Unprepared, Mismatched, Mystery Workout

All excited that I was going to get a swim for the first time this week and I got there to find out I had no swimsuit or towel! SO I wore my new tri-shorts (didn't like swimming in them) and a random sports bra tank. Good news is the swim went well. It is a short pool because it is a yard pool instead of the meter pool I typically swim in. I know that is not that much BUT my time was 9:40. FASTER my one whole minute!

My running clothes were horribly mismatched! I had hot pink shorts, yellow COTTON shirt and some random winter wool socks.

Mystery distance since the Garmin would not get a signal. Pretty sure it was 2 miles but I had to go get my little guy so it was more of a run just to get in a run.

The Sprint Tri is next weekend! Sorta more excited about that than the marathon!

Recovery.... week?

Mid week and it has been more of a recovery week than a day. My long run was Saturday so I basically took Sunday off (really easy 3 mile treadmill run). I attempted to work out Monday and Tuesday but lacked the energy so read the clues my body was giving me and didn't push too hard. Tonight I did get in a 5 mile run but I did not wear my Garmin because I did not want to know my pace or time.

The pictures above show what I have been focusing on; my family. Mostly Parker! He is really growing right before my eyes and I want to get in all the extra time with him I can. Scott has been working lots of overtime so my works outs have been in the basement late at night and that is not motivating. He also leaves the house at 5:00 a.m. so an early workout is impossible. I am hoping to step it up this week and get ready for the Sprint Tri and then drop the bike and swim schedule and focus on the run for the Marathon. I will still bike for days off but less pressure to bike.

AND the no sweet thing is IMPOSSIBLE in my job! I think I am going to be more reasonable and say once a week or something. Tomorrow is the "one month away" day so I am going to get more serious about diet/training schedule.

Giving it up!

When I trained for my first half I gave up cheeseburger and fries. It was going to be my reward meal. So I have picked my reward meal for the day of my Marathon. I am going to eat at Los Aztecas in Louisville and then get cheesecake at the Cheesecake Factory. Obviously I can not give up Mexican food! I eat Mexican all the time and I am not sure what I would eat in place of it : ) SO I am going to give up sweets! This is huge for me. I eat candy every day and stop for cupcakes at least twice a week. So I have buried myself in Parker's birthday cake all weekend. Starting tomorrow it is no sweets for me. This is going to be painfully difficult for me but I have been all bloated and yucky since I went back to work where I am surrounded my sweets. I am going to allow myself dessert flavored yogurts and the low calorie puddings when I feel I MUST have something sweet.

I will not be allowed to eat:

Cupcakes

Baked Goods

Candy Bars

Ice Cream

I am also going to work on increasing the amount of protein I eat. Wish me luck! Anybody else out there give up something to make the reward that much better?

One of "those" runs

This morning I woke up and went to a local 5K. There was a 15K offered and that would have been the smart thing to do because it would have knocked out more of miles for my long run today but I just didn't feel inclined to do it. Well all things happen for a reason and I had a great run! I went out at the front of the pack (it was a small crowd) and I was the 2nd woman : ) I decided since this is my last 5K of the year I am going to push out and try to be the 1st place woman! Well there was a lady in front of and I kept right on her heels. At 1.7 miles a young, spunky, cross country girl smoked us! But I kept on pushing and passed the other lady right at the finish. My time was 24:48 and I was the 2nd woman overall.

At the end of the race the "other" woman congratulated me and I realized she was a lady that I heard a lot about and runs quite a bit. She mentioned she wanted to get in at least 10 more so we decided to potty/eat and go back out and do the 15K course (9.3). It was a great run! I do all of my long runs by myself so it was nice to have someone to chat with and she is more of 9:00 pace so it was a nice little push. On top of that the run is full of rolling hills so it was a great workout!

But this is not what made the run great. What made the run great was some what a blessing this random running partner was. She was so insightful and interesting to talk to. She had lots of running advice and life advice. When she found out I was a teacher she shared a story from her past the reminded me why I get up every day and do what I do. My job has been very stressful lately and I have been caught up in the paperwork and "have to's". God definitely played a huge role in my not running the 15K and running my extra miles with this new running partner. I will probably never run with her again but today's run was a blessing for so many reasons that have nothing to do with pace or negative splits or tempo or hills! Thank you God for showing up today and re-inspiring me to keep up the hard work and go to work everyday because I DO make a difference in children's lives. You never know when God sends a blessing your way.

Brick Workout

Well I know why they call it a brick! Your legs feel like bricks when you are running... WOW! I did a 14 mile bike ride; almost the whole course for my upcoming Sprint Tri and I did it "fast" so my legs were feeling it. I hopped off my bike and it was like being in quicksand from my waist down. UGH! I did a pathetic 2 miles in somewhere close to 18 minutes.

So what makes it better?

Doing more bricks?

Making myself run faster; despite the "pain"?

I will definitely do 2 more of these before the day of the triathlon.

I am bummed I did not get in a long run this week but it was my little man's 2nd birthday so we were busy! We went Great Wolf Lodge in Mason, Ohio and had a great time! I did however workout both days I was at the hotel which is an accomplishment. Next week it is 16 miles or bust! I am also going to get myself in the pool twice next week. Check out some pictures of my Parker Man LOVING the water. Maybe he will be able to swim better than Mommy.

15 miles is...

*the farthest I have ever ran

*really boring when you do 3 out and backs from your house; but did make it easier to GU and drink water

*one way to make your neighbors think you are crazy; hence the up and down the road many times and the fact I circled my house 3 times to hit 15.0 on the Garmin

*considerably harder than 12 miles; yeah I broke the 10% rule

*11 miles away from what I will have to do on October 16th!

Random Thoughts from Tonight:

I wanted a fountain Sprite from Long John Silvers when I saw a cup on the side of the road. I have not ate there in a couple years but I really like their ice.

I wanted a new Mini Blizzard from DQ when I saw a spoon in the road

I realized I should not run while hungry.

I need a better bra. Apparently 15 miles of jarring is even enough to make my barely A girls hurt : ( A problem I never thought I would ever have!

I planned some new modified test for my kids in Social Studies.

Lots of other random thoughts about what I would wear for the marathon and of course the usual pace calculations that keep your brain busy.

This week will consist of:

Monday- active rest on the trainer; miles unknown

Tuesday- swim/5 mile run

Wednesday- Possible Brick or doing the 15 mile course for the tri for practice

Thursday- swim/5 mile run

Friday- rest

Saturday- treadmill run at Great Wolfe Lodge

Sunday- most likely rest but maybe a work out at the hotel

Monday - 16 mile run (Might as well LABOR thru a run on Labor Day; HA HA!)

Best Race of the Year

Today was Railroad Days! This is a course know for being fast and flat. HUGE crowd of 190ish. There were about 20-30 Cross Country girls from a local college who race unofficially but made the pre-race vibe a little intense. Most races are the "usual suspects" but this race was going to be fast with that many speed extras : ) I was a little nervous since I had not had a good run since I practiced the course Sunday night (24:58) and I had Strep Throat this week. Plus I was bad and ate Mexican the night before AND my meds had me up early with a lot of trips to the bathroom : (

First 1/2 mile was weird I would not look at my watch! I knew I was running really fast or really slow. I just felt weird. I didn't look at my watch until the 2 mile marker which is rare for me. It was 15 something I think and my pace 7:44! I slowed some due to curves and a cramp in my side but splashed water on my face with six tenths to go and took off. This race is bad because you see the finish to the right but have to run to the left and around the track. I started to get a weird dizzy filling and had to slow down. I think I was weak due to the stomach issues and not eating this morning. But I kicked it up a little and finished at 24:28. As you can see below I was thrilled with my time! My old PR was 24:56! A pace of 7:52! WHOA!

I also placed first in my age group!

It was a great day for everyone I know that runs! I am so proud of everyone that made a PR and placed in their age group! Only 2 more 5Ks in the Serres. Be sure to check out Crystal's blog in my blog roll; "Am I crazy to be a runner"! She will have a great post! She has made SO much progress.

August 22 - August 28 Schedule

Sunday- 300 meter swim followed by 15 mile bike (the tri course and practice transition)

Monday- 300 meter swim followed by short run (back to back nights was the only way I could schedule it this week)

Tuesday - rest : ( Back to Night class for me! MIGHT get up for an early bike or run

Wednesday- 5 miles on treadmill

Thursday- 5 miles on treadmill

Friday - rest

Saturday - 14 miles

Being back at work, going to night class on Tuesday are making this tough but I will get it all in! Hoping some other weeks work out better than this but it is what it is : )

90% sure I am doing to Tri on September 25th! Big Daddy Diesel and Monica had some great word of encouragement that made me feel better about the whole thing. I will not be the first out of the water but I have worked hard and the race is my reward to all my hard work!

Successes and Ramblings

This week has had many successes in my training!

#1 swam 300 meters in 10 minutes 30 seconds. Way fast for me yet way slow for others : ) I have went back to free style. I swim with my face in the water when I can and just keep my head out of the water for long. Not proper technique but it is the best I can do for now.

#2 Biked 22 miles; longest bike ride yet!

#3 12 mile run was awesome! Negative split on my halfway time. Non-runners that means I ran the second half faster than the first half, about 2 minutes faster! 9:40 average pace with a final time of 1 hour 56 minutes!

#4 I woke up early again to run! I can't hardly do the 5:30 thing just yet but I was in the parking lot ready to go at 6:15 a.m.

#5 I am pretty consistently getting in 4 runs a week, 2 bikes a week and 2 swims a week!

~Ramblings~

I don't turn my music on until I have to have it. It kind of re-pumps me up.

I hate new running shoes. They never feel good.

I like cheap shoes. I bought a $130 pair of Brooks that is a "great" running shoe and I hated it! I run in a $50 pair of Saucony Ignitions. Too bad they changed them up a little and the extra cushion is making my feet hot.

I refuse to run outside when the heat index is in the 100s. Therefore ALL of my during the week runs will be on the treadmill since I have had to rejoin to working world since school started on Wednesday.

My son only sleeps late on the morning I get up to run. If I had been home he would have been up at 6:30 am. I came home from my run and he was still asleep at 8:45 : (

I stare into oncoming cars to take my mind off running and I think it annoys people. But I also do not run with contacts so a lot of the time I am trying to figure out if it is someone I know.

If you really need a distraction run through a cemetery and read the names on tombstones. Fast mile of the day : )

I am trying new gel/GU. Does no caffeine help with the belly issues. I GUed at mile 6 and at mile 10 my belly was talking to me : (

Just a few of the things I think about while running! Feel free to comment on any of the above.

Sweaty Band

I won a Sweaty Band. So far I am not in love but I don't hate it either. It does not slip which is a surprise since I have never had anything stay on my head. I still get sweat in my face but not as much. It gives me really bad running hair! But I have short hair so it is always going to look funny. I am going to wear it tomorrow for a long run and see how I feel before I return it to my friend that I won it from! Good news is if I like them my mom is working on learning how to make them since they are $18 for one!