8 More Weeks Until the Colfax Half Marathon!

Eight weeks from today, I will be setting out to accomplish a goal that I honestly never even dreamed I would (or could) set for myself. I'm very, very excited. My training has been going great - on March 10th I ran the Runnin of the Green 7k with my friend Valerie, and in spite of the cold weather I had an absolutely wonderful time!! I had a really strong week March 11th - 17th, then last week I got knocked out by some weird viral thing. It made me break out in cold sores and my body felt like someone beat me up with a bag of hammers! I never got a cough or runny nose or anything like that; just a low grade fever and feeling wiped out and run down. I did my workout on Tuesday, started feeling like crap; then decided to take the rest of the week off. Yesterday I was supposed to run the Spring Fever 10K, but it was postponed due to snow. I'm actually kind of glad, I still wasn't feeling 100% yesterday so I wasn't feeling very optimistic about running. I am feeling better, I think by Tuesday I'll be ready to jump back into training. I'm actually a little bit ahead of schedule on the training as far as the long runs go; so I'll be working on getting a little bit faster on my Tue/Thur 5K runs. I don't feel compelled to try to run my first half as fast as I can, but I definitely don't want to be trotting along super slow either. I have gotten my per mile average down under 11 minutes, and that makes me happy. I know it's just a matter of conditioning. 

I am accomplishing milestone after milestone; doing that thing I love best about taking on a new challenge - completing each new 'first'. Last Saturday was my first 10 mile run. I didn't even feel like running that day! My mood was low, the weather was crap; and I was feeling very unmotivated. But I told myself to run at least 5 miles. Just five miles. There is a stretch of trail that I can see off to the north every day as I drive home from work, and I've been having a compulsion to go explore it. So I did. The first 3 miles were brutal, as usual: but then I hit that wonderful place where all of the creaky aches melt away, my breathing becomes steady and I suddenly feel this sense of peace. The trail is nice, winding all through the neighborhoods; and once I found my groove I just kept on going. Next thing I knew, I had run 10 miles and it felt amazing! I finally understand why people run, and I have really missed it this week. (I know it may seem trivial to some, but I ran TEN MILES... I remember when I couldn't even run ONE!!)

Recently I've made some new running friends who really inspire me. The hard part is that some of them have been running for a long time; so they go far and they go fast. I feel like the annoying little sister who wants so badly to tag along with the big kids but can't even remotely keep up!! This is good though, this drives me to continue to improve. I really don't mind running solo during a group run because I still feel involved; that I'm a part of the I-got-out-of-bed-at-the-ass-crack-of-dawn-to-run-rather-than-sleep-in-on-a-Saturday crowd, and that alone makes me beam with pride. I like being a part of that club, and I hope that one day soon I'll be able to keep up with the big kids.

I've decided that I want to run at least 2 more half marathons this year. I also want to do 2-3 skate races. I'm on the fence about what do to in in June; I have a full skate marathon that I would like to do again, (Apostle Islands) on June 15th,  or I may do the Slacker Half (running) marathon on June 22... One thing is for certain; the running events are far more abundant and definitely cheaper; while Apostle is a blast, it is definitely not a cheap weekend! I had so much fun last year though, it may be too hard for me to resist... I am for sure registered for the Minnesota Half Marathon/5K in August: I registered for the duathlon. (Skate the half then run the 5K.) I am also definitely skating the Northshore marathon in September- I just can't miss that one. It's the best race of the season!! If I could skate all three of those as well as run 3 half marathons; I would be very happy. I am definitely addicted to racing; there is just something really gratifying about crossing a finish line - and feeling all of the hard work paying off! It's not about winning, it's about finishing!

It should be interesting to see how I switch gears - going from full time running to full time skating. I do miss skating though, and I do believe that the conditioning I have gained from running will make it a lot easier for me to jump back into the groove of skating - which is the main reason I took up running in the first place!! I'm thinking that what I will probably do is after the half in May I'll switch to skating and do my skate races with the first one in June and the last one in September; then switch back over to running to do the Rock n Roll half in October, and another one in there somewhere... Either way, the year still feels wide open, life is amazing; and I'm just happy to be participating!

Embracing This New World

My half marathon training is officially under way! I finally found a schedule and a routine that works for me - because I am all about having a routine. I see people who go to the gym and sort of wander around, use a machine here, use a machine there: with seemingly no rhyme or reason to their workout. Makes me crazy, I cannot do that! I simply can't. I plan ahead, I have a workout journal with everything that I am scheduled to do written out: nice and neat and orderly. And I do my workout in a specific order. That's how I roll. It works for me. So feeling lost and in between worlds was really hard for me and I am glad I got past that.

The main thing I had to do was let go of the P90X mentality. I latched on to that program a few years back, and even though I never attained the ripped physique touted by the program: I loved the weight workouts and the meal plan. I ate the phase 2 food and did a modified version of the program. When I started running I learned really quickly that I had to let go of all that. The high protein/low carb eating, the intensity of the weight training: that doesn't work with what I'm trying to accomplish. So I let it all go. I found a full body workout that is done 2x a week. I found a half marathon training program that I like that has me running 4x per week and allows for the weight training to fit into my schedule. So my week looks like this: Mon: rest day. Tues: run 5k/strength train. Wed: moderate run (4-6 miles/pace) Thur: run 5K/strength train, Fri: rest, Sat: long run, Sun: cross train (any non-weight bearing cardio for at least 60 mins) I'm going on my 3rd week of this schedule and I really, really like it.

As for the food; I am now eating 3 servings of complex carbs per day, 2 servings of protein, 1 dairy, 1-2 fruits; and 3 vegetables. I am not afraid to eat and definitely notice a big difference on the days I don't eat enough. I'm doing pretty good with sticking to the clean eating so overall I feel like the nutrition is under control.

So, on to the running! I've been mixing things up by meeting with a running group on Saturday mornings - and I've really been enjoying that. I've made some new friends and knowing that there are people getting up at the butt crack of dawn to go run motivates ME to do the same! 2 weeks ago I ran 9 miles; my longest distance to date. I was pretty stoked about that. I run hills at least once a week and have been trying to do my longer runs outside. 3 miles on the treadmill isn't too bad but more than that is starting to become difficult. I enjoy the stimulation of being outside; the peace, the fresh air, the feeling of freedom. I totally get why most runner hate the 'dreadmill'! I'm looking forward to more daylight/warmer days so I can take the majority of the runs outside. This weekend I have a 7K on Sunday, then back to ramping up the miles. I have no doubt in my mind that I will accomplish the half marathon!

As far as any physical issues; I've only had a couple. One thing is my Achilles tendons are pretty sore after I run. I am fairly certain that it's due to my heel strike and I'm working on it. It's gotten better, but I'm still aware of it. Another thing was my first experience with chafing. It was pretty annoying and embarrassing... I didn't know how to really talk to anyone about it so I Googled it. Found out I wasn't the only chick to experience 'that' kind of chafing, and got some tips on how to combat it. I tried one of them out on my run last Saturday and it helped tremendously!! :)

If anyone is interested; below is my strength training routine - I do 2 sets of 12 with moderate weight; (moderate meaning that the last 2-3 reps are difficult.) Any move that doesn't require weights is max reps. (planks, hip bridge and supermans - I do 5 holding each for 10 seconds.) I don't do any girly push ups - I do max reps/regular push ups. I have 2 different workouts that I do to mix it up - I will list them both.  (I do workout #1 on Tue & workout #2 Thur; after running a 5K.)

#1
Dumbbell press, shoulder press, lat pull down, seated row, reg push up, lateral raise, biceps curl, triceps extention, sit ups, hip lifts, bicycle fwd/bkwd, cross body crunch, hip bridge, front plank, superman, leg press, calf press, wall squat, hamstring curl, hip adbuctor

#2
chest machine, shoulder machine, lat pull down, back machine, military push up, in & out shoulder raise, in & out biceps curls, triceps kick back, sit ups, hip lifts, bicycle fwd/bkwd, cross body crunch, hip bridge, front plank, supermans, squats, calf raises, lunges, stiff legged deadlifts, hip adbuctor.

It takes me about 32-35 minutes to run the 5K and about 40-45 minutes to do this workout so I am in the gym for a while but it's only 2x a week. I also love that the ab/core moves are in the middle so I am less tempted to skip them. Hope this helps anyone looking for a strength workout to incorporate in with running training.

11 more weeks until the Colfax Half!!!