Adios August.

What a month! I've never ran as much as I have this month. In fact, my July mileage was just 61.3 miles. In August....I hit the triple digits. Yeah, baby!

Here's the juice:








My pace isn't exactly acurate because prior to becoming Mrs. Garmin, I always just assumed I was at a 10 min/mile pace. But now I am living in the world of the know - and I love it!
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This morning I ran just over 15 miles....wow. Road 1, SJB 0. I was whipped! My left groin/hip area is pretty tender today so I'm going to ice it tonight and hope it's okay in the morning. I ran with my fuel belt today and I must say that it is growing on me. I just had to suck it up and embrace my inner nerd. ;)

This weeks schedule:
Tuesday: 10-20 min warmup, 1 mile virtual race (in place of a 1k), 2k, 1k, 1k (400m RI), 10 min cooldown.
Thursday: 9 miles (10k pace + 40 sec)
Saturday: 13 miles (PMP + 10 sec/mile)

How warped am I that my 13 mile long run sounds.....easy?

Have a great week everyone. And happy September...the best weather month of Michigan. =)

Terrific Tuesday at The Track

I always was a sucker for some good alliteration.

Tonight was track night and I must admit that my scheduled schedule (hehe) was a bit intimidating.

10-20 minute warmup
1 mile (400m RI)
2 miles (800m RI)
2 x 800 (400m RI)
10 min cooldown

See what I mean? That's like 7 miles on what I like to think of as my fun run night. So I set out for the track and quickly realized that this is my first track session with the students back on campus. Parking was a challenge, but I welcomed the company at the track. (read: I run faster in front of peeps) My leg muscles started cursing at me about a mile into my warm up, so I took them off the track and gave them a good little lecture. They never mouthed off to me again after that. I'm the boss, you hear me, legs???

Anyway my goal pace for the 1 & 2 mile intervals was 9:15/mile, but ideally 9:00/mile would be super sweet.

Here is how I did:

Warmup: 1.53 miles in 15:20 (10:01 pace)
1 mile: 1.07 miles in 9:02 (8:29 pace)
RI: 0.25 miles in 2:36 (10:15 pace)
2 miles: 2.15 miles in 17:37 (8:12 pace)
RI: 0.28 miles in 3:10 (11:31 pace)
800: 0.54 miles in 4:12 (7:47 pace)
RI: 0.32 miles in 3:25 (10:37 pace)
800: 0.53 miles in 4:04 (7:38 pace)
Cooldown: 0.33 miles in 3:32 (10:45 pace) - not long enough but it was dark out by this point.

Total: 7:01 miles in 1:03:06 - 9:01 pace!!!

So yeahhhhhh, these times are wicked good, if I do say so myself! I had no idea that I would be able to maintain a sub 9-minute pace for that long! I am anxious to run a 5k again. I really didn't even need that RI between the 1 and 2 miles. Those splits combined (sans RI) are 3.22 miles in 26:38! That is more than 2 whole minutes off my best 5k time! 3.1 at that pace would be like a 25:38! Hoorah!

So now that I have probably jinxed myself, I'm off to bed. :)

A Scenic Little Jog

Yesterday was definitely a jogging day. I wanted to take it easy on my legs so I headed out for a soft-trailed park that I have never been to before. There were miles upon miles of gorgeous trails. Typically I run on the roads through farm country, so needless to say, the park was phenominal. See for yourself!













See that footprint next to my shoe? I was thinking maybe it was from a bear...yikes!


I cut my scheduled 13-miler short and ended up running about 8.8 miles at a 11:48 pace. Slower than usual, but there were hills and bridges to contend with. And pictures to be taken! I didn't want to push the miles and I'm glad I didn't. My legs feel just right today; happy sore, not sore-sore. The orthotics are great and I'm amazed that such a simple thing could make such a big difference.

This coming week has my longest run yet, by far. My husband thinks (in a loving way I'm sure) I am slacking off my schedule (which I am) and that now I won't be able to finish the marathon. Dork. So this week I'll have to stick to the schedule to prove him wrong. :)

This weeks schedule:

Tuesday: 10-20 min warmup; 1 mile (400 RI), 2 miles (800 RI), 2x800 (400 RI), 10 min cooldown
Thursday: 2 miles easy, 3 miles @ tempo pace, 2 miles easy
Saturday: 16 miles PMP +30-45 sec/mile

SIXTEEN?!??! lolz

High Arches + Overpronation = Me

In addition to the wicked shin splints I now have inflammed front-of-the-lower-leg muscles. (I can never remember what they are called). Last night's 8 miler quickly turned into a 1.5 miler with me limping off the track. I usually push through the shin splints but this was completely different. And it sucked. I almost mad-cried my way home.

So I went to Runners
today (twice hoping for some insight. The runner there (I love that the Runners peeps are actually runners) said that the wear pattern on my current shoes --heavy on the inside, light on the outside-- indicated that I am an overpronator. He said that my shoes still have life in them and that orthotics should help with my leg problems. He also showed me some ways to strengthen my hip and inner thigh muscles, as well as another stretch to add to my calf stretches. I'll be testing out the orthotics on my 13-miler Sunday morning. *fingers crossed*

I knew I had high arches but just learned today that I overpronate. This really kind of sucks! Most (all?) peeps with high arches underpronate; it's the flat footers that overpronate. Of course I could never be normal. Always gotta be a challenge, this shopperjoggerblogger.

Training Paces

I've been doing track workouts for a few weeks now but I haven't really had a goal range to try to stay in for my 400s and 800s. I just found a pace calculator
here and based on my PR 5k time of 28:45, it suggests:



Going off my previous runs (both long and track) those figures seem a little slow. So I played with it a little, and my numbers are more in line with this chart, based on a 25:45 5k.



I'm not sure what this means. Am I training too hard right now? Or am I running my 5k's too slow? Anyway I'm going to follow the chart for the 25:45 pace. My ultimate goal is to be able to run a sub 25 minute 5k, so maybe this will help.

Here are last nights 400 times, with a 2 minute recovery jog between each:

1 - 1:49
2 - 1:50
3 - 1:50
4 - 1:49
5 - 1:53
6 - 1:53
7 - 1:48
8 - 1:50

I'm consistent, that's for sure. The 7th one felt very slow so I was surprised to see my lowest split there. My total workout last night was 6 miles in 57:30, even with my jog/walk recoveries. That's a 9:35 pace overall! Splendid.

Garmin Love

My inner nerd is in heeeeaaaaavvvveeeeennnn. My new Garmin came and it was like Christmas! Whooo eee boy.

I started out already late on my Sunday long run, and the Garmin froze. After trying to remember how to reset it, I ran the half mile back home and realized that I have to press and hold for SEVEN seconds, not the five I thought. Oh well, easy fix. So I set out and this thing is super groovy. Here are my splits:

Mile 1 - 9:40 (oops, got too excited)
2 - 10:00
3 - 10:04
4 - 9:50
5 - 9:55
6 - 9:56
7 - 10:12
8 - 10:20
9 - 11:24
10 - 12:03
11 - 10:56
12 - 10:31

Total time - 2:04:11, average pace 10:23

Miles 9-11 were noticeably slower because I took a few walk breaks. It was wicked hot and humid and I was dyyyyyyying of hotness. My goal marathon is 4:30 which is a little over a 10 minute mile pace. If it wasn't for the heat I could have ran this better, so hopefully next weekend my slow butt will get out of bed at 6am instead of leaving at 9am...

Oh yeah, I drank 36 oz of fluid during the run and I came home and still weighed 3.4 pounds less than when I left. Conclusion = I need to fuel more.

This weeks schedule:
Tuesday: 10-20 min warmup, 2 x (4x400)1:30 RI (2:30 between sets), 10 min cooldown
Thursday: 8 miles (10k pace + 40 seconds)
Saturday: 13 miles (PMP + 20 sec mile)

I just finished up Ultramarathon Man last night. Wow. Dean Karnazes is so motivating. He makes me feel now more than ever that 26.2 is totally doable (and chump change to him!). I'll be thinking of him during the marathon and I hope that will help me get through it!

I'm out of patience.

I couldn't take it anymore. I've been saving for the Garmin Forerunner 405 for...oh I dunno, a month?...and I neeeeeeeeeeeeed it.

So I bought it! And it will be here tomorrow! YAYAYAYAYAYAY!!!!!!

(sorry, I couldn't keep it in any longer, and no one in the real world understands this obsession) :)

I *heart* the track.

Tonight was my second track workout. Ever.

When I was in middle school, the school district had a dirt track. Yeah, dirt. Like gravel. It was still "legal", but nothing like what it should have been for the class A school that it was. I moved right before high school and that school had an asphalt track. Yeah, paved. Like a road. That one wasn't legal and all of our meets were at others schools. So all of my running practice was spent in corridors of the school, on the grass football field, or on the road, with the exception of the meets. Now I pretty much stick to sidewalks and roads, so I've never really had the chance to practice on a track, and hooo eeeeee, is it ever nice! My shins are orgasmically pleased. :)

So last week I made the switch to the FIRST marathon training plan.

I.
Love.
It.

It's 3 weekly runs; 1 track/speed workout, 1 tempo run, and 1 LSD. Perfect for a busy shin-splinted mom of 3 like me. Four runs just wasn't happening for me.

Last week at the track I did 5 x 400m with a warmup and cooldown. This week was 4 x 800 with a 1.5 mile warmup and 1.5 mile cooldown.

My 800m splits (via my almost-shelfed-for-the-new-Garmin Polar F4) were:

1. 4:09
2: 4:09
3: 4:03
4: 4:05

Hmmm...that was a little better than I had anticipated. Quite well, if I do say so myself! That is the same pace that I did my 400s in last week, but obviously for twice as long. Yee haw! My secret (not-so-secret anymore) marathon goal is 4:30. Hopefully these 800s are a good sign that my goal is achievable. That would be fabulous. The marathon is still 10 weeks away so that should leave time for a bit of improvement as well.
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Oh yeah, I tried out my fuel belt on my 11-miler last weekend.

It almost made me cry.

You see, when I get mad, really really mad, I cry. Just ask my husband. And I was PISSED at that damn fuel belt. I filled up 2 bottles, strapped it snugly to me and took off, feeling pretty dang official and runneresque. For about 20 feet. Then it would creep up and I would move it back down. Over. And over. And over. My first mile took 14 minutes if that tells you anything. I finally had to ditch the belt in a corn field (no lie) about 3 miles in and stopped and got it on the way back. I felt so freeeeeeeee during those beltless miles. When I came back to the belt - thankfully no one stole it - I figured out that if it was touching my nice and sweaty belly skin that it wouldn't creep up. So it actually stayed put for the last 3 miles, but sexy....oh yeah. Real sexy.

I'm still not sure how I feel about it. I loved the convenience. I had fluids, licorice (works great for carbs), and GU (still haven't tried it) with me so I didn't have to worry about stopping, but it was a real pain in the ass to get it situated. Where do y'all wear yours? I tried it low on the hips and it would creep up. I tried it way up high and felt like I was 80 years old because it was right under my sports bra. Schexy. It never stayed where I wanted it to --in the middle-- because my wonderful children blessed me with a muffin top and love handles where my slim old waist used to be. It would've stayed put on that old waist ya know. *sigh*

Props to Running Warehouse for the super fast super free delivery. I'll definitely be ordering from them again in the near future. I didn't try out the other belt yet...maybe I'll give it a quick spin up and down the driveway to see if it stays. I'm betting it's going back though. It's not very pretty.
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Tonight I did a total of 5 miles. My other 2 runs this week are a 6 mile tempo run on Thursday and my long weekend run is 12 miles.

I still can't believe this is me talking about this many miles.

Happy Birthday to ME!

Today I turn 28. *gasp* According to my son, however I'm only turning 25. Great kid.

It's a super duper good day so far because I am fulfilling the namesake that is Shop.Jog.Blog. Here I am blogging, tonight I have a 6 mile tempo run (I prolly can't jog a tempo "run" huh) scheduled, and this morning the UPS man kindly brought to me...

AND...

My original intention was to choose ONE and return the other (gotta love www.runningwarehouse.com - free shipping both ways!), but knowing me...I'll probably keep them both. D'oh!

yourTunes, myTunes, meTunes, iTunes

My playlist desperately needs a revamping. I find myself shuffling through at least 5 songs to find just 1 good one. I'm tired of the same ole crap.

So watcha got? If everyone could leave a few (3, 5, 27?) of their favorite running songs in the comments section, that would be stellar.

Have a happy Tuesday!

Change of plans

I've decided to switch training plans, 10 weeks before the marathon. This may or may not be a smart move, but I'll take my chances. I need to do some further research but it looks like I'm switching to the FIRST "first marathon training program." It involves just 3 days per week of running, supplemented with cross training. I think this will fit my schedule better, now I just have to figure out how to transition into this plan without drastically increasing my weekly mileage. Fun stuff. :)

My 10 miler yesterday went great! I ran in the morning which is SO not my style but the temp at 8am was 60 degrees, and you can't really beat that. So off I went after having some oatmeal, water, and 400mg of ibuprofen for my shins (which worked fabulously, btw). At about mile 3 I realized that I missed my turn, so my 10 miler ended up being just over 11. I was too tired to psych myself up about it so I just kept running, and I made it! I need to figure out the fuel situation because....well....right now I really don't have one and I knew I was dehydrated towards the end. Can anyone recommend a fuel belt? They seem so...nerdy. Do they have any fashionable ones?

The plan for week six is supposed to be:
Tuesday: 4 miles
Wednesday: 5 miles
Thursday: 4 miles
Sunday: 11 miles

The FIRST plan is:
Tuesday: 10-20 min warmup, 4x800m (1:30 RI), 10 min cooldown
Wednesday: cross train
Thursday: 1 mile easy, 5 tempo
Sunday: 14 miles @ PMP + 30 sec.

Last week I ran 19 miles so I'm going to have to tweak the FIRST plan. I guess I'll probably cut the long run to 12 or 13 miles, for a weekly total of 22-23 miles. Yeah, that sounds good.

I welcome any input on the FIRST plan. Has it worked for you? Did you struggle with the marathon after following it?

I've been wondering something about my marathon pace. If I can sustain a 10:30 pace for 11 easy miles, is that a realistic pace for my marathon? I guess I'm wondering, for those of you that have ran marathons, how did your training pace compare to your marathon pace...?

Have a great week!