3 Easy Labor Day Miles

This morning I wanted to get a jump on the 119 miles I am running in September for Alex's Lemonade Stand's 1 Million Mile Run.  I managed a quick & hilly 3 miles.  (Well, quick for me.) 3 down - 116 to go!

You can see I slowed right down as I started my 1.5 ascent during the second half of my run.

This afternoon, we are having some friends from work over for a BBQ.  Berl is using his new grill to make us ribs & chicken.  Looking forward to a great dinner!

Plan Implement Revise Implement Revise

The plan keeps changing.  And that is okay, life is change.  I am really enjoying running. This morning I actually made it up at 5 am and went down to the hotel fitness center.  As much as I hate dreadmills, it was a good run.  3.0 miles - 42:58, pace 14:39.  I can live with that pace for now.

Goals: I would like my 3 and 4 mile pace to be less than 14 mins/mile by 9/21 and less than 13 mins/mile by 11/2.  I would like my pace at the race to be less than 15 mins/mile. That goal will be revised as we get closer to the race.

Schedule Edits: One of the edits I needed to make to the schedule was for my long run.  I had my long run planned for 10/12.  Happily, I am planning to be at the Carmel Valley Ranch Resort that weekend with some of my favorite girlfriends from law school.  I looked at the google earth map of the resort it was SUPER SUPER hilly.  So I moved the run to earlier in the week.  I changed the Saturday run to 4 miles.  If I have to do it on a treadmill, I'd rather do 4 on a treadmill than my first 13+ on a treadmill.  If I miss that run, I miss that run.  This picture is from the Carmel Valley Ranch web site.

I also added Women Run the Cities to 9/22.  That weekend was going to be my 9 mile weekend.  I changed Saturday's run to 5 miles and added Sunday's 10 miles.  I am still thinking about whether that is a good idea and whether I should make Saturday a rest day.

Lead Legs & Sleepy Feet

This morning's 4 miles was a challenge.  For the first 2 miles, my legs were so heavy it was hard to stay on task.  For the second 2 miles, my foot was falling asleep/numb on and off.  I failed to properly stretch yesterday after my run. I was so hot, tired, and thirsty that I just hopped in the car and headed home.  Today, I took the time to stretch out my legs.  Yesterday, I also failed to work out the soreness in my feet with the golf ball.  I knew when I got out of bed and my foot already hurt I was in for a rough run.  My overall time was slower than I liked.  But I got it done.  I walked more than I planned to but still less than half (I think). Tomorrow is the biggest run I have done so far - 6 miles.  I am thinking I will do it after work. If I try to squeeze it into my morning, I think I would have to leave the house at 5:15.  That does not sound like fun.  But then I would have it done and not need to worry about it. Another plus is that it will be cooler outside at 5:30 am than 7 pm.  I think I just talked myself into doing my 6 miles at 5:15 am. Time to shower & get my Sunday chores done!

Tactical Error

Apparently, taking 5 days in a row off was a tactical error.  This morning's three miles was rough.  I have my new Garmin Forerunner 10 which I really like.  Part of what made it a rough run was adjusting to the new measurements -- my iPhone was a touch inaccurate - which I knew.  But that just a touch adds up so that your 3/4 spot is a little bit farther than expected and your 1 mile is a little bit farther and then the 1 1/2 mile turn around spot is even further.  After a few runs, I will be adjusted.  I set the watch to beep with I was off pace.  That was annoying.  I will be turning that off.  Last time I ran, I ran with some of the Moms from Moms Run This Town.  They run in 5/1 intervals.  They run for 5 minutes and walk 1 minutes. I thought I would try that today instead of my usual 1 mile run, followed by 1/4 mile increments, and ending with a 3/4 mile run.  The 5/1 was much harder.  I think with my next run I am going to go back to my previous system with the ongoing goal of stretching out my run distances.  Tomorrow, I am going to go 4 miles.  I am going to update the schedule today and figure out how to catch back up. 

New Race: I just signed up for a  10 mile race on September 22 - Women Run the Cities!  It is a week before I should be at 10 miles so it will be a stretch.  I am excited about the race.  The night before I will be staying with a friend from college I haven't seen since about 1996 -- 13 years!

Here are today's stats:

Weekly Update

My plan going forward is to switch to weekly updates.  Last week was a good week.  I ran Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday, and then Sunday (which is technically this week).

Tuesday was an easy 3 miles.  I had an okay overall time.  I am happy with my current pace.  I am also happy with my system, run a 1 mile, alternate 1/4 miles after that until 2.25, then run the final .75.  I am thinking that with tomorrow's run, I am going to run the final mile.  I feel mentally right now, but it isn't 6 a.m. and chilly right now either.  Of course, the faster I go, the sooner I am warm and the sooner I am done.

I would like to see my pace level out.  

Wednesday was a longer run, 4 miles.  When 4 miles feels daunting, the idea that I am training for 13.1 miles seems insane.

Saturday was rough.  It was 5 miles on the treadmill (it was rainy and I didn't feel like dealing with wet shoes). I find treadmill running to be challenging.  It is so hard for me in part because it is just a consistent pace.  I did my 1 mile run then 1/4 mile intervals until 4.37.  I worked really hard for the last 1/4 mile of mile 4 to get my 4 mile time under 55 minutes.  54:30.  The machines at Anytime Fitness time out at 60 minutes.  So I took a quick break to refill my water bottle and finished that last .63.  I ran hardly any of it, but I got in all five miles! Woo hoo! I even earned 3 personal bests on MapMyRun.com! Double Woo Hoo!

Sunday morning was a nice 3 miles.  I ran with two other women from our local Moms Run This Town.   I did 3 miles on the Lakewalk and they continued on did a total of 9 miles.  Eventually, I will be doing that kind of distance with them!

I had thought my phone at stopped tracking the run.  One of the women said we were at 3.1 & it was 42:09.  When I got in the car, I realized it hadn't quit.  I am looking at getting one of the Garmin watches for tracking my runs.  I am looking at the least expensive model right now.  Eventually, I might want one that also tracks elevation & heart rate.  But right now, I am working on moving one foot in front of the other for longer times at faster paces.

Look at how smooth the pace is here! Clearly, I should run with others more often!

I think I found a strength training routine that I can do twice a week at Anytime Fitness together with 30 minutes on a bike on those days.  Right now, I am thinking Monday's and Friday's.  This week, Friday only.  Tonight after work, we are heading to a nearby restaurant for Happy Hour & Gluten Free Artichoke Dip with fresh hot GF rolls for my birthday!  I am very much looking forward to it!  One of my co-workers also brought in flourless chocolate cake & homemade raspberry ice cream!  Looking forward to that this afternoon as well!  Even though I am planning to eat foods I know will take me outside of my target ranges, I am still planning to track it all on sparkpeople.com

This week I am traveling to Indiana for a hearing on Tuesday night and need to be home by Wednesday night as the dog sitter is only available through Wednesday morning.  I need to plan ahead so that it doesn't derail my training this week.

Run 5 - Man, am I tired . . .

This morning, Kate & I knocked out Run 5. For her, this was Run 1 and she was not loving it. It was a slow run, but I can live with the time. My overall pace was 13:27. I had such a crazy busy day at work that for the second time this week, I missed lunch. I know that is part of how crazy tired I am. Also our house does not have air conditioning and it is crazy hot. I would love to just crash but our running clothes are in the washer. I need to at least stay up long enough to get them in the dryer. I had dinner with friends and should have ducked out early. Hopefully, I won't regret it terribly much at 5 a.m. when my alarm goes off. Here are my charts from this morning.  16.15 miles down.

Runs 3 & 4 of 67 (13.1 of 323.1 Miles Complete)

Run 3

Friday's run was decent. I found a great flatish path to run on the Lakewalk. My overall pace was 12:56 which was better than Thursday's 14:02.  I did this run at 8:30 Friday night as we had a ton of errands to do that day and it was hot.  I know we live up north but it was hot.  I was really happy with my first mile and still happy with the third.  The second seems to be my weakness.  Last night's struggle was with my left shin and my right calf, both were very tight and very sore.  It started at about 3/4 of a mile.  I tried to walk it out at 1.25 m.  Then I decided to just run through it.  I was surprised the muscles relaxed and weren't so bad.  I had made the mistake of not stretching very good on Thursday after my run and then wearing heels to work. I think it is going to be flats until the race.  I have heard that Merrill makes a zero drop flat.  During the run, I didn't think I could do it again so early in the morning. But when I got back to the car, I was happy with the numbers and ready to get to bed to do it again! When I got home, I was reminded I had promised a campfire with s'mores.

Run 4

This morning's run was brutal.  All four miles were slow. Overall, my pace was 13:51, practically a walk.  It was my long run of the week and a mere 9 hours after last night's run. I had to get the run in early though because I am driving the girls back to Michigan.  We are in Milwaukee right now waiting for the ferry.  I am glad we are taking the ferry as I am beat.  It was a long, hot day.  We are all tired.  The good news is no runs scheduled until Tuesday!  Kate & I are taking the ferry back at 9 am so we won't have time for a swim at the hotel.  We might try to get to the open swim at Y. But honestly, we will be very tired so I don't think that we will make it. We could take a short walk down the road with the dog just to stretch out our legs.  It would also be a good night for some yoga.  I'll let you know! Just because it is a rest day there is no need to be lazy! Plus my legs are going to be a mess after two days of traveling.