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By kilax, October 25, 2009 1:21 pm

Last Sunday I was cleaning off my desk and found a printed-out copy of Hal Higdon’s Half Marathon Novice Training Plan. “Hmm,” I thought, “I should see when I need to start training for the January 9th half marathon we signed up to run.” Even though we may not do it, I still want to train like we are.

Yeah, it’s a good thing I checked. I needed to start training on the next day – Monday the 19th! (Um, so I was originally going to run a marathon on the 17th and start half marathon training the 19th?! Bad idea, Kim!)

So… my Sunday training posts are back! MUAH HA HA! I am not sure how much I will have to modify them, because of my shin, but my plan is try to to run three days a week, but cut it down to two and walk one if I need it.

Day 1 | October 19, 2009: Stretch and Strengthen

I used the office gym weight equipment for the first time the week of October 12th and damn… my arms were SORE! Like, “you can’t put your coat on” sore. I am hoping that will go away!

I don’t know much about weights, so I did three sets of 15 reps (to build endurance?) on each machine. With the arm machines, I rotated back in forth between two at a time, but with the leg machines, I did all three sets together.

So… I am doing it right? I put my workout in small print below because it’s boring.

Seated Row: 15 @ 30 lb, 15 @ 45 lb, 15 @45 lb
Lateral Raise: 15 @ 25 lb, 15 @ 37.5 lb., 15 @ 37.5 lb
90 Degree Chest: 15 @ 20 lb, 15 @ 20 lb, 15 @ 40 lb
Shoulder Press: 15 @ 20 lb, 15 @ 20 lb, 15 @ 20 lb. Yeah, these are killer!
Pectoral Fly: 15 @ 30 lb, 15 @ 30 lb, 15 @ 30 lb
Arm Curl: 15 @ 25 lb, 15 @ 25 lb, 15 @ 25 lb. OUCH!
Leg Press: 15 @ 40 lb, 15 @ 60 lb, 15 @ 60 lb
Leg Extension: 15 @ 30 lb, 15 @ 45 lb, 15 @ 45 lb
Leg Curl: 15 @ 30 lb, 15 @ 40 lb, 15 @ 20 lb
Crunches: 10
Bicycle Crunches: 10

Day 2 | October 20, 2009: 3 m run

Steven and I “ran” these 3 miles together, in the dark, but in a perfect running temperature – 55°F! The nice thing about running in the dark is that you are not constantly checking your Garmin. The bad thing about running in the dark is that you CAN’T check your Garmin to see if you are running too fast (well, I can’t figure out the back light). Oh, and that you might trip and fall. Or mistake a branch for a snake, as Steven did. Ha ha.

Distance: 3.00 | Time: 32:33 | 1: 10:23 | 2: 11:10 | 3: 10:58

Day 3 | October 21, 2009: 2 m run or cross

Yawn. Treadmill walking…

Distance: 2.00 | Time: 30:00 | 1: 15:00 | 2: 15:00

Day 4 | October 22, 2009: 3 m run + strength

I did the same strength work-out as Monday, just mixed it the order a bit. I’m liking it so far. I can feel its effects. I think I need to add some lower-leg strength moves though. Do you know any lower-leg exercises?

I put the 3 miler off until Friday, since it was raining.

Day 5 | October 23, 2009: Rest 3 m run

So, I ran in the rain, on Friday with Steven! The “hills” in our neighborhood were killing me, but I can tell my fitness level is increasing!

Distance: 3.00 | Time: 33:05 | 1: 10:48 | 2: 11:08 | 3: 11:07

Day 6 | October 24, 2009: 30 min cross rest

Day 7 | October 25, 2009: 4 m run

Another “run” with Steven, with more difficulty on our neighborhood “hills.” I am struggling with breathing now. I used to not have to think about it at all, so it’s frustrating. But I did enjoy the nice fall weather – clear blue skies and a nice temperature in the 50s.

Distance: 4.00 | Time: 46:02 | 1: 11:02 | 2: 11:19 | 3: 11:47 | 4: 11:51

Week Summary: 12 miles

Starting over is exciting (because it seems like you are reaching a new goal each day) but frustrating (because you feel like the goals you are reaching are something you did months ago). I have been making sure to take it nice and slow, and stop if I feel any strong pain in my shin. I hope I don’t have to modify this training schedule too much!

Comments (5)

By kilax, October 7, 2009 12:42 pm

It’s frustrating that running is not as easy as it used to be. I AM grateful that my shin doesn’t hurt (as much as it did before – a slight pain is still there) and I KNOW it will get easier with time.

But right now, my mind remembers how much I loved it and how easy it used to be. Then I get on the treadmill and it’s not what I remember. And I struggle – mentally – not physically.

Today I ran 1.5 miles. I wanted to run 2, but felt like I was pushing it, and as I mentioned, felt mentally defeated.

But, I am looking on the bright side – I can’t expect to recover instantly. And 1.5 miles is pretty good for someone who hasn’t been running in the past two months. I have to take small, baby steps.

I always feel encouraged when I work on in the office gym. Now, this is going to sound weird, but hear me out. I’ve noticed that most of the women who use the locker room are very comfortable with their bodies. They are not worried if someone else sees them naked. They even stand around and have conversations about exercise while they are drying off or getting dressed. I’ve never been too shy about my body, so this doesn’t weird me out (like it does some people). It actually makes me feel good about myself, seeing other women being so comfortable with who they are. Just thought I would share that…

Comments (10)

By kilax, September 28, 2009 6:00 pm

I ran a half of a mile yesterday. In 5 minutes. And my shin doesn’t hurt today! Woo-hoo!

Of course, I felt that the 10:00 min per mile pace was too fast, my breath was all out of wack, and my left heel still hurts every morning but…

Who cares! My shin isn’t killing me today!!!

I am going to start trying to run 3 days a week with Steven (hopefully), so we can get ready for the Disney Half Marathon in January.  If we end up going to the race*, we aren’t going to try to PR. In fact, we (okay, mostly I) plan on stopping to take photos with the Disney characters. So this will be a good race to ease into, and I can even walk parts of it if I want.

*Disney Half Marathon = Muchos Expensive Trip.

Comments (14)

By kilax, August 16, 2009 10:01 am

Welcome to week 9 of marathon training! If you click on the activity link after the dates, it will take you to the Garmin connect website for full stats.

Day 57 | Monday, August 10: Rest

I spent Monday pondering whether I wanted to move down to Novice 1 Training or Novice 2 Training. I eventually choose Novice 2, because it had shorter mid-week runs, but in the meantime, I am NOT going to run pace runs until my leg feels better.

Funny side note – a woman saw my print-out of the two programs when she was walking by me to get off the train and said, “Oh! I’ve done those programs a few times!” I should have asked which she recommended!

Day 58 | Tuesday, August 11: Cross-Train

I went to the office gym during lunch and used the elliptical. I kind of worked up a sweat, but didn’t feel like I got much out of it. It just seems so… easy. Of course, I couldn’t pedal (?) backwards because that hurt my shin.

Elliptical Time: 30 mins | Distance: 2.59 miles

Day 59 | Wednesday, August 12: Run 4 miles Rest

I decided to give my shin one more day of rest, which eventually turned into two. I’ve had some pain in my left heal (which started last week, and feels like plantar fasciitis), and it was bothering me on Wednesday. Body, why do you fight me so?

Day 60 | Thursday, August 13: Run 7 miles Rest

While waiting to get off the train, a stranger (who rides the same train to the same stop with me every night) asked how my leg was doing – he noticed my limp last week. He said, “First your arm, now your leg!” I told him my story, and it turns out he is a runner as well. He has run the Chicago Marathon, and ran track in college. He said he has to run shorter distances now, since he has kids, but is signed up for the same 5K I am doing on 9/13. I have a feeling this guy is fast. He also gave me some tips on how to stretch out my shin.

I probably could have run on Thursday, but I got a headache, then I got cranky and… I also felt afraid of what would happen during my run. I was afraid it would hurt a lot and I would have to take more time off, and not be able to run the 5K on Saturday. I guess I wanted to spend one more night in ignorance.

Day 61 | Friday, August 14: Rest Run 4 miles

I decided to try a “new to me” forest preserve – the Rollins Savanna – for my first attempted run. It has a 5.5 mile crushed granite loop on a mostly flat trail. I figured the crushed granite would be better for my crappy shin.

Steven came with me, and walked with me during my warm-up walk, then worked on his computer while I ran.

This was my first run with my new shoes, and I am making SURE to keep track of the mileage I put on them! My left shin and foot felt okay while I was running. There was no sharp pain, but running didn’t feel as easy as it usually does for me – as you can probably tell from my splits! It was really stinking hot on this trail. There was hardly any shade, and I was running around 9:30 am, with no clouds. I felt pretty blah the whole time. But, I liked the new trail and will probably go back.

This run made me realize that I am going to have to add a big chunk of time onto my race pace, and probably all of my training runs, until the weather gets cooler/I heal 100%/I lose 20 pounds.

Look mom, a REAL butterfly, NOT a made-up one!

I iced my shin for 30 minutes or so when I got home, and did a little prayer to the shin gods that it would feel great for Saturday’s 5K!

Distance: 4.00 | Time: 41:10 | 1: 9:43 | 2: 10:18 | 3: 10:22 | 4: 10:45

Day 62 | Saturday, August 15: Run 11 miles Rally for Autism 5K

This 5K totally kicked my butt. BUT, I still had fun, because I got to run it with Erin!

The race started at 9:00. (Side Note: Why would have you a race start at 9:00, in August? Wouldn’t you want it to start earlier, so the racers don’t fry in the sun? You would think… but hey, I picked this race, so I should have known what we were getting in to!) We did a little warm-up jog about 15 minutes before the race started. It felt pretty good, but I was already glistening in sweat when we got back to the start-line. Since it was so hot, and the course was completely open to the sun, we decided to aim for our first mile at 8:40. And hey – we pretty much did that!

But the heat caught up to us. It must have been about 85°, and it was intense. I felt pretty crappy, and I think Erin must have too. We decided to slow it down, but that wasn’t really enough, so we stopped and sped-walked once before the second mile, and twice after that! I am happy we slowed down, because I was struggling with the heat.

We finished with a decent time – 28:20, and placed 7th and 8th in our age group*, out of 41 – but it definitely wasn’t the race we thought it was going to be! We will have to save our 26:00 5K for sometime when it’s not so hot. And we’ll have to do it somewhere close to where Erin lives, since she was a trooper to drive all the way out to this race which was closer to my house.

Erin found that extra enthusiasm at the finish! Gotta love her!

Right after the finish line, they had people spraying down the runners with water. We both went for that… then immediately looked for some shade! I iced my leg for a bit, and we hung around for the awards (which were kind of pointless to listen to, because they weren’t giving the times – some sort of computer issue/human incompetency).

Some post-race shade.

We went out to brunch afterward with our cheerleaders/photographers/husbands. It was fun to chat with Erin and her husband, Jason! I hope the four of us can get together again soon!

Distance: 3.10 | Time: 28:41 | 1: 8:23 | 2: 9:11 | 3: 10:06 | 4: 00:59
* If I would have run this race two weeks ago, when I was 24, I would have placed first in that age group! Ha ha.

Day 63 | Sunday, August 16: Cross-Train Umm…

My plan was to run 11 miles. Then after arguing discussing it with Steven, he convinced me to run 3-4, see how I felt, then decide whether or not to keep going. So, I got to the park, started walking and… my shin hurt so much while walking that I decided running shouldn’t even be in the picture. Major FAIL. I just got in my car and drove back home. And iced my shin when I got home, of course.

Week Summary: 8 Miles

Originally, I thought it was no big deal that I had to take off about 2 weeks for my shin to heal, because I am only now halfway through this 18-week training program, and figured the remaining 9 weeks would be smooth sailing.

I don’t think so. I don’t think my body wants me to be a runner right now.

I am not sure if there is a logistical, safe way for me to catch up with any training program since I am running so infrequently right now. I am seriously doubtful that I will be able to run this marathon in October, but I am going to see what my body will let me do.

Comments (16)

By kilax, August 9, 2009 3:24 pm

Welcome to week 8 of marathon training! If you click on the one activity link after the date, it will take you to the Garmin connect website for full stats.

Day 50 | Monday, August 3: Cross-train Rest

Yeah. I brought my gym bag to work, but since I was limping everywhere, I decided NOT to cross-train. Even though I wanted to.

Day 51 | Tuesday, August 4: Run 4 miles

This was my first run with Erin in what felt like FOREVER! I was super excited to run with her again. Unfortunately, I was a pretty lame running buddy. My shin felt somewhat better, but I still felt like a slow slug. We cut it short at about 3.85 miles. I hope we get a better run in together before our 5K on the 15th! Our goal is to run 8:20s and finish in under 26:00. Think we can do it?!

I noticed on Monday that the pain in my shin is starting to affect other parts of my body, like my left calf and right quad, since I am limping a lot. So… I decided to take Wednesday and Thursday off.

Distance: 3.85 | Time: 36:56 | 1: 9:22 | 2: 9:19 | 3: 9:56 | 4: 8:18

Day 52 | Wednesday, August 5: Run 7 miles Rest

Day 53 | Thursday, August 6: Run 4 miles Rest

Erin and I volunteered for PAWS at the Elvis is Alive 5K on Thursday. PAWS had us get there pretty early, so there was a lot of standing around before we finally set up the water tables and the race started. But that was okay, because it gave me a chance to chat with Erin (Okay, I was bitching a bit. Sorry Erin!).

It was fun to be on the other side of the aide station for once! I enjoyed watching the runners come in, and trying to hand them water (my coordination isn’t that good). A few of the people were wearing funny Elvis costumes and doing impressions.

I was surprised how quickly the race went by! It seemed like once the masses came in (after the super-speedy runners) it was non stop action. I really enjoyed volunteering and hope to again.

Yeah, this report is LAME. Check out Erin’s much more thorough (and entertaining report) here.

Day 54 | Friday, August 7: Rest

I picked up my new Brook Adrenalines on Friday. I ended up with blue, instead of red, but I still think they’re pretty.

I compared the tread on my old Adrenalines to my new ones… yeah., they were well past their prime. If you look at the picture below (and click on it to enlarge) you can see there is almost no tread left on the old pair on the right (especially in the two areas circled in white). Oops.

If I start running regularly again soon, I am going to by another pair and alternate between pair each time I run.

Day 55 | Saturday, August 8: Run 7 miles Cross-Train?

I tried to do Kenpo X (from the P90X series) with Steven – sort of a mixture of martial arts arm and leg moves. I did about half of it, because I struggled with balancing on my left leg and twisting it (and you know, I can’t do a lot with my right arm, because I am still recovering from that injury).

Day 56 | Sunday, August 9: Run 15 miles

I wanted to run my 15 miles, but since I was still limping around a bit on Saturday, I passed (okay, Steven told me that if I ran on Sunday I couldn’t whine to him about my leg all week because he didn’t think I should run, so I didn’t). I woke up Sunday only limping a bit, so I am taking that as a good sign.

Week Summary: 37 Almost 4 Miles

I am extremely frustrated with my body this week. Obviously.

I am thinking of switching to one of the novice level training programs if my shin doesn’t get better. Then I would only run 4 days a week, instead of 5. Maybe I would even have to cut that back to 3, and do some more cross-training. Lame.

I’ve been reading up on what to do about my shin. Everything I read says to “quit running then build mileage back up slowly.” Does anyone know if they mean building weekly mileage up slowly, or building per-run mileage up slowly? What I am asking is if I can still do my long runs, but run less that week overall, or if I need to only do short distance runs.

Comments (17)

By kilax, August 2, 2009 10:17 pm

Welcome to week 7 of marathon training! If you click on the activity links after the dates, it will take you to the Garmin connect website for full stats.

Day 43 | Monday, July 27: Cross-train for 40 minutes

Why did biking 4 miles take me forty minutes? I can run faster than that! I must have had the resistance set very high, because I really worked up a sweat and felt sore afterward!

Bike Time: 39:34 mins | Distance: 4.0 miles

Day 44 | Tuesday, July 28: Run 4 miles/Run 7 miles

4 miles at the office gym during lunch… 7 miles at the park in the evening.

My body DID NOT like that.

I tried to save some time later in the week by combining my Tuesday and Wednesday runs. The first one wasn’t so bad – my left shin just hurt. I iced it after.

The second run was just bad. My legs felt like garbage. Bugs were sticking to me like crazy. The park smelled. My bra was digging into my back*. My hydration belt was digging into my side. My left side itched so I pulled my earphone cord out of my shirt and all it did from then on was get caught in my elbow.

I was so angry.

The good news is, Steven ran 3.2 miles of the second run with me, after doing P90x Ploymetrics. That’s awesome. Oh, and I didn’t have to poo during my run. Woo hoo!

Distance: 4.00 | Time: 37:31 | 1: 9:31 | 2: 9:23 | 3: 9:23 | 4: 9:14
Distance: 7.00 | Time: 1:07:16 | 1: 9:45 | 2: 9:45 | 3: 9:37 | 4: 9:46 | 5: 9:30 | 6: 9:27 | 7: 9:20 | 8: 00:02
*I think I have discovered which bra is giving me issues, so that is good.

Day 45 | Wednesday, July 29: Run 4 Miles

My shin was so sore on Wednesday, I was limping all over the place and people kept asking me what was wrong. The only time the pain felt better is when I was moving “fast” – speed walking or running slowly.

I ran these 4 miles with my neighbor, Fritz, and his daughter, Maya, who was in the stroller. We took it nice and slow. At one point, Maya said, “Move Daddy, move!” Ha ha. He said, “We are, honey!” Ha ha. It was nice to run with Fritz. He distracted me from the pain in my shin, and offered to give me a massage later if I need it (he and his wife are licensed massage therapists).

So… I think I am chafing on my back and under my armpit. I have some nasty sore spots. Time to start using the Body Glide!

Wonderful chafing by my armpit. Hurts more than it looks!

Distance: 4.00 | Time: 41:36 | 1: 10:16 | 2: 10:28 | 3: 10:30 | 4: 10:19 | 5: 00:01

Day 46 | Thursday, July 30: Rest

Day 47 | Friday, July 31: Rest

Day 48 | Saturday, August 1: Run 7 miles at marathon pace

My dad rode his bike with me while I ran these 7 miles. I lubed up with the Body Glide before hand, so I didn’t have any chafing issues. Woo-hoo! And, my shin didn’t hurt too much (I still iced it after, just in case)! I think the two days of rest helped.

But, I was pretty slow for a “race pace” run. I averaged under 9:10 a mile. I think I should adjust my race pace to about 9:15 miles. When I was running with my dad, I told him the only way I would be able to keep up a 9-minute mile during the marathon would be if I lost about 15 pounds. We’ll see about that! Ha ha!

It was fun to run with my dad. I don’t see him often, and rarely get him all to myself, so it was a nice hour for me to blab.

Check out the new running outfit my parents got me for my birthday! Isn’t it cute? I haven’t worn it running yet, but I love it. It’s from Kohl’s. I am surprised how nice of running outfits they have.

A new running outfit from my parents!

Distance: 7.00 | Time: 1:04:00 | 1: 9:06 | 2: 9:01 | 3: 8:57 | 4: 9:00 | 5: 9:10 | 6: 9:19 | 7: 9:22 | 8: 00:02

Day 49 | Sunday, August 2: Run 14 miles

My longest run ever (both distance and time-wise) but also my slowest MOST PAINFUL run ever.

The shin pain came back with a vengeance, almost as soon as I stopped running Saturday. It usually only hurts when I am moving, but it actually hurt while I was sleeping Saturday night. Of course, I still got up to run in the morning anyway…

My dad came along on his bike again. I am not sure if he knew what a long, slow bike ride he was in for!

We ran from my parent’s cabin to the downtown area and back. It was such a slow, hot, long, painful run. I stopped 4 or 5 times to go to the bathroom and get water. Every time I took off after running I limped for quite a bit. I really expected the limping to go away, but it took a long time.

We ran along the Mississippi River.

We ran by the Lock & Dam No. 10.

My dad carried all of my junk for me in the child carrier on his back. I wish he could ride with me along the marathon like that. It was really convenient. For me.

I look like I am running faster than I really am. I felt like I was walking, more than running, during this 14-miler.

Every muscle in my body felt sore when I was done. I hurt just taking my clothes off to take a shower.

Thanks for sticking with me, daddy. I love you!

So many things were wrong with this run. I was up too late. I woke up too late. I ate crap all weekend. It was too hot. I was dehydrated. My shin hurt. I just WAS NOT prepared. As a result – major run FAIL. I am sad about this run.

Distance: 14.00 | Time: 2:33:48 | 1: 9:58 | 2: 10:15 | 3: 10:58 | 4: 11:03 | 5: 10:35 | 6: 11:04 | 7: 10:58 | 8: 10:49 | 9: 10:52 | 10: 11:06 | 11: 11:21 | 12: 11:42 | 13: 11:57 | 14: 11:03 | 15: 00:01 

Week Summary: 36 Miles

This week was… hard. My body (shin) is in a huge amount of pain. I may have to cut back to running 4 or 3 days a week, and slower, until it gets better. I plan on buying/ordering new shoes right away, but I don’t know how much that will help. I am not sure what to do.

I’m feeling really bummed about my pain and my slow running.

Comments (7)

By kilax, July 26, 2009 8:47 pm

Welcome to week 6 of marathon training! If you click on the activity links after the dates, it will take you to the Garmin connect website for full stats.

Day 36 | Monday, July 20: Cross-Train for 30 minutes

I finally did it – real cross-training! I went to the office gym during my lunch break and put in 30 minutes (6.2 miles) on the stationary bike. I am not a biker, so I have no idea if that is a decent pace or not. Maybe it isn’t, because I didn’t get sweaty enough to take a shower (read: I was too lazy to take a shower!).

Bike Time: 30 mins | Distance: 6.2 miles

Day 37 | Tuesday, July 21: Run 3 miles

On Tuesday I ran without music to try to become more in touch with my breathing and form/rhythm, but just ended up being frustrated with my breathing being off. What I thought would be an easy 3-miler felt difficult. My lower legs still hurt, despite stretching before running. Maybe I should stretch after running as well (rather than jumping into the shower immediately!).

I got pissed off when I uploaded the Garmin 405 and it didn’t send my stats to Garmin Connect. Ugh. Does that ever happen to you? Apparently the new firmware is supposed to help with that… ugh, if I ever figure out how to install it! When I connected on Sunday to upload Saturday’s run, Tuesday’s run miraculously appeared.

Distance: 3.00 | Time: 28.05 | 1: 9:38 | 2: 9:26 | 3: 8:58 | 4: 00:01

Day 38 | Wednesday, July 22: Run 5 miles

Lately, I have been having some problems waking up at 4:30, so I slept in until 5:30 on Wednesday, meaning I wouldn’t get home until 7:15… making it pretty late for dinner and a 5-miler. So I ran the 5-miler on one of the treadmills in the office gym (too pissed off at the Garmin to bring it and run outside, plus, it takes more time to run outside) during lunch. I was excited to be able to control my pace with the machine – I just sped it up every mile.

BUT, the shins were still bothering me. Mostly the left one. I was doing some reading, and found out that shin splints come from overtraining. Hmm. The remedy seems to be rest. Hmm. And icing and stretching. I will try that first.

Distance: 5:00 | Time: 46:54 | 1: 9:41 | 2: 9:31 | 3: 9:23 | 4: 9:14 | 5: 9:05

Day 39 | Thursday, July 23: Run 3 miles

Another lunch break workout. Jeez! That is three this week. You would think this made my evenings relaxing and quiet but it actually didn’t. Oh well. I felt happy during my hectic weeknights because I knew I got my run in.

My left shin hurt on and off again. I iced it after the run and that felt pretty good. I talked to a coworker who does marathons (14 so far!) about my shin and he thinks I need new shoes. Yeah… I was thinking that (Carol suggested it too in last week’s training post!). I got mine in March and have probably put 300 miles on them by now. I wear the Brooks Adrenaline GTS (does anyone else?). I am hoping someone will get me a pair for my birthday next week. In size 12. Normal width. The ones with the red accents. These:

This is my last 3-miler for awhile! Next week, I bump up to 4-milers, then 5-milers a four weeks after that. I won’t see another 3-miler until it’s almost marathon week!

Distance: 3:00 | Time: 28:33 | 1: 9:31 | 2: 9:31 | 3: 9:31

Day 40 | Friday, July 24: Rest

I was in Kansas City this weekend for a wedding so my grand plan was to bump my Saturday and Sunday runs up to Friday and Saturday because I figured I would be more likely to get them done that way (probably true). But I took Friday off to rest and iced my shin a bit. Maybe I should have ran – my schedule didn’t work well for it the next two days.

Day 41 | Saturday, July 25: Run 6 miles at marathon pace Run 4 miles

I went to Macken park with Steven and his parents and brother to do this run in the afternoon. I think it was close to 90° when we were there. I kept my pace up for 3 miles, then pretty much felt like I was going to keel over. So I slowed it down for the fourth mile, and decided that was enough for me. I didn’t want to make myself sick running in that heat. My shin did feel better while I was running though!

Distance: 4:00 | Time: 36:31 | 1: 8:48 | 2: 8:39 | 3: 8:58 | 4: 10:03 | 5: 00:01

Day 42 | Sunday, July 26: Run 9 miles Rest

Here is what my Sunday was like – wake up (still exhausted from wedding the night before) and eat with Steven’s family then catch plane to Chicago. Drive to party in Chicago. Drive home where friend is spending the night on the way back to Toronto. My schedule just killed me. I wanted to get up early and run before we left for our flight home, but I knew I needed the extra sleep with my crazy schedule. Instead of feeling bummed about it, I will look at it from the perspective that I am giving my shins extra rest.

Week Summary: 26 Miles 15 Miles

This is the first week I haven’t met my training schedule. I shortened my Saturday run and completely missed my Sunday run. I do need to be more flexible with my schedule, but… of course, I am bummed I didn’t get my mileage in. It was probably bound to happen with the way our schedule has been packed. Do you struggle with running while out of town? This is the first time I have had a problem with it, but I’ve only been out of town twice during training!

This weekend, Steven’s mom brought up her concern about the hilly terrain on the course. Check out the elevation… I don’t have any reason to be worried… right?

No, seriously, those hills are going to SLOW ME DOWN. Hopefully I can finish under 4:30. But I know it may be killer and I may have to adjust.

Comments (19)

By kilax, July 12, 2009 3:05 pm

Welcome to week 4 of marathon training! If you click on the activity links after the dates, it will take you to the Garmin connect website for full stats.

Day 22 | Monday, July 6: Cross-train for 30 minutes Rest

Ugh. I felt mopey and was suffering from a sugar withdrawal headache so I did nada for cross-training and went to bed early.

Day 23 | Tuesday, July 7: Run 3 miles

I keep repeating this, but I absolutely have to start doing these shorter runs slower. I ran the first 1.5 and last .5 miles of this run with Steven. We started out fast and I didn’t want to slow down. I also don’t want to over-train though! I promised myself I would run slower on Wednesday, but Wednesday’s run never happened.

Distance: 3.01 miles | Time: 26:10 | 1: 8:49 | 2: 8:52 | 3: 8:25 | 4: 00:02

Day 24 | Wednesday, July 8: Rest

I felt frustrated (and sorry for myself) since the moment I woke up on Wednesday, so I took the night off to relax.

Day 25 | Thursday, July 9: Run 6 miles

Six nice easy miles, at a comfortable “conversational” pace – check!

Distance: 6.00 miles | Time: 57:01 | 1: 9:25 | 2: 9:29 | 3: 9:47 | 4: 9:35 | 5: 9:24 | 6: 9:19

Day 26 | Friday, July 10: Run 3 miles

Three hot, accidentally race pace, PISSED OFF miles.

The two highlights (low-lights?) of this run both involved kids getting into my way ON PURPOSE. I wish I was imagining this, but their actions were obviously intentional.

The first time I was on the loop around our neighborhood park. I saw two kids on one motorized bike coming my way so I got over to the right edge of the path. They started swerving back and forth and back and forth over the path, crossing dangerously close to me before quickly swerving out of my way. The kid driving gave me a malicious look. I think it is the same kid getting in the way of cars on the street two weeks ago. What the heck?

The second time, I saw a kid dribbling a ball in the sidewalk, so again, I got over in the right edge to get away from him. When I got near him, he made eye contact with me, then he dribbled the ball in front of me and I had to stop and jump into the grass. What the heck?

Parents, anyone, reading this, what should I do? I doubt it is worth saying anything to these kids, but it is seriously frustrating me. These are not young awkward kids trying to figure out sidewalk etiquette. They are being little sh*ts on purpose. Maybe I should just stick to the early morning hours before the terrors get out of bed. Or try REALLY hard to ignore it.

Distance: 3.00 miles | Time: 26:34 | 1: 8:54 | 2: 8:56 | 3: 8:40 | 4: 00:02

Day 27 | Saturday, July 11: Run 6 miles at marathon pace

I set my regular alarm for 6:00, but had to rely on my kitty-cat alarm clock to wake me up at 7:30. Thanks Data! (Funny thing is, he started waking me up at 5:30 on Sunday. He’s a kind of unreliable alarm clock!)

Look! A talking shoe!

It was cloudy when I got to the park, so I was excited, thinking I wouldn’t be running in the sun. That quickly changed though! I got really hot right away. I was too lazy to put my hydration belt on, and ended up stopping at the car THREE TIMES for water. Yikes. I need to wear the belt next time!

The deceiving skies…

… quickly turned to sun!

I took a photo of my awesome bruised wrist to share with you all. I look forward to running as one of the few hours of the day when I don’t have to wear the stupid splint and wrap.

Pace runs make me so nervous and stressed out. I feel like I am constantly looking at the Garmin to keep on track. I feel guilty if my pace goes up at all. I much prefer the method we used for the half marathon – just putting the miles in, at ANY pace. I know this is the way to becoming a better runner though!

Distance: 6.00 miles | Time: 53:15 | 1: 8:55 | 2: 8:52 | 3: 8:57 | 4: 8:49 | 5: 8:55 | 6: 8:40 | 7: 00:03

Day 28 | Saturday, July 12: Run 11 miles

I found a new out-and-back trail to try near our house, but was concerned about getting too far out on the trail away from a toilet. The park by our house has a loop that goes by three separate toilet facilities (!!!) but I am getting kind of sick of running there. When I told Steven my dilemma, he suggested I run to the park by our house, then do a few loops there, to change things up a bit. I have always been a bit nervous about running on the shoulder of the street (especially with a 55 mph speed limit!), but it went well, and it was fun to run somewhere different for the first and last 2 miles.

Not driving there created another dilemma though – I couldn’t bring extra water. My hydration belt (this one) only holds maybe… 16 ounces total? And it LEAKS. I was definitely dehydrated today. I have been looking for a belt that holds more water, or a hand held water bottle, or maybe even a camelbak. Actually, I am really interested in camelbak, but worried about my back getting all sweaty and gross. What do you like to use for hydration? Have any of you used a camelbak?

Edited to add: My brother-in-law was disappointed that I didn’t mention I tripped over him and five of his friends on my way out the door that morning. So… Andrew (my BiL) was in town with his friends for a Cubs game on Saturday and the Brewers game on Sunday, and they all stayed at our house. It was fun seeing him and his friends, and finding spots for all of them to stay (three couches, one bed, one air mattress, and one sleeping bag!). Data enjoyed sleeping on their dirty sheets after they left. Ew Data, ew.

Distance: 11.00 miles | Time: 1:49:58 | 1: 9:42 | 2: 9:38 | 3: 10:24| 4: 10:08 | 5: 10:09 | 6: 10:03 | 7: 9:58 | 8: 9:46 | 9: 9:56 |10: 10:08 | 11: 9:59

Week Summary: 29 Miles

I seem to have fallen prey to the “I can eat anything I want, I am training for a marathon” mentality. Well, if that were true, would my jeans be this tight? My diet has been disappointingly junky lately, and feeling restricted by my wrist and moody all week surely didn’t help. I get through my runs just fine, but know I could perform better if I ate better, and lost a few pounds. I haven’t mentioned it, but I took my weight loss tracker off the site awhile ago, and stopped weighing myself. I didn’t want that to be a focus during training. I want my focus to be on feeling healthy. I’ll get there.

The end of week 4 means I am 25% through the training program! The marathon will be here before I know it! I just found out you can track the racers online during the race, so I will make sure to post all of that info closer to the actual date.

Comments (18)

By kilax, July 2, 2009 7:05 am

Because today is an 8-hour workday for me, I took the 6:25 am train instead of the 5:23 am train.

Wow. What a difference an hour of sleep makes. I woke up with a bounce in my step, instead of feeling like zombie-woman.

It’s a reoccurring theme here – my struggle to get enough sleep. I fill my days too full and make my expectations too high. I set myself up for failure and exhaustion.

It makes me very disappointed in myself that I am still struggling with this. Being healthy is not just eating well and exercising. It’s a triad of eating well, exercising AND getting enough rest.

I tried to combat my exhaustion by taking naps the past two weekends. But a 2 or 3-hour nap in the middle of the day? Or two 1-hour naps in one day? That doesn’t seem right (even if it feels right).

I’ve been putting a lot of hope into this 3-day weekend at the river with my family – that it will be relaxing and easy-going. I imagine myself sleeping on the beach, closing my eyes and relaxing on the boat, having relaxing conversations with my (immediate) family, enjoying leisure activities… we’ll see. I’ve learned it’s best not to have my expectations too high (ever, really) when going somewhere where my imaginary schedule has to be coordinated with 9 others people’s.  

And however the weekend turns out, what happens when I come back? I’ll still be skimping on sleep, I’m sure.

Comments (15)

By kilax, June 16, 2009 4:58 pm

Yay yay yay – my marathon training started yesterday! I will be following Hal Higdon’s Intermediate I training schedule. It’s an 18-week long program that has you running 5 days a week, and cross training one day (Monday). It starts with a 24 mile week and builds up to a 43 mile week in the 13th and 15th weeks. Woo hoo!

Can you tell I am pumped?

I created a new category, “Marathon Training,” to keep track of all posts marathon training (duh) related. My plan is to write a weekly recap of my training on Sundays, but knowing me, a few details may slip in to other posts before I get to the end of the week… like today!

I got to do my first training run with Erin today during lunch. It was 1000x better than my lame-o lunch run last week. We met up in the loop, in front of her office, then started running when we got to Michigan and Jackson. We ran a fast pace to Navy Pier and looped back – 3.07 miles in 26:42 (I will provide a link to the Garmin stats on Sunday’s recap). According to my training plan, I was actually supposed to make this a “comfortable” run and not “push the pace.” Oops. I’ll work on that. I think we just got so caught up in talking that we didn’t realize how fast we were going until it was too late… then I didn’t really want to slow down, of course, even though I knew I should.

This was actually my first time meeting Erin. I was super excited to meet her and was not disappointed. She is fun to talk to, an interesting person and a good listener. I can’t wait to run with her more! Because I had someone to talk to, I didn’t stress out about work or getting back in time at all. It actually helped me relax during the middle of the day, and I felt great when I got back to my office. I was a bit hungrier than I expected to be though!

Since I got my run done during lunch, I have a free evening. I never have a free evening. I am so excited to go home and relax! Okay, I do have to review my second quarterly panel report, but I can easily do that on the couch. Maybe I can even go to bed early. Yay!