After making the decision last week to swap weeks I thought maybe I had made a bad move. I didn't take into account that it was my first official week back to school. Getting into a the early wake up routine is tough!!
I got my weekday runs in though...it's going to be rough keeping up my energy in order to do my runs around 5pm. Looks like I may start drinking a cup of coffee in the afternoon!
Anxiety started to set in for Sunday's long run. I fought it off - no way was I going to play these head games.
A teammate & I were planning on doing the run together but logistics with kids didn't work out this week so we decided to do it on our own - we'll try again next week.
Weather forecast: RAIN. Damn it. I started out at 9am - no rain yet just cloudy skies. Drizzle started about 2 miles in but there are so many trees in the neighborhood so I barely felt them. I was keeping up my forced walk breaks. I was running 12 min. miles for 6 minutes then walk break for 2. I was having a hard time keeping my walks at a consistent pace. And then something funny happened....my watch started beeping. I was running so I knew I wasn't going too slow - I figured the battery was about to die but I looked anyway. I WAS GOING TOO FAST!! Umm...what?? I was running a 10 min mile!! I slowed down real quick.
First pit stop - GU, a few good sized sips of water, potty break and a gatorade G2 to take with me.
Miles 4-8 were amazing. I was really strong. I gave up on paying strict attention to the walk/run ratio....I kind of just got a feel for the time so I stuck with that. The rain was coming & going. And when it was coming it was a steady rain.
Another pit stop....
Miles 8-12....equally as good. My energy was high and everything felt good. Except for the top of my right foot. It almost felt like my shoe was tied too tight - however I'm pretty sure it wasn't.
Miles 12-15.63....not as strong but there was no crying. I didn't even whimper! When I took my walk breaks (which were a little more frequent), I could feel the tightness in my legs. Hey - at least they held up this long!
My run came to an end with me close to sprinting the last 1/2 miles thanks to the downpour!! I was soaked and freezing. Worried about my ipod & cell phone. I just hauled ass home.
Walked in the door and realized just how soaked I was. Luckily Chris was home so out came the towels....and the icepacks. My legs felt weird. My right ankle was on fire - right in the front where it curves to the top of your foot. Lots of ice - and elevation. And Advil. It's feeling ok right now but I feel I'm stomping around the house instead of walking my usual graceful way :)
'Til next week....
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Monday, September 6, 2010
Week 8 Done...sort of
OK - I made an "executive decision" this week. I was feeling really run down - a little low on energy but more achey & sore & tired. My right ankle felt stiff and my calves were hurting even when I tried to go to the basement to switch laundry.
Because of this, I was having a hard time staying mentally positive and confident during my runs - which by the way turned more into walks. I do walk quite fast though - 13:45 min.
The thought of a long run was making me want to cry. I decided to look ahead to next week's training and I saw that next week is more of a rest/recovery week - basically just easier on the miles. Maybe this is not "allowed" but I made the decision to swap this week & next week. Then I see that my teammate, Sharon, ran 20 miles (AWESOME!!)...and Liz & Patrick came out for the weekend and Liz went out and ran 12 miles Sunday morning (VERY COOL)...which only made me feel like crap that I wasn't sticking to schedule. BUT I reminded myself that this is mental AND physical. Considering the pattern of the week it's safe to say my long run would've been crappy. And my legs really, really were just crying for me to take it easy. I'm sticking with my decision and I'm just not going to feel guilty about it.
OH! I just realized that I had been bringing all my stuff back to school (yes - I got recontracted). What you may not realize is that I park my car in the basement garage and my classroom is on the third floor. Just to go from my car to my class is 75 steps one way!! I did this up & down about 10 times on Tuesday while carrying boxes....Wednesday & Thursday I also was up & down just not as often. When school starts officially I'll be up & down a ton - which is great for my legs but I think it was a shock to my legs after the summer off. Perhaps that's why my legs feel beat up this week....The good news is that my butt/hamstring don't really hurt anymore. Maybe a little but not too bad. Right now it's my calves.
I also have another theory....since I'm following the Galloway strategy, which is coming up with a ratio that works for you of running and walking, I had been doing 5 min run/2 min fast walk...but then I increased it to 6 min run/2 min walk...I'm planning on increasing about 30 seconds of run time each week until Marathon day. ANYWAY - the trick with this strategy is that you have to take time to work on walking since different muscles are worked harder. I haven't really been doing that all that much except during my walk breaks. I haven't set aside a day to be a walk day. So maybe since this week turned into more walking than running my legs are feeling it.
Or maybe I just need a little rest.
Because of this, I was having a hard time staying mentally positive and confident during my runs - which by the way turned more into walks. I do walk quite fast though - 13:45 min.
The thought of a long run was making me want to cry. I decided to look ahead to next week's training and I saw that next week is more of a rest/recovery week - basically just easier on the miles. Maybe this is not "allowed" but I made the decision to swap this week & next week. Then I see that my teammate, Sharon, ran 20 miles (AWESOME!!)...and Liz & Patrick came out for the weekend and Liz went out and ran 12 miles Sunday morning (VERY COOL)...which only made me feel like crap that I wasn't sticking to schedule. BUT I reminded myself that this is mental AND physical. Considering the pattern of the week it's safe to say my long run would've been crappy. And my legs really, really were just crying for me to take it easy. I'm sticking with my decision and I'm just not going to feel guilty about it.
OH! I just realized that I had been bringing all my stuff back to school (yes - I got recontracted). What you may not realize is that I park my car in the basement garage and my classroom is on the third floor. Just to go from my car to my class is 75 steps one way!! I did this up & down about 10 times on Tuesday while carrying boxes....Wednesday & Thursday I also was up & down just not as often. When school starts officially I'll be up & down a ton - which is great for my legs but I think it was a shock to my legs after the summer off. Perhaps that's why my legs feel beat up this week....The good news is that my butt/hamstring don't really hurt anymore. Maybe a little but not too bad. Right now it's my calves.
I also have another theory....since I'm following the Galloway strategy, which is coming up with a ratio that works for you of running and walking, I had been doing 5 min run/2 min fast walk...but then I increased it to 6 min run/2 min walk...I'm planning on increasing about 30 seconds of run time each week until Marathon day. ANYWAY - the trick with this strategy is that you have to take time to work on walking since different muscles are worked harder. I haven't really been doing that all that much except during my walk breaks. I haven't set aside a day to be a walk day. So maybe since this week turned into more walking than running my legs are feeling it.
Or maybe I just need a little rest.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Week 7 DONE!!
Wow - I cannot believe I just completed 13.5 MILES!! Unbelievable.
I'm not even phased really by the runs during the week - they range from 4-6 miles about...if I'm tired or sinusy then of course they feel like a big deal but in reality they are nothing.
Today was truly amazing. I had very little anxiety to start which was good. I felt strong until about mile 7 when the hunger kicked in and the energy started to fade. My legs were feeling a little heavy too. But here's what worked...
1. Visualization. Each inhale I visualized the oxygen working through my body - not just going into my lungs. The oxygen was flowing all the way down to my toes and with each breath the heaviness in my legs started to go away.
2. Perspective. This had two variations. The first perspective was me remembering if I could go through childbirth TWICE then I can for damn sure move my feet one in front of the other for three friggin' hours. When that thought process stopped working it was just about the time my wedding song came on the ipod. Bob Marley - I'm Still Waiting. Almost instantly a sob formed in my throat but I fought it back which made me struggle to catch my breath. How am I doing this run - mentally bitching & complaining - when 4 years ago this time of year Chris was enduring treatment for a brain tumor. Radiation, Chemo, Avastin, Full-time work, a 2 1/2 year old, a new born and lunatic me - ALL that and almost no bitching & complaining.
What a wake up call??? Who do I think I am?? Shut up and do it. That got me through the rest of the way.
I do this for Chris. I need this awareness & research to happen. I can't imagine my life without him and "Ya Gotta Believe" I'm going to bust my ass doing everything I can to make sure brain tumors are a thing of the past.
Thanks for the ongoing support!
Kim
PS - I won a VIP Pass to the Crowdrise/NYRR pre-marathon tent!!! I have a good feeling about this!
I'm not even phased really by the runs during the week - they range from 4-6 miles about...if I'm tired or sinusy then of course they feel like a big deal but in reality they are nothing.
Today was truly amazing. I had very little anxiety to start which was good. I felt strong until about mile 7 when the hunger kicked in and the energy started to fade. My legs were feeling a little heavy too. But here's what worked...
1. Visualization. Each inhale I visualized the oxygen working through my body - not just going into my lungs. The oxygen was flowing all the way down to my toes and with each breath the heaviness in my legs started to go away.
2. Perspective. This had two variations. The first perspective was me remembering if I could go through childbirth TWICE then I can for damn sure move my feet one in front of the other for three friggin' hours. When that thought process stopped working it was just about the time my wedding song came on the ipod. Bob Marley - I'm Still Waiting. Almost instantly a sob formed in my throat but I fought it back which made me struggle to catch my breath. How am I doing this run - mentally bitching & complaining - when 4 years ago this time of year Chris was enduring treatment for a brain tumor. Radiation, Chemo, Avastin, Full-time work, a 2 1/2 year old, a new born and lunatic me - ALL that and almost no bitching & complaining.
What a wake up call??? Who do I think I am?? Shut up and do it. That got me through the rest of the way.
I do this for Chris. I need this awareness & research to happen. I can't imagine my life without him and "Ya Gotta Believe" I'm going to bust my ass doing everything I can to make sure brain tumors are a thing of the past.
Thanks for the ongoing support!
Kim
PS - I won a VIP Pass to the Crowdrise/NYRR pre-marathon tent!!! I have a good feeling about this!
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Week 6 DONE
Wow - week 6 done. Phew. My runs during the week were a little out of order but I still got in a 4.3, 4.85 and a 6.3....plus today's long run of 12.3. Amazing...and so few tears.
To be totally honest, I had some fear. It's the most I've ever done and I let self-doubt get into my head. But with a little mental boost from Coach Kevin and my husband, Chris, calming me down I felt like I could get through it. Until this morning.
I was amped up with anxiety. I was pacing around deep breathing...until I finally said, "Screw it" and tackled the 12.3 miles. I kept up my 6 min run/2 min walk until mile 11.5 then I felt drained. I was fighting back the tears but there was no way I was going to quit. I walk/shuffled/jogged the last bit at a super fast walk/super slow jog pace until the end.
I don't even want to talk about how long it took. Well - ok, I think it was a little more than 2.5 hours.
My body hurts. My calves are tight, my feet are achey, my hamstrings are about to pop out of my skin, my hips may need a replacement and my butt better freakin' shrink.
Thanks for all the continued support!
To be totally honest, I had some fear. It's the most I've ever done and I let self-doubt get into my head. But with a little mental boost from Coach Kevin and my husband, Chris, calming me down I felt like I could get through it. Until this morning.
I was amped up with anxiety. I was pacing around deep breathing...until I finally said, "Screw it" and tackled the 12.3 miles. I kept up my 6 min run/2 min walk until mile 11.5 then I felt drained. I was fighting back the tears but there was no way I was going to quit. I walk/shuffled/jogged the last bit at a super fast walk/super slow jog pace until the end.
I don't even want to talk about how long it took. Well - ok, I think it was a little more than 2.5 hours.
My body hurts. My calves are tight, my feet are achey, my hamstrings are about to pop out of my skin, my hips may need a replacement and my butt better freakin' shrink.
Thanks for all the continued support!
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Update!
I know you all have been dying to ask so let me fill you in...
The treadmill is OUT of my bedroom and in the garage!! YEAH! I kind of can't wait for a chilly rainy day when I can run out there and just watch the rain fall without getting soaked.
I'm sure you're all feeling at peace now :)
The treadmill is OUT of my bedroom and in the garage!! YEAH! I kind of can't wait for a chilly rainy day when I can run out there and just watch the rain fall without getting soaked.
I'm sure you're all feeling at peace now :)
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Week 5
This will be brief - I'm tired.
The week back from vacation SUCKED - in terms of training. I got it done though. First run back on Tuesday was brutal - somehow I managed 4.25 but it wasn't fun and it wasn't pretty. But as the week went on I managed to step it up and not feel like crying.
Yoga on Friday was amazing - my legs needed a stretch out for sure.
Today was my long run. I like to do it 1st thing Saturday to get it out of the way. I spent Friday night worrying about it...and then coming downstairs to do some bizarre archaic mathematical equations to predict my marathon timing. No joke - when I showed Chris in the morning he was laughing at me. Somehow I managed to predict 5.5 hours. Don't ask how I got this - I couldn't even begin to explain.
I was having some tummy issues and although beautiful out - I decided to treadmill it. I was so anxious I wanted to have the visual countdown. The treadmills at the gym have a preset time limit so if you want to go longer you have to keep restarting.
I somehow completed 11 miles. It was not fun. It was far from a pretty sight. Up to mile 9 was not problem - and then my legs became lead. I could barely move them. It was worse when I took a walk break but I just couldn't keep running - I was so beat. I could have easily hit stop and really - who would know? But no way am I doing that. I finished. I stretched. I got in my car - called Chris told him to make me a PB&J, got home, ate, iced my throbbing leg, took a hot shower and cried.
I am in over my head is what I was crying. Chris stood there and was like, "You are out of your mind. Some days you think 3 is too much...today you pounded out 11. You will be in the moment, you'll have adrenaline pumping, who cares how long you take?? You're doing an amazing job. Stop being SO negative."
Damn him - he's right.
I need to sleep and rest my tired body.
The week back from vacation SUCKED - in terms of training. I got it done though. First run back on Tuesday was brutal - somehow I managed 4.25 but it wasn't fun and it wasn't pretty. But as the week went on I managed to step it up and not feel like crying.
Yoga on Friday was amazing - my legs needed a stretch out for sure.
Today was my long run. I like to do it 1st thing Saturday to get it out of the way. I spent Friday night worrying about it...and then coming downstairs to do some bizarre archaic mathematical equations to predict my marathon timing. No joke - when I showed Chris in the morning he was laughing at me. Somehow I managed to predict 5.5 hours. Don't ask how I got this - I couldn't even begin to explain.
I was having some tummy issues and although beautiful out - I decided to treadmill it. I was so anxious I wanted to have the visual countdown. The treadmills at the gym have a preset time limit so if you want to go longer you have to keep restarting.
I somehow completed 11 miles. It was not fun. It was far from a pretty sight. Up to mile 9 was not problem - and then my legs became lead. I could barely move them. It was worse when I took a walk break but I just couldn't keep running - I was so beat. I could have easily hit stop and really - who would know? But no way am I doing that. I finished. I stretched. I got in my car - called Chris told him to make me a PB&J, got home, ate, iced my throbbing leg, took a hot shower and cried.
I am in over my head is what I was crying. Chris stood there and was like, "You are out of your mind. Some days you think 3 is too much...today you pounded out 11. You will be in the moment, you'll have adrenaline pumping, who cares how long you take?? You're doing an amazing job. Stop being SO negative."
Damn him - he's right.
I need to sleep and rest my tired body.
Monday, August 9, 2010
Week 4 done?
Well - week 4 took place on vacation in Florida. Hutchinson Island to be exact. Had an excellent time - beautiful weather!
I experimented with aqua jogging. I tried both deep water and chest high water. It is quite a workout. My legs are still tired! So let's say it was a day for me to run 4 miles - that would take me close to an hour so I aqua-jogged for an hour instead. I was mindful of keeping my pace up but if I noticed myself slow down I threw in a few minute sprint.
I also swam laps daily.
And I did close to 5 miles on land. Hot as friggin hell with like 90% humidity.
I also did my best to eat well...even at different restaurants for dinner I made healthy selections.
Now - for my long run of the week. I didn't get to it Saturday - last day of vacation and trying to cram things in. No excuse - but that's just reality. Sunday morning we left for the 24 hour car ride. My intention was to arrive back in NJ Monday morning, take a quick nap and then get my long run in. Upon arriving home, I felt like a train hit me. I had only managed a few hours - like 3 - of interrupted sleep during our journey. Crammed in the backseat with both kids! I felt dizzy and just off. I feel guilty for not managing the run but it's pretty obvious that if I even attempted it, it would have been a disaster.
I'm glad I added that week of wiggle room to my marathon countdown.
Tomorrow I will continue on Week 5. I'm thrown off a day so I'm looking at Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday runs - with a good, long run on Saturday. Tuesday & Thursday I will also add in weight training. Friday I'll do yoga.
I'm getting nervous. But I'm also proud of myself.
I experimented with aqua jogging. I tried both deep water and chest high water. It is quite a workout. My legs are still tired! So let's say it was a day for me to run 4 miles - that would take me close to an hour so I aqua-jogged for an hour instead. I was mindful of keeping my pace up but if I noticed myself slow down I threw in a few minute sprint.
I also swam laps daily.
And I did close to 5 miles on land. Hot as friggin hell with like 90% humidity.
I also did my best to eat well...even at different restaurants for dinner I made healthy selections.
Now - for my long run of the week. I didn't get to it Saturday - last day of vacation and trying to cram things in. No excuse - but that's just reality. Sunday morning we left for the 24 hour car ride. My intention was to arrive back in NJ Monday morning, take a quick nap and then get my long run in. Upon arriving home, I felt like a train hit me. I had only managed a few hours - like 3 - of interrupted sleep during our journey. Crammed in the backseat with both kids! I felt dizzy and just off. I feel guilty for not managing the run but it's pretty obvious that if I even attempted it, it would have been a disaster.
I'm glad I added that week of wiggle room to my marathon countdown.
Tomorrow I will continue on Week 5. I'm thrown off a day so I'm looking at Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday runs - with a good, long run on Saturday. Tuesday & Thursday I will also add in weight training. Friday I'll do yoga.
I'm getting nervous. But I'm also proud of myself.
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