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.

Run 2 of 67 (Miles 6 of 323.1)

I still haven't found a strength training plan.  I take that back, I have found a bunch of plans but I am looking for one that I can do.  A lot of them seem to focus on body weight exercises that I do not have the strength to do yet.  But I am still looking.  I am thinking about meeting with a personal trainer here in Duluth.  One of the fitness centers has a running club and I might try to meet with their coach.

I did not run last night as scheduled.  But I did run this morning.  I will update my training schedule as I get my runs in.  This morning's run was okay.  I ran the entire first mile and then probably at least a 1/2 mile after that.

My first mile was great! I was very happy with the time. Of course, when I look at the pace/elevation chart, my first 18 minutes were downhill.  That means my second mile time was even worse! (It will be better tomorrow!) Apparently I just gave up during my third mile.  I am working on this half-marathon one mile at a time.   So that's okay, mile 1 is good.

I tried a new route today.  I like the new route for my normal runs.  My old route is very hilly.

Monroe Half-Marathon Training Plan

Week	Sun	Mon	Tues	Wed	Thurs	Fri	Sat
7/7/2013	Rest	Rest	3	3	3	Rest	4
7/14/2013	Rest	Rest	3	4	3	Rest	4
7/21/2013	Rest	Rest	3	4	3	Rest	5
7/28/2013	Rest	Rest	3	4	3	Rest	6
8/4/2013	Rest	Rest	3	4	4	Rest	6
8/11/2013	Rest	Rest	3	5	4	Rest	7
8/18/2013	Rest	Rest	4	5	4	Rest	7
8/25/2013	Rest	Rest	4	5	4	Rest	8
9/1/2013	Rest	Rest	4	5	5	Rest	8
9/8/2013	Rest	Rest	4	6	5	Rest	9
9/15/2013	Rest	Rest	4	6	5	Rest	9
9/22/2013	Rest	Rest	4	5	4	Rest	10
9/29/2013	Rest	Rest	3	5	4	Rest	11
10/6/2013	Rest	Rest	3	5	3	Rest	13.5
10/13/2013	Rest	Rest	3	5	3	Rest	10
10/20/2013	Rest	Rest	3	5	3	Rest	9
10/27/2013	Rest	3	2	2	Rest	Rest	13.1

My brother has talked me into doing the Monroe Half-Marathon on November 2, 2013. This training schedule is similar to the one he used. The plan starts tomorrow!  I working on a strength training plan for 2 of the rest days.

Today's Run - Today I put in 3.1 miles.  There was a lot more walking than running. When I left Minnesota two weeks ago, it was 47 degrees that morning.  This morning at 10:00 when I went for my run, it was 81 degrees.  Apparently it is summer now in Duluth.  I don't really care for running in a humid 80 degrees.  I am going to start getting up for early morning runs to beat the heat.