Nothing too exciting this past week. I woke up on Wednesday morning to some pretty crazy thunderstorms, but when I checked the weather, it looked like I would get about a half hour break to get my 4 mile run in. When I went out to run, the sky looked pretty mean to the west, and it did start to rain about a mile into my run. I could hear some distant thunder, but never really saw much lightning, so I finished out my 4 miles in the rain. I don't really mind running in the rain, but I love the looks I get from people as they drive by in their cars. Their look either says, "Wow, you're dedicated!" or "Wow, you're crazy. What's wrong with you?". :)
Saturday was a fairly uneventful 8 mile run. I did have to do it without my trusty waterboy on a bike/husband as he was golfing in a tournament that morning. So, I got to experience running with a water bottle in my hand the whole time, as I do not own one of the water belt thingys (I know that's the technical name...). I do have to say that the water bottle really threw me off (both in rhythm, and my arm got tired), so I am going to have to decide what to do for those times when I don't have a waterboy on a bike with me!
That's about it for now!
Miles this week: 18 miles
Weeks of training finished: 15 weeks
Total miles of training: 181 miles
Monday, June 28, 2010
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Frustration!!!
I am so frustrated right now! I'm mad at myself, although my reason for being mad isn't something I did knowingly.
My run on Saturday morning was supposed to be 7 miles. I use a Nike +, but it's not always completely accurate, so I always map out my route on mapmyrun.com before I go to make sure it's the right distance. I had a route planned out that was actually about 7.4 miles, so I decided I would either stop running at the 7 mile mark and walk the last part, or run the whole thing, depending on how I was feeling.
It was a beautiful morning for a run, and I was feeling good. Then about 1.5 miles in I realized that, well, let's just say I did not give myself enough time between my pre-run hydration and my actual run. I realized I needed to change my route to include a bathroom of some sort. I knew there were bathrooms at the public park, so I decided to skip one loop of road and detour through the park. My thinking was that going through the park was adding on some distance, so by taking away that one loop, everything would even out. Plus I had that .4 extra miles on there anyway. I figured I would still end up reaching 7 miles.
After my brief stop and a city park port-a-potty (EEWWWW!!!), I was feeling good about the rest of my run and knew I would be able to do 7 miles, no problem. I knew that my Nike + was a little bit ahead of where I was distance wise, so I knew that when it told me I had hit the 7 mile mark, I needed to go a bit further. I ran all the way to my end point, and when I got there it told me I had gone 7.3 miles. I figured that was a safe amount over, and that it was probably actually about 7 miles.
I still wanted to double check, so when I got home, I plugged in the route I had actually run on mapmyrun.com. 6.65 miles!!!! GGRRRR!!! I was so mad that I hadn't actually gone my 7 miles! Now, the bright side to this is that I felt great when I finished running, so I know that I could have easily run another 1/2 mile, but I was lacking that satisfaction of reaching a goal and running the distance I set out to run. Very annoying.
This coming week is supposed to be a "drop-back" week. In the training plan that I'm following, the long runs get progressively longer each week by one mile, except every third week goes down a bit. So instead of going 6-7-8-9, my plan goes 6-7-5-9. I already am not a big fan of this, and had decided that for now I was going to go with 6-7-8-9, until I get into the really high mileage and maybe need that drop-back. Saturday's run also confirmed for me that that is what I want to do. So, 8 miles this Saturday! Hopefully that will give me that goal-reaching-satisfaction that I'm itching for!
Miles this week: 16 miles (we'll just round up to make it easier...)
Weeks of training finished: 14 weeks
Total miles of training: 163 miles
My run on Saturday morning was supposed to be 7 miles. I use a Nike +, but it's not always completely accurate, so I always map out my route on mapmyrun.com before I go to make sure it's the right distance. I had a route planned out that was actually about 7.4 miles, so I decided I would either stop running at the 7 mile mark and walk the last part, or run the whole thing, depending on how I was feeling.
It was a beautiful morning for a run, and I was feeling good. Then about 1.5 miles in I realized that, well, let's just say I did not give myself enough time between my pre-run hydration and my actual run. I realized I needed to change my route to include a bathroom of some sort. I knew there were bathrooms at the public park, so I decided to skip one loop of road and detour through the park. My thinking was that going through the park was adding on some distance, so by taking away that one loop, everything would even out. Plus I had that .4 extra miles on there anyway. I figured I would still end up reaching 7 miles.
After my brief stop and a city park port-a-potty (EEWWWW!!!), I was feeling good about the rest of my run and knew I would be able to do 7 miles, no problem. I knew that my Nike + was a little bit ahead of where I was distance wise, so I knew that when it told me I had hit the 7 mile mark, I needed to go a bit further. I ran all the way to my end point, and when I got there it told me I had gone 7.3 miles. I figured that was a safe amount over, and that it was probably actually about 7 miles.
I still wanted to double check, so when I got home, I plugged in the route I had actually run on mapmyrun.com. 6.65 miles!!!! GGRRRR!!! I was so mad that I hadn't actually gone my 7 miles! Now, the bright side to this is that I felt great when I finished running, so I know that I could have easily run another 1/2 mile, but I was lacking that satisfaction of reaching a goal and running the distance I set out to run. Very annoying.
This coming week is supposed to be a "drop-back" week. In the training plan that I'm following, the long runs get progressively longer each week by one mile, except every third week goes down a bit. So instead of going 6-7-8-9, my plan goes 6-7-5-9. I already am not a big fan of this, and had decided that for now I was going to go with 6-7-8-9, until I get into the really high mileage and maybe need that drop-back. Saturday's run also confirmed for me that that is what I want to do. So, 8 miles this Saturday! Hopefully that will give me that goal-reaching-satisfaction that I'm itching for!
Miles this week: 16 miles (we'll just round up to make it easier...)
Weeks of training finished: 14 weeks
Total miles of training: 163 miles
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Oh, Mother Nature
I never thought I would have such a strong love/hate relationship with the weather. Sure, we all have a certain type of weather that we dislike and a certain type that we enjoy, but mine has become even stronger since I began training. The type of weather I love and the type of weather I hate have almost become opposite too, when it comes to running as opposed to any other time.
Normally, my favorite type of weather would be a sunny, breezy day, not a cloud in the sky, and in the upper 70's or lower 80's. Not when it comes to running though. My ideal running weather would be low 50's, little to no wind, and overcast. The warmer it is, the harder it is for me to run.
This weather talk brings me to my long run this past week. First of all, I have to point out that this was the first official week of the Novice Marathon Training Schedule by Hal Higdon. The Novice Supreme Schedule that I've been following is actually a combination of the marathon training and a spring training schedule. So I have now entered the marathon training portion. Woohoo!! Ok, back on track. (This is what I get for waiting too long to post. My brain is all over the place...). This week and last week were identical in schedules. Both long runs were 6 miles, and I completed the 6 mile long run last week with no problem, so I figured this week would be the same.
Wrong. Last Saturday, I got up early before it got warm out. I had a nice, crisp morning to run. This past weekend looked like it would be the same. Friday night I did my usual night-before-a-run-stalking of the hour-by-hour forecast on weather.com to see when it would get too warm to run. It looked like it was going to be below 70 until about 7am, and then would get warmer from there. Perfect. I could do my 6am run with a nice cloud cover, and cool air. Until I actually went outside Saturday morning. And it was almost 70 already. And the humidity was about 1000%. (Dad, if you're reading this, yes, I realize that's not actually possible) It felt like I was in a jungle. Not ideal.
Well, I toughed it out anyway, but it was a rough run. I may as well have been wearing a plastic jumpsuit because there was absolutely no evaporation going on. I was actually thankful that I had already completed 6 miles the week before so I knew that my terrible experience wasn't because 6 miles was too much to handle, it was due to Mother Nature. And the kicker of the whole thing? That temperature that was supposed to climb after 7am... actually ended up dropping. About an hour after my run, it was about 5 degrees cooler and not nearly as humid. Curse you, weatherman!
Miles this week: 15 miles
Weeks of training finished: 13 weeks
Total miles of training: 147 miles
Normally, my favorite type of weather would be a sunny, breezy day, not a cloud in the sky, and in the upper 70's or lower 80's. Not when it comes to running though. My ideal running weather would be low 50's, little to no wind, and overcast. The warmer it is, the harder it is for me to run.
This weather talk brings me to my long run this past week. First of all, I have to point out that this was the first official week of the Novice Marathon Training Schedule by Hal Higdon. The Novice Supreme Schedule that I've been following is actually a combination of the marathon training and a spring training schedule. So I have now entered the marathon training portion. Woohoo!! Ok, back on track. (This is what I get for waiting too long to post. My brain is all over the place...). This week and last week were identical in schedules. Both long runs were 6 miles, and I completed the 6 mile long run last week with no problem, so I figured this week would be the same.
Wrong. Last Saturday, I got up early before it got warm out. I had a nice, crisp morning to run. This past weekend looked like it would be the same. Friday night I did my usual night-before-a-run-stalking of the hour-by-hour forecast on weather.com to see when it would get too warm to run. It looked like it was going to be below 70 until about 7am, and then would get warmer from there. Perfect. I could do my 6am run with a nice cloud cover, and cool air. Until I actually went outside Saturday morning. And it was almost 70 already. And the humidity was about 1000%. (Dad, if you're reading this, yes, I realize that's not actually possible) It felt like I was in a jungle. Not ideal.
Well, I toughed it out anyway, but it was a rough run. I may as well have been wearing a plastic jumpsuit because there was absolutely no evaporation going on. I was actually thankful that I had already completed 6 miles the week before so I knew that my terrible experience wasn't because 6 miles was too much to handle, it was due to Mother Nature. And the kicker of the whole thing? That temperature that was supposed to climb after 7am... actually ended up dropping. About an hour after my run, it was about 5 degrees cooler and not nearly as humid. Curse you, weatherman!
Miles this week: 15 miles
Weeks of training finished: 13 weeks
Total miles of training: 147 miles
Saturday, June 5, 2010
The Next Big Decision
Deciding to train for the marathon was a big decision for me. I had come a long way in my running, but registering for the marathon meant that I was committing to keeping up with a training schedule for over six months, and committing to run a distance much longer than I had ever run in my life. Once I told people that I was training for a marathon, I knew I couldn't back out.
My next big decision was whether or not to fund raise. When you register for the marathon, they ask you if you will be running for a charity or not. At the time when I registered, I said no, but it definitely put the idea in my head. I knew that if I was going to try and raise money for any charity, it would be something related to fighting breast cancer because both my mom and my aunt are survivors, and it feels like almost every woman I'm related to has had it. Not quite, but it's safe to say it runs in my family.
This was a tough decision for me though because most charities make you commit to raising a minimum amount. I couldn't just sign up and raise as much or as little as I could. This was scary for me because I hate asking people for money. I am definitely no Holly Robinson Peete.(Celebrity Apprentice? Anyone? Anyone?) I began to look around at marathon related charities though, and found that Susan G. Komen, a pretty big name in breast cancer research fund raising, had a program called Marathon for the Cure, and that the Chicago Marathon was one of the races they were associated with.
I finally decided that I would join Marathon for the Cure and commit to raising at least $750. I figured I'm at least doing something to give people reason to donate. I'm not asking for donations just 'cause, I'm running 26.2 miles for the donations! (Not to mention the many, many miles of training). So, I will try not to be too much of a pest about it, but I would love it if you would consider donating. Even the tiniest amount is helpful! There is absolutely no problem with using that "other amount" field and donating ten or even five dollars. I've even put a link to my donation page here on the blog to make it nice and easy! :) And a big "thank you" to those who have donated already!
Miles this week: 15 miles
Weeks of training finished: 12 weeks
Total miles of training: 132 miles
My next big decision was whether or not to fund raise. When you register for the marathon, they ask you if you will be running for a charity or not. At the time when I registered, I said no, but it definitely put the idea in my head. I knew that if I was going to try and raise money for any charity, it would be something related to fighting breast cancer because both my mom and my aunt are survivors, and it feels like almost every woman I'm related to has had it. Not quite, but it's safe to say it runs in my family.
This was a tough decision for me though because most charities make you commit to raising a minimum amount. I couldn't just sign up and raise as much or as little as I could. This was scary for me because I hate asking people for money. I am definitely no Holly Robinson Peete.(Celebrity Apprentice? Anyone? Anyone?) I began to look around at marathon related charities though, and found that Susan G. Komen, a pretty big name in breast cancer research fund raising, had a program called Marathon for the Cure, and that the Chicago Marathon was one of the races they were associated with.
I finally decided that I would join Marathon for the Cure and commit to raising at least $750. I figured I'm at least doing something to give people reason to donate. I'm not asking for donations just 'cause, I'm running 26.2 miles for the donations! (Not to mention the many, many miles of training). So, I will try not to be too much of a pest about it, but I would love it if you would consider donating. Even the tiniest amount is helpful! There is absolutely no problem with using that "other amount" field and donating ten or even five dollars. I've even put a link to my donation page here on the blog to make it nice and easy! :) And a big "thank you" to those who have donated already!
Miles this week: 15 miles
Weeks of training finished: 12 weeks
Total miles of training: 132 miles
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Maybe I really am a morning person. Who knew?
Remember last week when I complained about waking up on the weekend at the same time I usually get up for work? Well, what happens when it's hot out during the week and the only time it's cool enough to run is in the morning? I'll tell you what happens: I have to get up earlier than I usually do for work!
This week was a hot and humid one, so Tuesday-Thursday I wanted to do my running before work because it was still going to be hot after work. Personally, I cannot run on an empty stomach, and I also cannot run immediately after eating. So, what does this mean? It means I not only have to get up early enough to give myself enough time to run, but also to eat, digest, and then run. Despite the ridiculous time that my alarm was set for on Tuesday morning, I managed to get up, eat, pack my lunch while I was digesting, and run. It was actually kind of refreshing to be up so early and get so much accomplished before I felt like my day had even started. I even ended up getting to work earlier than I usually do!
Wednesday was not the same story. I don't know if it was the fact that I had done a longer run the previous weekend and then a "longer than usual" Tuesday run, or the fact that I had gotten up so early the day before, or the fact that I knew in the back of my mind it wasn't going to be as hot that day, or a combination of all of those, but I could not drag myself out of bed when my alarm went off ridiculously early. Luckily the temperature was below 80 by the time I got home from work that day, and I was able to run then.
Comparing these two days, I must say that as much as I hate waking up to an alarm and getting up earlier than necessary, I would much rather run early in the morning than later in the day. It is always so much easier because I don't feel like I'm carrying around the food that I've been eating all day, and my body isn't tired from managing 24 third graders all day. Not to mention the peaceful quiet and getting to watch the sunrise! It's also a great feeling to have a big item on the day's "to-do list" checked off so early in the day. Obviously now that school is out I won't have to get up quite as early during the week to run, but when school starts again in the fall, this may become my new routine!
Miles this week: 12 miles
Weeks of training finished: 11 weeks
Total miles of training: 117 miles
This week was a hot and humid one, so Tuesday-Thursday I wanted to do my running before work because it was still going to be hot after work. Personally, I cannot run on an empty stomach, and I also cannot run immediately after eating. So, what does this mean? It means I not only have to get up early enough to give myself enough time to run, but also to eat, digest, and then run. Despite the ridiculous time that my alarm was set for on Tuesday morning, I managed to get up, eat, pack my lunch while I was digesting, and run. It was actually kind of refreshing to be up so early and get so much accomplished before I felt like my day had even started. I even ended up getting to work earlier than I usually do!
Wednesday was not the same story. I don't know if it was the fact that I had done a longer run the previous weekend and then a "longer than usual" Tuesday run, or the fact that I had gotten up so early the day before, or the fact that I knew in the back of my mind it wasn't going to be as hot that day, or a combination of all of those, but I could not drag myself out of bed when my alarm went off ridiculously early. Luckily the temperature was below 80 by the time I got home from work that day, and I was able to run then.
Comparing these two days, I must say that as much as I hate waking up to an alarm and getting up earlier than necessary, I would much rather run early in the morning than later in the day. It is always so much easier because I don't feel like I'm carrying around the food that I've been eating all day, and my body isn't tired from managing 24 third graders all day. Not to mention the peaceful quiet and getting to watch the sunrise! It's also a great feeling to have a big item on the day's "to-do list" checked off so early in the day. Obviously now that school is out I won't have to get up quite as early during the week to run, but when school starts again in the fall, this may become my new routine!
Miles this week: 12 miles
Weeks of training finished: 11 weeks
Total miles of training: 117 miles
Thursday, May 20, 2010
A Taste of Summer
I have had a pretty interesting week of running! Ran with a student, reached the point of being 1/3 of the way through my training, got a taste of what summer will be like, and reached a new distance. Not bad for just another week of training!
Yes, that's right, 1/3 of the way done! I know the real tough stuff hasn't started yet, and my mileage isn't very high yet, but a milestone is a milestone. I think the fact that I've stuck with it for 10 weeks says a lot! My long run this week was 5.5 miles, which is only 1/2 mile longer than I've done before, but it's still a new personal high for mileage!
My shorter runs during the week are usually pretty "blah" because they're short, and therefore I just run in our neighborhood. My three mile run was exciting this week though because I got to run with one of my students! Last year my school became a site for a program called Girls on the Run. Girls on the Run is a program that helps pre-teen girls build self-esteem and confidence while training for a 5k race. Each girl has a running buddy that runs with her during the final race for encouragement. I was planning on volunteering to be a running buddy this year anyway when one of the girls in my class who was participating in GOTR asked me out of the blue if I would run the race with her! How could I say no to that??
This week was the "practice 5k", so all of the running buddies had to attend practice and run with their girl. Ok, so my three mile run wasn't as fast as I would train on my own, and we didn't run the whole time because she needed to take walking breaks, but how awesome to be able to run and bond with one of my students! (I know, cheesy teacher moment...) I think my favorite part of the whole run was when she was telling me a story and then, mid-sentence, punched me in the arm and said, "White one!" I was completely caught off-guard and confused as to why my sweet little student just hit me, and then I saw the white VW Beetle drive by...slug bug! I couldn't help but laugh. :)
This morning I had a somewhat rude awakening as to what training in the summer is going to be like. I decided to do my long run on Sunday this weekend instead of Saturday, and the high for Sunday was supposed to be almost 90 degrees. Not exactly running weather in my mind. I realized that on hot days, I would need to get up early and run before the temperature started to climb. So, that's exactly what I did! With an early bed time on Saturday and an alarm set for the same time I usually get up for work (ugh), I was able to get up and run my 5.5 miles before the thermometer read 70 degrees. Thankfully I was able to drag my trooper of a husband/water boy out of bed early too so that he could ride his bike with me while I ran. :) I suppose my beloved "no-alarm Sundays/Saturdays" may be few and far between this summer...
Miles this week: 13 miles
Weeks of training finished: 10 weeks
Total miles of training: 105 miles
Yes, that's right, 1/3 of the way done! I know the real tough stuff hasn't started yet, and my mileage isn't very high yet, but a milestone is a milestone. I think the fact that I've stuck with it for 10 weeks says a lot! My long run this week was 5.5 miles, which is only 1/2 mile longer than I've done before, but it's still a new personal high for mileage!
My shorter runs during the week are usually pretty "blah" because they're short, and therefore I just run in our neighborhood. My three mile run was exciting this week though because I got to run with one of my students! Last year my school became a site for a program called Girls on the Run. Girls on the Run is a program that helps pre-teen girls build self-esteem and confidence while training for a 5k race. Each girl has a running buddy that runs with her during the final race for encouragement. I was planning on volunteering to be a running buddy this year anyway when one of the girls in my class who was participating in GOTR asked me out of the blue if I would run the race with her! How could I say no to that??
This week was the "practice 5k", so all of the running buddies had to attend practice and run with their girl. Ok, so my three mile run wasn't as fast as I would train on my own, and we didn't run the whole time because she needed to take walking breaks, but how awesome to be able to run and bond with one of my students! (I know, cheesy teacher moment...) I think my favorite part of the whole run was when she was telling me a story and then, mid-sentence, punched me in the arm and said, "White one!" I was completely caught off-guard and confused as to why my sweet little student just hit me, and then I saw the white VW Beetle drive by...slug bug! I couldn't help but laugh. :)
This morning I had a somewhat rude awakening as to what training in the summer is going to be like. I decided to do my long run on Sunday this weekend instead of Saturday, and the high for Sunday was supposed to be almost 90 degrees. Not exactly running weather in my mind. I realized that on hot days, I would need to get up early and run before the temperature started to climb. So, that's exactly what I did! With an early bed time on Saturday and an alarm set for the same time I usually get up for work (ugh), I was able to get up and run my 5.5 miles before the thermometer read 70 degrees. Thankfully I was able to drag my trooper of a husband/water boy out of bed early too so that he could ride his bike with me while I ran. :) I suppose my beloved "no-alarm Sundays/Saturdays" may be few and far between this summer...
Miles this week: 13 miles
Weeks of training finished: 10 weeks
Total miles of training: 105 miles
Sunday, May 16, 2010
The road to 26.2... so far
Since my training actually began about two months ago, I thought I would bring you up to date on what I’ve done so far.
I suppose my training actually began when I was getting ready for the Shamrock Shuffle. Once I made the decision to run the marathon, it was suggested that I sign up for the Shamrock Shuffle 8k. It’s a scaled down version of the marathon, but it has the same start and finish line, and it’s a large race with tens of thousands of participants, like the marathon. I had about two months to get from my three mile point to five miles, and I was able to reach that goal about two weeks before the race.
Running the Shamrock Shuffle was a lot of fun! My friend Natalie and I ran it together, and I was very proud of the fact that I not only finished easily, but was able to chat the entire race. That was something I could NEVER have done while running a year ago. It was the first actual race I had ever run, so there were a lot of new experiences that went along with it. I found that even though I had gotten to the point where I actually enjoyed running, running in a race with that many people through the streets of an amazing city like
There are many, many marathon training plans out there, even for first time, non-runners. Many of the plans that I looked at though were only 12, 16, or 18 weeks. I felt that I wanted something longer in order to give me more time to build up not only my endurance, but my confidence. I decided to go with Hal Higdon’s Novice Supreme program. It is actually designed to start the week of the Shamrock Shuffle and end with the Chicago Marathon! I also liked it because it was 30 weeks long, and the longest run in the first week was only three miles. I figured that would be a nice confidence builder after running five miles in the Shuffle.
So, I began my actual marathon training right after the Shamrock Shuffle. It has been easy so far, but I have felt like I was in a holding pattern for the past few weeks. I finally went back up to five miles on my long run last weekend, and this coming weekend it will be 5.5 miles. I finally feel like I’m moving forward again. I’m glad that I chose a plan that started off so low, but I’m glad that the mileage is finally starting to climb again!
It’s been a bit of a challenge at times trying to fit in my runs between work and social commitments, but so far I’ve been able to make it work. I even was able to take one of my runs along U.S. 1 in
Miles this week: 10.5 miles
Weeks of training finished: 9 weeks
Total miles of training: 92 miles
Natalie and I running the Shamrock Shuffle
Getting ready to run the Race to Wrigley
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
