ugh, winter is here

I made myself a training schedule to follow until Star City and I followed it really well until today, when I decided that the planned 4 miler was not in my best interest.  I needed a shakeout, but it was too cold and damp for an effective shakeout so I did yoga instead.  Turns out I would have seen the first snowflakes of the season if I had gone for that run...I have no regrets.  I am so totally not ready for winter.  I've had the heat on for almost 2 weeks now, and I know I made it til November last year.  Also, despite all the layers of sweats I wear, I keep having to turn up the heat higher and higher.  This top floor apartment has ceiling heat, who's brilliant idea was that?! And I currently have no downstairs neighbor, so no heat rising from below.  I really hope someone moves in soon... I made my budget assuming I'd manage to keep the heat around 55 like I did last winter, not taking into account the fact that I currently weigh less than I did last year, and that I have no downstairs neighbor.  I fully expect to gain some weight back after this race, but I'm thinking I still won't be able to tough out the cold quite as much as I did last winter. 


In other news, I nailed my track workout this week!  And it was a big win for my lungs.  I actually ran the whole way to the brewery to meet the guys (0.7 miles) and then started towards the track with them before realizing that I had not used my inhaler.  And I wasn't even having trouble breathing yet.  I was half-tempted to try the whole run without it, but I had mile repeats planned and didn't want to risk bombing them.  We practically run by my place to get to the track though, so we made a pit stop.  My goal was at least 3 mile repeats, at slightly faster than goal half marathon pace.  I wanted 5, but I knew I would stop after 3 if I didn't feel like I could hold the consistency.  After 4, I was still feeling really good so I went for 5.  I probably could have done 6, but it was full dark by the time we finished the 5th, and it wasn't worth it to keep running when we could barely see the track and we were getting really cold.  5 was a good workout though, I was running strong and consistent (6:19-6:22 pace), barely out of breath at the end of each one, and the 400m walk recovery was plenty. 

This week : 

M : circuit training 33:15

run 5 / 8:19 / 545 ft 

(easy effort hill run)

T : yoga class 1 hr

run 8.4 / 8:43 / 344 ft

(5 x 1600 w/400 walk recovery)

W : rest

R : run w/ Corey 10 / 7:34 / 502 ft 

(8 @ moderate effort (7:40 ish), last 2 hard - 7:15, 6:46)

F : TRX 45 minutes

Sa : run 8.3 / 7:57 / 650 ft

Su : yoga 30 min

total miles : 31.7

T-20 days til Star City!  

A successful long run! And exciting news!

News first : I've been toying with this idea for awhile, but some things came together recently and I decided to just go for it!  I have officially signed up to get my Personal Training certification through NASM!  I'm also taking their Fitness Nutrition Specialist course.  At some point I plan to get a certification to coach running as well, but I have to choose a different organization for that.  NASM is letting me spread my payments over 12 months interest free which enabled me to start right away, but I will probably need to save up money for the coaching cert. Once I have my certifications, I will probably only do online coaching since I already have a full-time job teaching, but I also may look for local summer employment as a personal trainer.  Originally I had thought about getting into online coaching without getting all the certifications, but after some research and remembering how sue-happy everyone is these days, it seems like that would not be a good idea.  So I'm going the official route.  And of course going the official route means I will be that much better of a coach in the end, because even though I might pretend I know all there is to know, of course there is always more to learn!

This week : 

M : circuit training 33:15

run 6.2 / 11:02 / 883 ft

(hill workout : road/grass/trail) 

T : yoga 60 minutes

tempo run : 8 / 7:18 / 233 ft

(3 mile progression 6:42, 6:31, 6:10)

W : rest

R : run 15.1 / 7:43 / 955 ft

F : TRX 45 minutes

walk 1.2 miles

Sa : run 5.8 / 8:04 / 361 ft

Su : hike 1.7 miles

total miles : 35.1

I've avoided trails for months because I'm always worried about my ankles, and now a month before my big PR attempt I decided I just had to go run some trails.  They are fun!  However, I am really relieved that I didn't roll an ankle, and I'm hoping to keep myself off the trails til after my race.  This is the most dangerous time of year to be on them with all the leaves falling!

Tuesday's tempo run started out with a vague idea that I wanted to be 6:45 or under.  We picked up the pace a bit after the second tempo mile and it felt good, so at the end of the 2nd mile when I saw the split, I decided I was doing a progression and kicked it up another notch.  At that point, the guys stopped sticking with me and started pushing the pace themselves, and it turned into me just trying not to lose sight of them for that 3rd mile.  I was super excited with how fast I pulled off the 3rd mile, and how strong I felt! 

On Thursday, the guys couldn't make it to run club so I decided to start my run early and run til I felt the need to stop. I was hoping for 10-12 but also trying not to get my hopes up too high.  Each time I had to choose whether to go further or turn towards home, I felt good enough to go further, until I knew I was getting 15 miles.   I did not allow myself to look at my pace at any point during the run, but I did try not to let it feel like a jog at any point.  I had to work hard for the last 2 miles, but I was amazed when I finished the run and found out how far below 8:00 my average was!  Now I am feeling much more confident about my chances of getting a PR at Star City on November 18!  I do know that there are many things that could go wrong between now and then, or during the race, and I am determined not to beat myself up if I don't get that PR that I so desperately want, but it will be nice to at least know it was within reach!  It hasn't felt within reach until now.  

Letting out my inner child in the woods today.

A baby waterfall is better than no waterfall!  

And this one's only a 15 minute drive away.

fewer runs, same mileage

This is how I would like to get my mileage more often.  Fewer, longer, runs.  It would be really nice to start getting closer to 40 miles in 4 runs, but that's too ambitious for me right now.  I am really happy with how this week's runs went however, and know that if I can stay strong and train smart for the next month, I have a really good shot at the half marathon PR that I want.

This week : 

M : circuit training 33:15

T : yoga 30 min

group track 9 / 9:40 / 305 ft

(lap ladder : 4, 3, 2, 1, 1, 2, 3, 4)

W : yoga 50 min

R : run w/Corey 10.2 / 7:40 / 584 ft

F : TRX arms & abs circuit 33:15

Sa : long run 12 / 8:10 / 794 ft

Su : rest

total miles : 31.2

Track Tuesday : half-time recovery on the way down the ladder, full-time recovery on the way back up.  1 lap walk + another minute or so in between the 400s.  1600s were intended to be at goal half marathon pace.  I was aiming for 6:30ish.  It's hard to run half marathon pace on the track, but at least having the thought in my head helps me not run my intervals too crazy fast.  Tried to get just a little bit faster as the intervals shortened. 

1600 : 6:27

1200 : 4:46

800 : 3:08

400 : 1:26

400 : 1:29 

800 : 3:14

1200 : 4:44

1600 : 6:24

On Thursday, I was exhausted and just tying my running shoes felt like a chore I didn't want to do.  BUT I got my shoes tied, pulled myself off the floor, and showed up to run club.  I knew I might not get more than 4 miles, and if I continued to feel bad after starting the run I wouldn't have pushed for mileage, but I also knew that running might actually increase my energy.  And it did!  I ended up feeling stronger the further we got.  I could have called it quits at 8.5 but instead I decided to add on instead of running straight home as we finished a big loop.  With 19 miles in two runs it seemed like I may as well stick with the theme and so I planned to get my 30 miles in just 3 runs this week.  

I hoped to feel strong after coming off a big hill in Saturday's run, and to add on more miles, but I was done for at the top of the hill, so I ran it on home.  I knew I could make it the last 2 downhill miles home without sacrificing pace too much, and knew that quality was more important than quantity, so I didn't make myself add to get to 14 miles like I considered.  

I spent most of today (Sunday) debating whether or not to go for a shake-out jog, since I'm feeling pretty good and it's always tempting to try and get more miles in, but ultimately it looks like I have decided to wait for tomorrow.  I want to be able to get a few miles in after circuit training tomorrow.  As much as I love the "Fewer runs, greater miles" thing, I'd like to get a good 14+ mile run next weekend, so I'm thinking it will be better if I do fewer, slightly shorter, runs throughout the week.  

Picking up the Pace

For awhile now I have been working on including slower runs in my week, and doing a warm-up mile before running faster miles.  I've also been working hard to hold myself back in the first mile of half marathons in order not to go out to fast.  This strategy has not been working super well for me.  It was not my strategy when I was running my best races, and I do not want it to be my strategy anymore.  My best runs have always been about consistency, not about starting slow and speeding up.  So consistency is what I'm working on getting back to.

I can see how starting slow and speeding up is a good strategy for other people, especially to help warm-up the legs, but here is why I think it is not useful to me.  My legs are not my limiting factor when I run.  My lungs are.  And once I establish a pace, it is really hard for my lungs to adjust to a faster pace.  When my lungs struggle, my legs don't get enough oxygen, and then my legs struggle.  If I establish a quicker pace in the beginning, that is the pace that my lungs settle to, and so I'm able to hold it for awhile.  This doesn't mean I want to start off a half-marathon at 6:00 pace, but it does mean that I don't need to be trying to hold myself to 7:30 in my first mile.

My current training goal is to increase my average pace on weekly runs less than 8 or 9 miles.  Less 8:00-8:30, more 7:00-7:45.  My lungs don't get stronger on slow runs, they get stronger when I make them work.  I ran a strong race at the Bluegrass 1/2, but my goal half marathon time is several minutes faster.  I want to get my lungs and legs used to running faster consistently.  I know that I have to be careful not to over-tire my legs in this process, but I am trusting myself to listen to my body.

This week I ended up with 2 hilly tempo runs, a long hill run, and then another run that was supposed to be 5 and ended up being 7... I felt really good on the first 3 runs. I was getting tired towards the end of today's run, but it made sense after how hard I ran all week!

This week : 

M : circuit training 33:15

T : group run 7.5 / 7:14 / 413 ft

W : TRX 45 minutes

R : run w/Corey 8 / 7:34 / 554 ft

F : horseback ride 45 minutes

Sa : run 10.1 / 8:17 / 1440 ft

Su :  run w/Ben 7 / 7:40 / 367 ft

total miles : 32.6

At various times over the years when running long hill climbs, I have contemplated turning around at the top to run the hill again.  I never actually did it, until this Saturday.  I was in West Virginia to ride my horse and go for a hill run, and the run was going really, really well.  The sunshine and temperature were perfect, the turning leaves were gorgeous, and I felt good.  I was running a 3.5 mile stretch of Rt 60 that had mile-ish long ups and downs.  On the way out from the house, the road was down, up, down.  When I turned around and climbed the 1.1 mile climb, I just plain loved it.  It had steeper sections and less steep sections, but it went steadily upwards for the whole 1.1 miles.  3/4 of the way up, I knew I wanted to do it again.  I reached the top, and actually turned around to go back down.  It was just as gorgeous the second time, and I never for a second regretted my decision.  

I have been frustrated lately, realizing that I have lost some of my hill strength since leaving WV.  Being able to do those long hill climbs this weekend and feel strong doing them made me feel a lot better!  

The view at the start of Saturday's run.

Heading down the first hill on Saturday.

Enjoyed getting to see this cute Pony on Friday!

Recovery Week + Growler Relay

I did my best to keep it light on the running this week, although I did not back off of the strength training.  My legs and body have definitely been worn out from the half marathon last Sunday!  My team for the Growler Relay was 7 people for 8 legs, so I did end up being the person that ran 2, but at least I had only run twice this week before that, and I didn't treat it like a race this year.  (I didn't jog either...but I definitely wasn't pushing myself to the max!)

I didn't get home from Roanoke until almost 3:00 today but a friend asked if I wanted to bike and that seemed like a good thing to do after sitting in the car, especially since I've been trying not to run too much, but still need exercise.  It ended up being really windy for our ride which made it harder than I'd like, but I'm glad I got out and did it.  It was a gorgeous day, and I do need to be getting on that bike once in awhile!

This week : 

M : circuit training 33:15

T : yoga class 1 hour

W : TRX 30 minutes

run 3.6 / 7:43 / 272 ft

R : trail run 4.8 / 9:56 / 997 ft

F : rest

Sa : relay leg- 1 5.3 / 7:37 / 223 ft

relay leg 3- 6. 2/ 7:36 / 213 ft 

Su : bike w/Coby 22.2 / 17.6 mph / 1247 ft

total miles run : 19.8

total miles bike : 22.2

Handing off to our second runner yesterday after I started off the relay.  I've never seen my muscles pop out like that...the camera must have caught the exact moment my foot hit the ground and the impact traveled up my leg!