My Own Worst Enemy

Run: 5 miles
Time: ~59
Mood: Fantabulous
Training Goal: I scrapped them.

Don't read this unless you're sitting down. Are you sitting down? Ok, well take a seat...I'll wait.

You good? Ok.

Today, I:

• Hydrated. 
• Warmed up. 
• Stretched. 
• Ran 5 miles. 
• Cooled down. 
• Stretched. 
• Hydrated. 
• Drank a protein shake.

You fell off your chair, didn't you? I bet you're glad I told you to sit down.

Yes folks, I had an amazing run today because I did WHAT I'M SUPPOSED TO DO. I realized this weekend that I've been making excuses and - well - whining about how running wasn't going well, etc., when I've been doing it to myself.

My friend suggested I scrap my training emails and do what I wanted to do, what I enjoyed, so that's what I'm doing. Was I supposed to do 5 miles today? No, I was technically supposed to be resting after yesterday's "7 mile run" (ha!). I went through my calendar today and figured out that I need to add a mile to my long runs every week and then I'll be up to 9 the week before the Cherry Blossom. This week I needed to knock out 5. Check!

I felt fantastic at the gym, it wasn't a real effort until mile 4.5.

And tonight's protein shake? 1 banana, 1 scoop vanilla whey, 2 spoon fulls of peanut butter, 8 oz. skim milk, ice. Blended. Scrumtrulescent.

Bah.

Three miles this morning. And yes, I walked for about .2 after the second mile, but got right back to it.

It hurt. It wasn't graceful. It didn't look good (trust me, I was running next to the mirror). There's nothing like mascara streaking down your face to make the boys come a runnin'.

Rain, rain go away...makes for a grumpy morning.

Bah.

It's Official: I'm In

Well folks. It's done. I'm officially registered for the Marine Corps Marathon.

F%@k.

A huge thank you to Bobby for texting to remind me that registration had opened. After an hour and a half of us texting and calling each other to check the status - Are you in? I can't get the registration page! - both of us finally managed to get signed on up!

He called me to make sure I had gotten in, too. And I said I had. Then my ever-wise elder sibling chirps: "Well, at least the hard part is over."

Optimistic little bugger, isn't he? :)
My estimated finishing time? 5 hours.

Bobby's? 3.5 hours.

To quote my coworker when I told her this, "Well, they don't call it a marathon for nothing."

Going to attempt a 4-mile interval run tonight on four hours of sleep. Oy.

Pros and Cons

Taking a week off from training was either a great idea (I feel back to 100 percent) or a horrible idea (I've pretty much reset my training).

Sunday I got back on the treadmill after a week's absence. It missed me, I know it did. I ran a mile and then...I walked...and then I ran...and then I walked. I did this for three miles.

I haven't had to do that in a long time. I talked with my oldest brother (who just ran his second marathon and shaved 9 minutes off of his time - go Bobby), and he said that it only takes 3-4 days for your body to start losing some of the benefits of your training.

Grrrrreat!

I guess I'm not really sorry, because I did need time to get healthy again. Last night I hammered out two miles, the second one sub-11. It felt great, a little weezy, but great.

Tonight I'm shooting for a solid three. And I'm actually looking forward to a 4-mile interval run tomorrow.

That's right, I said it. Looking forward to an interval run. :)

Rule # 76: No Excuses, Play Like a Champion

You may have noticed that I haven't posted in a week, and that's because I haven't run in a week.

Before you get your pitchforks and torches ready to hunt me down, it was for good reason. I've been fighting a pretty nasty cold for the past two weeks and last week things started to get...well...gross. So I went to the doctor - turns out I had a sinus infection. Great. Oh, and pink eye. Perfect. Oh wait, also an ear infection.

Fan-freaking-tastic.

So on the advice of my unofficial trainer, Miss Triny, I took some time off to "let my body heal." I did a SUPER easy walk/run today to get myself prepped for this week's back-on-the-wagon training. The good news is, I'm on steroids for this thing with my ear, so I'm really hoping it does something to boost me back into the swing of things. Maybe? Just a little? No? Ok.

The bad news is, this week was a 6 mile long run, that I missed. And next week looks like it's supposed to be 7. I have some catching up to do.

I'm also cutting weight before my race on April. 3. Already down two pounds, although it may be muscle loss from a week of not running. I'm telling myself it's the salads. ;)

Stay tuned.

When in Rome...

That doesn't really apply here. (Anchorman, for those of you who are like whaa?)

Run: 4.5
Time: Can't even remember
Mood: Gasping
Training Goal: Epic Fail

Yesterday was supposed to be 5 miles, it ended up at 4.5. My legs felt like lead and I completely lost focus. I think I might turn one of my easy runs this week into a long run of 5, because next Sunday is 6 miles.

Saturday I got in an easy 3. Felt great. Watched Heath Ledger. Amazing.

My quad is still really tight, wondering what to do about it. I considered icing yesterday, but didn't get around to it. Maybe more stretching?

Leg

Run: 3 miles
Time: 34?
Mood: Sickly
Training Goal: Met-ish

Monday was a long run, Tuesday was a recovery day and Wednesday night I gave my body another day of rest. I keep getting a cold that's knocking me out, so I tried to take it easy.

Yesterday I still felt like a trainwreck, but knew three days sans running would kill me, so I went anyway. Did a mile warmup, then a mile and a half of intervals (should have been two). Dropped my speed pace by about 45 seconds down to 9:14. Jogs were still at 11:30. I was going to stick it out for the two solid interval miles, but my nose started to run and sweat was making my already-raw nose sting and burn like you wouldn't believe.

Felt great, left the gym drenched. Came home to homemade Allie dinner. Om nom nom.

Turkey meatloaf, mashed potatoes and salad. Yum-o.

Today I'm supposed to increase the distance of my "easy" days by 1 mile. So that makes easy days 4-milers. Ten bucks says they will up the long run by 1 mile this week to 6. Shoot me.

Persistent pain in right quad that usually lasts the day after a hard run (like last night). Need to stretch more.

Food for Thought

I read this today and it was a really good boost. Some days I have runs that crush my training goals, and some days I struggle, like Monday:

A solid...race is not made from a handful of good runs, but rather the sum of good, bad and sometimes ugly workouts. As you make your way through the training program, remember not every run will be your strongest. Even the world's fastest elite runners have tough running days. If you're having a rough day, slow the pace, and get through it. It's all part of the training process and breaking through to your running best. The great workouts will build confidence, the challenging "When-can-I-stop" runs will develop mental strength, and all of them combined will keep your momentum flowing.

Perfect fuel for my interval workout tonight. :)

Five Mile Monday

Run: 5 miles
Time: ~ 59
Mood: Deathly
Training Goal: Met

Long run today. Added a mile to last week's long run. Longest I've run since the 10K in October. It hurt like hell. That is all.

Wednesday

Run: 4 miles
Time: 44:43
Mood: Emotional
Training Goal: Crushed!

Wednesday was an interval day. My training email literally said, "if you ran one mile of intervals last week, add another mile this week." All nonchalant. Like it was no big deal. So that means 2 miles of intervals. One mile warm-up. One mile cool-down. Put it all together and what do you get? A 4-mile interval run. How fun! :)

Pace was 11:30 for the jog and 10 for the quick. AND I even set the incline at 1% for the whole shebang, sans the last mile because let's face it - I was about done by that point.

No, I didn't stretch. Let's not get ahead of ourselves.