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!

The Need For Speed

I have no speed. None nada. Have you seen my speed? Where did it go? Oh, that's right. It was never ever here.

I ran a 5k last night and hoped to run it in a 28-something, to set a PR below my current 28:45ish. Instead I rolled in with a 29:36...nearly my worst 5k time. I'm not exactly sure what went wrong. I was feeling alright and my shins weren't hating me...I'm wondering if the heat just made it harder for me. I hate heat. I prefer fall and spring to this summer blahness. I did come home and do an ice bath in the bathtub...that was wonderful and I think my shins are starting to like me again for it.

So anyway, it sucked. Sucked sucked sucked. It kind of makes me wonder what the hell I'm doing training for a marathon. Can I really do it? I mean I guess I know I CAN, but will I have a Katie Holmesesque time? Can I beat Oprah?

Sorry for the drab post, I'm just swimming in slow-run-induced haterade today.

In other non-running news, my 20 month old sweet baby girl has decided to potty train herself. Bonus!

Week FIVE!

I can't believe that I forgot to post this on Monday. D'oh!

Week five goes like this:
Wednesday: 3 miles (5k race)
Thursday: 5 miles
Friday: 3 miles (or elliptical)
Sunday: 10 miles

My first double digit run! That's insane. I used to think people that could do 3 miles were THE SHIT, and now look at me! Oh yeahhhhhhhhhhhhh.

Now watch, I'll fall flat on my face and never finish it. ;)

Training Plan

I am attempting to follow this training plan but having been skipping a run eack week. My shins are a concern of mine (read: they hurt like a mutha!) and I don't want to injure myself. I think I've decided that instead of four running days, I am going to do the three that I have been doing, and add in a fourth day of cross-training. I need to do this for a few weeks and I hope that my shins will improve in that time. I stopped in at Runners yesterday and got some advice (and Gu!) from the nice guy there. If they don't improve...well, eff me! I swear I read about some guy that training for a marathon solely on an elliptical machine with no running whatsoever. I wonder how that turned out for him.

My 8 miler Sunday was fabulous! I stopped for water at 3.5 and 5 miles and finished up in the darkness. I guess the days are getting shorter already. Anyway it took 84 minutes not including the water breaks which is about a 10:30 pace. That's right about where my LSD needs to be I think.

I am doing a 5k tonight and it is disgustingly humid outside. My goal for tonight is 28 minutes. I just need to remember to start out slow - I always work myself up and start too fast and then tank, so I'm going to have to remind myself of that all day today. :)

A predicament and a revelation

I had a revelation last night. An "aha" moment for all you Oprah fans. It was during my midweek 5-miler which started out very bad. (I am having lower leg pain all around...it started in my shins and is now on the outside of my leg and I'm getting calf cramps. I'm icing and taking ibuprofen but it's not getting much better). Anyway, I was about 4 miles into my "run" and suddenly realized...

I'm not tired at all. I can go much faster than this pace.

So I did. For over a mile I "ran" considerably faster than I had been for the first few miles. And it felt great! I have no idea how much faster it was, but I could just tell. Don't get me wrong, I was NOT sprinting. It probably wasn't any better than a 9 minute mile, but still. It was faster!

So to sum it all up, I'm a lazy a$$ that doesn't "run" as fast as I am capable of. DUH!!! In hindsight it seems so obvious.

And for my predicament...there is a 5k next Wednesday evening that I have been looking forward to for quite a while now, mainly because it is a night race and those are hard to come by. I am a definitely a night runner jogger, so I'm confident that this would likely be my fastest 5k and I could easily set a PR. The problem, you ask? My husband is going to be out of town, and my regular backup sitter (aka: the in-laws) are busy.

Crap.

So I guess I need a sitter so I can run a race. It seems so silly, but I really want to do it. I have no desire to pay the $20 that a babysitter would cost me for 2 hours, just to run a race. I want to do it though, so I might have to suck it up. I have 6 days to figure this out. Hmmmm....


****UPDATE!****

I have a volunteer for babysitting! YEAH! Good ole Tony has no idea what he's getting into....those girls are.....monsters sweet angels. I'm sure he'll have a great time with them. (At least Kyler can help keep him sane.)

Thanks Tone!

Spunky little lunchtime run

It finally cooled down a bit here in the mitt (hehe that rhymed! as my 4 year old would point out :)), so I took full advantage and did my 3 scheduled miles during my lunch hour. I had only fueled with pop tarts and a Diet Pepsi for the day so I was skeptical of the quality of this run, but it was actually one of the best yet! My shin splints went away in the first half mile (as opposed to 1-2 miles) and I settled in quite nicely. The very best part is that I was FAST. Like lightning...If lightning traveled at a speed of a 9:40 mile. But for a regular 10 minute girl, this is GREAT.

Still pondering when I officially become a "runner".... I don't believe the "you're a runner once you have signed up for a race" crap. Sorry, I just don't. Maybe there is a speed limit. Or perhaps once I have a marathon under my belt, then I can be an official runner. But not a Katie Holmes marathon, that shit was a Scientolohoax.

Week Four

I'm sucking at this. The runs are going great, except for the tiny yet oh so important fact that I have been SKIPPING A WHOLE RUN for the past 2 weeks! Crud. Chalk it up to too many kids and not enough hours I suppose. And nightly swimming lessons. And a thunderstorm. And a vacation.

Carry on, jogger, carry on.

Today starts week four. I am determined to run the 4 required times. Fo reals. I mean it! The schedule goes like this:

Tuesday: 3 miles
Wednesday: 5 miles
Friday: 3 miles
Sunday: 8 miles

Sunday is uncharted territory for me. My longest run so far is 7.5 miles so 8 is a whole new dealio. It's all psychological, I'm sure. Right?

So to celebrate, I got some new shorts. (all together now... "of COURSE you did, Wendy.") But but but they were on saaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaale, she told the husband. ;)

I also got a new PINK clutch purse this weekend. It's official...I am out of control.

PS: I'm over the July humidity. Waiting until 8:30pm and still having to run in 80 degree weather is crap. I don't know how peeps in the southern states do it.