Ten Things Thursday

This is a pic from my group run Tuesday.

Workouts for the Week:
Monday- 1100 yds swim
Tuesday- 4.25 miles (run group)
Wednesday- REST DAY
Thursday-3.53 miles (run group- track intervals)
1285 yds swim

1. I ran 71 miles this month! The most miles in a month in over a year! Take that Texas Heat!

2. This week was my first week back at Texas State. I almost forgot how walking all those hills felt.

3. I renewed my membership at the Rec last week, I am hoping I will do weights more. I really like the weights there, especially that back extension one, it almost always makes my back feel a little better.

4. Lately I have been watching a lot of Seinfeld and started watching Boardwalk Empire. I didn't really like Seinfeld when I was younger, but I really like it now. So far we have only seen two episodes of Boardwalk Empire but it's awesome. A great period piece series.

5. There's been talk that a cold front might be coming in. I hope it's not so much talk as it is fact!

6. I got to see my dad today, which was great as I was haven't seen him in a while.

7. Tomorrow my job is having a training session. Don't really know what to expect, but I do know we are getting Jason's Deli! We picked out our own individual meals- for free! I feel like fancy pants. 

8. I'm trying to balance all the workouts I want to get in with more rest but it's kind of hard to increase workouts- in amount or length and get more rest. Or maybe I'm just lazy as other people somehow do it.

9. I have been so tired lately, I don't know if it's the long run Sunday, going back to school this week or allegeries but I hope next week to feel better. Maybe my body just really needed this recovery week.

10. We are suppose to run at Lake Pflugerville on Sunday, which will be awesome because I haven't run there in a while.

The Week in Review

Pic from Group Run workout on Tuesday

Workouts this week :

Monday- 1450 yd Swim

Tuesday- 4.94 miles GONZO Hill workout (Run group)

Wednesday- Rest Day
Thursday- 1.81 miles (Treadmill run at hotel)
Friday- Weights/Strength workout- 20 minutes
800 yd swim
Saturday- 2.32 miles (indoor track run)
950 yd swim
Sunday- 10.52 miles (Brushy Creek Trail)

I ate a lot of really good and unhealthy food this week:

                                                                                    

 

(Fried Pickles, Hot Wings and Fried Oreos @ Uptown Social, Georgetown,Tx)

( Steak and Chicken Skewers @ Blue Mesa Grill- Plano, Texas)

(Chocolate Chip Pancakes @ Monument Cafe in Georgetown, Tx)

But we also went to a farmers market, I have been eating spring mix and kale salads almost every day, eating a lot of fruit and drinking a lot of water. 

Workout wise:  I was pretty happy with my swims this week. I did 3 swims and they all managed to be at the pace I was hoping for. After only getting to swim once last week, I was happy to get three in, especially as I was out of town from late Tuesday till late Thursday night. I had 2 good runs this week: my group run, which was one of my longer runs during the week. It actually started to rain towards the end. While I was a little upset at my pace on that run, on later reflection I felt that it went pretty good considering the length of it. I also was happy about my indoor track repeats on Saturday. I alternating sprints with easy walking and had one of my fastest overall paces in a month. My indoor treadmill run at the hotel in Richardson wasn't so hot, as I could really feel the effects of not so healthy. 

And my long run today... well... I already went into a long tirade about it on Daily Mile, but everyone was real supportive. The short of it is that it was really slow and took a long time: 10.70 miles in 1 hour, 45 minutes. There are a lot of factors- a long bathroom break, refilling my water, I need new shoes, yadda, yadda, but now that it is later in the day, I am just going to move on from it and be happy that I finished it. 

However, the scenery was great as usual and I got a lot of photos:

Next week is a recovery week for me and the first week back to school. I hope my next long run goes better and I am looking forward to getting to do the track workouts for run group as I was out of town the last two!

Week #7 of Marathon Training in the Bag- 25 more weeks to go- 22 % done with training!

Long Run at San Gabriel Park- Deer and Snails

This is a pic from my long run today.

Workouts for the week:

Monday- 1300 yd swim

Tuesday- 3.94 miles - (run group- grass fartlek)

Wednesday- Rest Day

Thursday- 2.5 miles- (indoor track)
Friday- 3 miles-(trail on base)
19 min weight/strength session
Saturday- Rest Day
Sunday- 9.54 mile long run (San Gabriel Park)

End of the Week Recap: 
So, I went out of town this weekend and because of that, my regular workout routine was kind of interrupted. I got all 4 of my runs and ran one of my longest runs ever ( cracked into my top ten runs of all time!) I also got my weight/strength workout in this week. I however did NOT get my three swims in, I only swam once. However, I am happy I got to spend time with my sister and my best friend on our run on Friday. Running with two of your favorite people and having a good breakfast afterwards is always worth it!

Today's long run splits: 9.54 miles- 2 hours, 7 minutes, 1 sec- 13:19 overall pace

Pretty happy with this run. I started off pretty slow, which got me kinda worried, but my husband and I had a date night last night at Milano Trattora. We never ate there before, but it was pretty good, especially as we both ate an appetizer, entree and dessert for 40 bucks total, including tip! Not bad!

(Our dessert last night! Maybe not the best idea the night before a long run, BUT IT WAS WORTH IT!)

So, back to our run. My husband was running with me today to try and get me to reach my goal- cracking my top ten runs ever! I needed to get over 9 miles, but was shooting for somewhere between 9.30- 9.60 miles at an 13:20 min overall pace. 

We started off slow, with both of us having stomach problems and ended up taking a bathroom break on the 2nd mile. This is why my 2nd mile was even SLOWER then my slow first mile. Things were not looking so hot for me reaching my goal pace. 

But then, around the 3 mile mark, things started to look up. We saw a lot of deer around this time. I normally see deer around this area, but never this much, they were everywhere and I think the distraction of the deer took my mind off the run. 

We started at San Gabriel Park, right around the bathrooms, went through Rivery Park and right past the bathrooms where the parking lot for Booty Trail is. I have to say, I am glad we did not make it to the big hill on Booty Trail today as I don't think I could have handled it. 

At the point in this pic, Vince is checking the pace as he had it today like he does when he runs with me so he can tell me when to pick it up. This is around the 3 mile mark and my pace dropped a lot as we were running on the flat part where the houses are before you turn into the dam. I like running there on this area, as there is a downhill right after this point- but do not like running back as the hill comes after the multiple small hills in the forest. 

After we went past the hill, my calves were really starting to feel it and my back was hurting. I was glad I was wearing my trail shoes as there was a lot of mud today since it rained yesterday, and a lot of rocks in this area. 

Right after the 3rd mile though, my energy was really starting to drag and my pace started to go down again. I had brought one gel and one bag of Sports Jelly Belly Extra Caffeine with me. I took the first gel, which had no caffeine, after 1 mile and was waiting to take the other one after the turn around. It took a while to kick in as my miles 5 and 6 were still getting slower, but by mile 7, I could feel it and ran my fastest mile to that point- 12:17. I really felt better when Vince told me that as I thought I had a good shot at negative splitting.

By this point we were back around Rivery Park and the deers had pretty much gone away, but the snails were out in full-force. I felt bad as I saw several had been stepped on. I felt good though, as I feel a kinship with snails as we are both slow, but they always make me fast in comparison, so I like that. 

Mile 8 was a little slower, but I picked it up again and my 9th mile was my fastest of them all: 12:06! I was so suprised I was able to do that pace after about 2 hours! I ended the last .54 mile a little slower with a 12:42 pace- doing it in 6 min, 51 sec, but still, I'm happy with the way I ended.

(Pic of me after my run, before the cooldown)

Although we started at around the bathrooms in San Gabriel Park, we had negative split coming back and I wanted to run the full 2 hours, 7 minutes and so we ended up finishing around the frisbee golf area on the little loop and I did a 5 minute cooldown. 

And that's all folks! 

Week 6 of marathon training in the bag! 26 weeks till the marathon!! - 19% done with training!

Super Quick Ten Things Thursday

This is a pic from the end of our group run on the intramural fields Tuesday. Pretty cool workout, I have never done a workout on the grass before. 

Workouts for the week so far:

Monday- 1300 yd swim

Tuesday- 3.94 miles - (run group- grass fartlek)

Wednesday-

Thursday- 2.5 miles- (indoor track)

Since I am out of town, I was not able to go to  run group today.  I am sad that this will end my going to run-group streak- 9 TIMES IN A ROW! WOOT-WOOT!

I am making this a super-quick Ten Things as I am not at home.

1. When I first started running, I thought I would be able to run a marathon in a year! HA!

2. I complain about it being hot, but really, I HATE the cold most of all.

3. I grew up on hot wings. They are my most favorite food.

4. I am really, really bad at tying my shoe laces. Throughout long runs this starts to get very, very, very annoying.

5. I use to be on the swim team my freshman year in  high school. I competed in 50 free and 100 free and 100 free relay. 12 years later, I forgot how to dive, every stroke but free and am a LOT slower thanks to now weighing 60 pounds more.

6. I am the oldest out of five sisters. In my family they call me "Jamo-Lamo". This shows you the respect I get!

7. We have a yellow-bellied kooter (a turtle) named Puppy, a Blue Russian-mix cat named Dorian Blue and a Scottish Terrier named Eva Tworine. We live in a one room apartment and so are currently maxed out in the pet department as is obvious.

8. In georgetown there is a trail called Booty Trail. It has a GIANT hill on it. I'm wondering if it is called Booty Trail cause if you keep going on and up on this hill, you will have a great booty! ( I know, that is super corny!)

9. Although I do love hot wings, I feel it is necessary to mention my second and more commonly accessible love- chocolate. Lately I have been getting into sugar-free chocolate. We will see if this makes a difference.

10. I really love that my husband likes running too. I know not everyone has a spouse who runs and I think he helps make sure I am not so lazy.

Return of the Long Runs

Workouts so far this week:

Monday- 1144 yd swim

Tuesday- 2.88 mile run (run group)- Hills

Wednesday-18 minute strength/weight workout

686 yd swim

Thursday- 3 mile run (run group)- Fartlek Track Workouts

792 yd swim

Friday- Rest Day

Saturday- 1.55 mile run (easy run)

Sunday- 8.52 mile run (Long Run at Brushy Creek)

End of the Week Recap: 

Four Runs, Three Swims and One Core Workout. I'm happy I got all the workouts in this week that I needed to. However, my biggest problems this week were distance and speed in my runs. I'm disappointed by the distance in my week runs, I really wanted to run at least one 4 mile run and it didn't happen. In large part I think that was because Tuesday, the day I was planning to run 4 miles, I just couldn't hang with the hills and had a very bad pace. Also, my tiny runs are just so tiny but honestly, before this training cycle, I never really made it a point to run 4 times a week every week. I feel like I am just making excuses though. Bottom line is a marathon is a very long run and my mileage needs to increase. Typically I would run about 3 times. So I am just trying to get in the habit of introducing an additional run. I really need to increase these runs because I am sure that longer runs during the week would make my long run easier. That being said, I was happy with my Thursday run and my long run today. Also, my total running mileage this week was 15.95 miles- my most in 6 months! 


This long run compared to last long run:

Splits: 8.52 miles- 8/12/2012-
12:20/13:34/13:11/13:27/12:52/12:13/13:26/13:23/.52 miles- 6 min, 51 sec- 13:10 pace

8.02 miles- 7/29/2012-
12:45/14:24/12:43/14:37/15:37/13:23/13:17/12:49/.02 miles- 14 sec

Wayyyyy more consistent this week! 

So, we started this run at about 6.50 in the morning. Probably the earliest we have started a long run in awhile. At the beginning, there wasn't much light and there was actually a short breeze. I forgot I was running in the dog days of August in Central Texas for about 30 minutes. Then a little before my second mile, my back was starting to hurt and I started to get worried. Tuesday my back was hurting me and it made it hard for me to do 2.88 miles. I still had over 6 miles at this point so I was starting to feel down. Then, right after hitting 2 miles, I saw fellow Daily Miler Joe on his run. He looked so strong and was doing such a good job, it was such a nice pickme up.

A little after the hill (which after group workouts in which we RUN up the hill and recover walking down, I walked going up. I know, I know, I should be ashamened. This is why I need run group lol) I saw ANOTHER Daily Miler Middalia. It was really nice again to see someone I recognize. Made me feel proud I was out running the same course as all these other really good runners.
When I was almost at the 4 mile mark, this lady stopped me to ask me questions about the course. She was from out of town and wanted to run 8 miles and wanted to know if this course was long enough, where it stopped, would she get lost, yadda yadda yadda. I was happy to help her but after like 5 minutes of reiterating that the course was almost about 9 miles and she would definitely be able to get her run, I wanted to be like- IM TRYING TO RUN!!! Does that make me me mean?
I felt like I lost my rhythm a little after that and then took it upon myself to go even slower and get some more water.  Right before turning around, I saw a man walking his Scottie. Vince had told me he'd seen him before walking the dog. I love scotties as I have one myself. It's so cool when you run sometimes, you never know what you might see.
Before the 5 mile mark, I used the restroom and wiped some sweat off my face. The sunscreen was getting in my eyes and I was starting to get tired, so I took my gel and got some more water. I couldn't believe how much water I was going through.
When I got to around the 6 mile mark, my RunKeeper shut-off. A quarter of a mile later, it shut-off again. Then I kicked and screamed and threw my phone on the ground. No, I didn't. But I wanted to. Luckily, I had kept track of my run splits on a memo pad just in case this happened. I've noticed that the sweat from my hands and the condensation from the water tends to cause my phone to mess up during long runs.
Miles 6-8 were pretty uneventful. All I wanted was to run past the 8 mile mark, I knew once I did that, I would be fine
Finished my run and felt pretty exhausted the last .10 miles. Walked back and forth for about 5 minutes for a cooldown as I wasn't feeling so hot. Then I sat on the ground and pondered how I would be able to run more then 3x this. Sheesh. How do marathoners' do it? My husband came and told me to get off the ground. I wanted to stay there forever but I thought a shower might be nice as I was beyond hobo smelly and bordering on sewer stinky.

Not too shabby for my first long run in two weeks. Usually coming back from a recovery week is brutal as my body has gotten nice and comfy with short runs. But I did it and next week I have an even LONGER training run with my Sgt. Husband.

I hope everyone had a good week and I really appreciate all the support and advice. Happy Running!

WEEK 5 OF MARATHON TRAINING DONE! 27 WEEKS TILL THE MARATHON!!

Ten Things Thursday

This is a pic from my track workout today. Seeing the sky change from the dark to light is always so cool. The sky looked great today.

Workouts so far this week:

Monday- 1144 yd swim

Tuesday- 2.88 mile run (run group)- Hills

Wednesday-18 minute strength/weight workout

686 yd swim

Thursday- 3 mile run (run group)- Fartlek Track Workouts

792 yd swim

1. I was really happy with my track workout today. Out of all the group workouts so far, I think this was my 2nd favorite. (Actually getting up and having the nerve to participate in a run group was the best one as I think it marked a turning point for me). But anyways, so today we did 300 meter run at 5k pace with 100 recovery. So I walked the 100's and I ended up doing 8 laps. My workout came out to 3 miles total with my warm-up and cooldown. I just felt relieved that for once I was able to do more then the minimum amount! Yeah progress

2. I was SOOOO excited when I saw the men's 1500m and saw that Leo Manzano, who graduated from UT and lives in Austin, won silver! It's the first American win in that event since 1968! Not only do you feel the pride from an American win ( which we have plenty of this Olympics) but also an Austinite win! I wish I would have seen him on the Today Show.

Photo: Sergey Ponomarev/Associated Press

3. I was reading this thing about athletes drinking Pedialyte for the electrolytes instead of Sports Drinks. I don't know. Seems kind of weird to me. But I guess swallowing gels and eating sport Jelly Bellies seems weird to others. I am going through gels like crazy lately. I have to take one when I do run group as I half awake and don't like coffee and need the energy. When I do my long runs, I take one for every 45 minutes. If I swim, I usually take water and gatorade with me, although sometimes I have a gel. It's weird though I noticed when I swim, I usually need to eat something small right before as I am always hungry during my swim if I don't.

4. Tuesday's workout was really frustrating to me. I had some back pain and was moving very slllllowww. Even for me slow. Which is really slow. The workout itself was pretty cool. It involved going over a steep hill, with some sprints and a backwards jog. I ended up doing 5 of the hills, 2 of the sprints and 1 of the backwards jog. I know jogging backwards up a hill doesn't sound like it's that hard, but ask anyone ( I SWEAR!) who was there and they will agree with me. I don't know if this pic below really captures the true steep-ness essence of the hill, but I'll give it a shot. 

5. I've read about 3 or 4 different blog posts on the Austin Marathon. I think I am going to have a post combining all these posts so I can see what advice people have on the marathon and what parts of the course I should specifically train for. From what I gather: HILLS! and it might be cold or hot but who knows as it's texas. I did read they have a good amount of water stops, so that's good. After the difficulty on the steep hills, I hope the hills are more long and rolling then step ascent and descent but I guess I could just pull up the elevation chart. 

6. My swim today was finally, finally under a 50 min mile pace! I haven't had a swim under that pace in a while, so that really made me feel good.

7. I can't believe the women were able to swim 6.2 miles in the open-water competition. That is so impressive! The Olympics are so inspiring, I love it! 

8. I finished reading my book, WILD by Cheryl Strayed. Now I don't know what to do with my life. 

9. I'm really nervous about my long run on Sunday. Last week was recovery week so whenever I go back to long runs I don't know what to expect. My body feels more rested after not doing a long run the week before, but I also feel like I have lost some endurance. 

10. I have read/heard people rave about lulemon. So I checked out their website. They have really pretty running stuff but man it is not college budget friendly. Maybe I'll save up though or check out the clearance section. I want some new running clothes! It's been so lonngggg. I'm partial to Nike clothes for hot weather and underarmour for cold weather typically. 

So Sweaty it's like My Hair is Sobbing

Pic from my run this morning at San Gabriel Park. 


Workouts for the Week:
Monday- 1514 yds swim
Tuesday- 3.74 miles (run group)- Degressive Hills
Wednesday- 898 yds swim
Thursday- 3.06 miles (run group)- Track Ladder Workout
968 yds swim
Friday- Rest Day
Saturday- 1.27 mile run (run with Eva)
17 min core workout
1038 yd swim
Sunday- 4 miles (easy run)


Recap of the Week: This week was a recovery week, so no long run. Which was fine by me as  you can really start to tell it is getting muy calinte here in Texas. I am really happy I swam 4x this week, especially as the last two weeks I was shooting for 3x a week and only managed 2x. I also continued my four weeks of training with four runs a week. My plan ( as of right now) is 4 runs a week for the first 3 and a half months of training and then 2 longish runs and 1 long run the last 3 and a half months to give my body more rest as I really build my mileage up. I did my core workout for the week. 
Overall, I am pretty happy with this weeks workouts. I wish my runs and swims would have been a little faster, but I mean, I know I will ( hopefully improve).


Moving forward, I am thinking we will not do the Heels and Hills Race as 
1. We still need to make a final decision and register for the Marathon ( I would like to make the decision before Aug.28th, when the price increases)
2. I think for our money ( for the price of two half-marathons) will best be used for new shoes for me and my husband. I haven't had a new pair in a while and with increased training, I think new shoes is a more immediate need.
But you never know. So far this year, we have only raced 3 races and I miss racing. 


Also, for the next 4 weeks, my new workout goals will be:
1. Run 4x a week, with at least one 4 mile run during the week.
2. Swim 3x a week, 4x during recovery week
3. Do core workout one time a week, 2x a week during recovery week.
Small increases overall, but I think an additional core workout couldn't hurt and an additional swim when my time isn't monopolized by a long run I think will feel good on my body.


And I know I sound like a broken record, but I can not stress enough how helpful a run group is. I have  been running since April 2010 and I wish I hadn't waited this long to join a group. I was so intimated about being slow. But honestly, so what? I can be a slow runner by myself or I can be a slow runner around others. Being around other people who sincerely care about running feels great. Also, it helps build structure in your training and has workouts that you might normally avoid ( COUGH HILL WORKOUT) and you will be surprised by your improvements (for me, feeling like I wasn't going to throw-up on my 3rd track workout was great). Not just that, but you see runners that are all of ages and abilities and it really enforces something you see in races: it's not about age or size or gender, it's about consistently going out there and putting the time and effort into it.


WEEK #4 MARATHON TRAINING IN THE BAG- 28 WEEKS TILL THE MARATHON!!! 

Ten Things Thursday

Pic from my track workout this morning. In case you don't know what a track looks like. 

Workouts for the Week so far:

Monday- 1514 yds swim
Tuesday- 3.74 miles (run group)- Degressive Hills
Wednesday- 898 yds swim
Thursday- 3.06 miles (run group)- Track Ladder Workout
968 yds swim


1. Today's workout was a track ladder workout. Although hard and tired (as usual), I am really happy that today was my first day of a track workout where I didn't feel like throwing up! Yeah for progress!

2. Mileage Recap for July-
Running- 56 miles (most since October of last year!)
Swimming- 7 miles  (most in over a year!!)

3. Right now I am reading this book:

It's really, really, really good so far. I have a lot of books at home that I haven't read and so I try not to buy that many books. But whenever I get books from the library, I never want to give them back and end up paying so much in fines, I should have bought the book anyways.
So, at the age of 26 ( my age, which is one of the reasons I wanted to read this), Cheryl Strayed decides to hike a large portion of the Pacific Crest Trail BY HERSELF!!!. In large part, this is a decision brought on by the death of her mother four years ago, the end of her marriage and recent heroin use. She meets people along the way of her summer long hike. Really helpful to read when I am feeling tired and not at all like working out. If she can hike an extremely hard trail ( with no prior backpacking/hiking experience), then I can get up to work out!

4. We found a way to watch the Olympics today and I'm loving it! It's so awesome to see people with such amazing skills and talents!

5. Every time I get up and go to group runs, I am amazed. So far, I have gone to the last SIX in a row. It never fails to deliver. The workouts are always mixed up, challenging and fun. I wonder how long I can keep this streak up! One thing though I've noticed is that Sundays are typically my long runs, Mondays usually my long swims and so by the time Tuesday morning rolls up, I am tired. However, I have heard about practicing running on tired legs to get a feel for the marathon or maybe I don't know what I am talking about and that's a bad idea. Either way, I like running with my husband on Sunday, the release of soreness by doing a long swim Monday and the group motivation on Tuesday, so I guess I'll stick with it!

6. My dog is feeling better and better since Tuesday. Sometimes it's hard to know when to go to the vet because it can be really expensive, but she is worth it! She turns 3 this Saturday and I am happy she will be feeling better! I'm thinking about maybe taking her to the dog park here in town, she really likes it!

7. I have been listening to this running podcast, Dirty Dawg's Running Diatribe. It's pretty interesting. I really liked his recap of his first 100 mile run. He's an ultra runner and has guest speakers on and often has his wife who is also a runner. If you have the time or looking for something worth listening to, I'd check it out. Sometimes he does podcasts when he is running and I'm like thinking, how do you do that and concentrate on your run?! I'd probably trip over something and fall.

8. Fot the last couple of months, I have really been into soup, which is unfortunate as it is hot as hades here in Central Texas. McAlister's Deli has this country potato soup, sooooo good. A cup is only about 200 calories, so it's not that bad if you are eating out.

9. Typically when we do our long runs, we alternate between San Gabriel Trail and Brushy Creek Trail. However, when I get to my 14 mile training run, we get to run at Town Lake!! I have only run there about 2 or 3 times, since it is so far away. I'm really looking forward not just because it's a probably my favorite place for people-watching while running, but because the longest I have ever run in my life is 13.1 miles, so 14 miles is a big deal for me.

10. Runners World has a short quick daily blog by Mark Remy that is pretty interesting.
http://rwdaily.runnersworld.com/