very easy to get to the start. Unfortunately, it was very cold and windy and raining. Not gonna, lie it was kind of miserable at the start. But nevertheless, we got started. 

We ran by the Washington Memorial and shortly after we ran past Lincoln. After that it was mostly just neighborhoods. This was good in some ways, but in other ways I was looking forward to running past all the cool touristy stuff. Oh well.

Because I don't think you want to hear mile by miles how it went, I will sum up. I have learned that not every race will be my favorite. It was partly the weather, partly the course, partly my own mental stuff, partly the walking around the day before. But it just wasn't my day. I finished and I'm proud of that, but it was not great. My time was just fine and I finished. That's what I'm taking away from this half marathon. I've now completed 4 and I'm proud of that!

I'm going to continue to train and continue to work towards my 26.2. This is just a small little hill that I just have to get over and move on. It was a very fun trip to DC though! And I'm very much looking forward to my taper in three weeks :)

Marathon Training Week 11

Quick recap:

Monday: Rest
Tuesday: 3.5 miles of track workout
Wednesday: Rest
Thursday: Rest
Friday: Rest
Saturday: 16 miles
Sunday: 90 minute Sweet Surrender Yoga class

This week was rough. On Tuesday I wasn't feeling well, but I paid for the track workouts so I went anyway. It was pouring rain and gross. On Wednesday, I still didn't feel well, so I took a day off. By Thursday I was feeling better, but we had a pretty major snowstorm (at least for TN) and I didn't feel safe running outside or driving to the gym for the treadmill. Saturday's run was really hard, but I'm proud that I did it. I had to dodge snow and ice for the first half of my run and by the end of it, I was running through so much water because it had melted.

I'm just not in it mentally right now. I've got a lot going on outside of running and I think it is making it really difficult to be mentally focused when I'm running. Everything going on is good, but it's a lot. Especially on my 16 miler, there was way too much time to get down on myself and then the run got really hard.

However, after all that negativity, I'm very excited for my race next weekend!

http://runrocknroll.competitor.com/dc



I'm hoping that running slightly less miles (13.1), plus running in one of my favorite cities will break me out of this funk. It looks like it could be rainy, but I think I can deal with that.
I will post tons of pictures and a recap next week. Wish me luck!

Marathon Training Week 10 and Big News!

Here's the summary:

Monday: Rest
Tuesday: Speed Session (3.5 miles)
Wednesday: 5 miles on the treadmill
Thursday: 3 miles on the treadmill and Cycle Hip Hop
Friday: Rest
Saturday: 15 (!) miles
Sunday: 90 minute sweet surrender yoga class

Saturday was my longest run ever! It was tough. I'm starting to learn why marathon training is hard. It really hurt and was mentally tough. But I did it, and I feel good now :) I'm feeling really solid because I'm getting in the mileage that I need to.

Now for the big news!

I am starting a new job this morning! I will be an administrative assistant for a real estate office. It's going to be much closer to home and has much more professional opportunities for me. However, because this blog is about my running, I'll just focus on how it will help that. It will help mostly because it is closer to home, the gym, and most of the trails I run. Because it's closer to home, I'm going to try to start running in the mornings. Because it's closer to the gym, I can still go to Cycle Hip Hop. Because it's closer to the trails, that means less treadmill time.

Needless to say, I'm a happy camper :) 16 miles for a long run next week. Keep me in your prayers :P

In two weeks, I'll be running my first half marathon of the year, the Rock N Roll USA in Washington, DC. Super excited for that!

Who else is running the Rock N Roll USA?

Speed Sessions Week 1

Yesterday was my first track session with Fleet Feet Sports. It was a very new experience to me and it showed me just how far I have come as a runner!

We warmed up with a progressive five laps around the track. Basically, each lap was slightly faster than the one before. (Funny story: I thought that was the workout at first. I was wrong)

We then did some dynamic warm ups including high knees, butt kicks, and high jumps.

The actual workout (I came to find out) was a 2 mile time trial. We will be basing our workouts each week on this base time. So essentially, just run 8 laps as fast as you can!

Here were my thoughts on this. I have never been a fast runner, but I signed up for these sessions because I want to improve instead of just deciding I'm a slow runner. I am not under the impression that I will ever run a 6 minute mile, but I want to be able to maximize my own abilities. I have gotten very complacent in a very slow pace. It isn't necessarily "comfortable" but it also isn't "uncomfortable" aside from normal distance fatigue. So I signed up for the speed sessions to find out how much I am capable of and hopefully improve my times slightly.

Here's what happened. I surprised myself! I totally forgot music and water so I was bound and determined to just get the run over with. But I also didn't want to sell myself short. I've been running for a while now and I knew I could give a lot more. I basically did all I could do and gave as much as I could. While I'm still not sure I gave 100%, I think I was pretty much around 80%. When I completed my first mile and looked at my watch, I thought it was broken. It said 9:52. I know to most people, that is a pretty comfortable pace, but it is a good minute and a half faster than my fastest mile in the past year. I'm not going to lie, I may have cried a bit. The second mile was 10:21, still very impressive for me! So my total 2 mile time was 20:13!

Here are the implications (I hope) of this experience. I'm not yet real worried about my marathon time. My main goal there is to finish. However, if I can run 2 miles in 20 minutes, I can push my 5k's a lot more than I have been. I have a 5k scheduled for next month and so I am going to push for a good time in that. I'm hoping it will also improve my half marathon time. My ultimate goal for my half marathon is a 2:30, but I'm not sure I'm there yet. With my half marathon next month, my goal is going to be 2:40 and if I beat that, it'll be great :)

On top of all of this great running, we got super cool hats! (Will post a picture eventually) Thanks Christi Beth and Fleet Feet!

Craziness and Marathon Training Wk 9

This week has been reallllly interesting! Will explain in a minute.

Monday: Tabata Workout

Tuesday: Weather=no run

Wednesday: Weather=no run

Thursday: 3 miles, strength session, Cycle Hip Hop

Friday: Rest

Saturday: 13.1 miles (on the treadmill) and personal training

Sunday: Sweet Surrender Yoga (90 minutes)

The weather has wrecked my training this week! I promise this is not just an excuse. I know that most of you who read my blog are my family and that most of you live up north. So here's the deal with winter weather in TN. 

1. TN does not have the resources to deal with the cold/ice/snow/gross. While we had winter weather all week, I think I saw two plows and zero salt trucks. They did a pretty good job, but they just don't have the fleets that northern cities do.

2. TN drivers do not know how to drive in any weather (except for sunny, no wind). I was much more worried about other drivers than I was about myself. My husband even told me he thought I shouldn't go out because of the other drivers. I think there were at least 4 major interstates closed on Tuesday due to major accidents. Not risking my life.

3. If I don't go to work, I feel guilty going to the gym. This is something my Mom always told us growing up. "If you are too sick/weather is too bad to go to school, you shouldn't be able to go to the fun stuff after school". We didn't have work Monday or Tuesday and Wednesday we started late. So I didn't get to do the fun stuff after work. (Except for the Predators game we went to Tuesday night. Whoops. *don't tell my mom!*)

Tuesday was supposed to be my first track session through Fleet Feet, but that got cancelled. So I'm looking forward to that tomorrow. 

Now for the half marathon on the treadmill thing:

I'll set the stage for you. There was an inch of ice everywhere, covering Nashville. Then there was snow for several hours on Friday, to cover the ice. Then there was freezing rain, to cover the snow. Then there was rain, to make the ice more slippery. Then it was Saturday morning and I needed to run 13.1 miles. My husband was wonderful enough to drive me to the gym, but that meant almost 3 hours on a treadmill. Would not suggest it to anyone. Even my worst enemy.

On the plus side: I'M HALFWAY TO 26.2! 

Weather is supposed to be a little better this week, so hopefully getting in all my runs! Have a great week! I'll have some fun news to share next week (not a baby). :)