I got a little lazy, so here is a recap of the last two weeks:
July 23-29th
Yeah, so about that laziness...I didn't run all week. I don't even have a good excuse. I just didn't. And since I am beating myself up about it now, I don't want to talk about it anymore.
Monday, July 30th
Finally able to go back to my personal training sessions, so I had a session tonight. Normally on Mondays I do personal training, then do my scheduled run for the day but I think. Am going to have to readjust that. I find that I try and save my legs in my training session, in order to have energy for my runs, which just defeats the purpose of going to personal training sessions. I think I am going to have to not do any runs on Mondays. This way I alan get the most out of my training session, and move this run to another day in the week.
Tues, July 31st
Legs were still pretty sore and tired from Mondays training session, but I dragged my ass to the gym anyway. Ran 3 miles and my legs felt like bricks every freaking step.
Wed, Aug 1st
Day off!
Thurs, Aug 2nd
5 miles. Felt pretty good.
Fri, Aug 3rd & Sat, Aug 4th
Days off
Sun, Aug 5th
Was supposed to run 18 miles. I had a few sore toes from my Thursday run so I figured I would have to power through. I felt good from miles 1-10, even when I could feel a blister on my toes from the first half mile. Once mile 10 I realized that my hip was starting to hurt. I was over compensating on my hip for the blister on my toe. I told myself I would do the remaining 8 miles no matter how slowly I had to go. Once I got to mile 12 it was really starting to hurt, but I kept going. Once I got to mile 13 I realized that if I kept pushing I would just be chancing a serious injury that would take longer to heal than a blister. I'm upset that I didn't/couldn't get all 18 in, but I have to take some positive out of it...it was still 13 decent miles, I still have momentum, and I didn't seriously injure myself.
Now onto another week and hopes that I can get through the 20 mile run scheduled for this weekend! :-)
Days till Marathon: 61
Total training miles: 312.85
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
74 days
I was so out of sorts on my last post that I said I had 86 days till the marathon, when it was really less than that...I do have it right this week. :-)
As usual, here is a recap of my training week:
Monday:
Today I was supposed to do a training session and then run 6 miles, but I cancelled both. I'm not supposed to do either until my ear situation gets figured out. I can't stop running but I can stop lifting weights until then.
Tuesday:
I gave myself this day off too. I know it doesn't sound like a good decision with the marathon so close, but there were more pressing things on my mind. Not even a good run was going to solve these problems.
Wednesday:
Today I didn't have any training scheduled. What I did have scheduled was my CT scan and MRI. So while I don't know my test results yet (although it's been a few days and I haven't heard anything from my doctor yet, so I'm taking that as a good sign), what I did find out for sure is that I am officially claustrophobic. Holy moly.
I had the option to make some medication prior to the appt to relieve any anxiety, etc., but I decided not to take it since I had to go into work and was planning on driving home to my parents house that evening.
I got into the CT machine and freaked out. Like majorly freaked out. I laid down, the tech started moving me backwards into the machine and while she was doing that, didn't tell me what she was doing as she was doing it. It freaked me out. I needed to know how far I was going in, for how long, etc. she didn't give me any of that. I cried, I apologized, I got through it. But I knew the MRI would be worse. So for the 30 min in between appointments I was scared out of my mind.
When the MRI tech called me back, she said she heard I had some trouble with the CT scan and I just started crying. I was so scared. I got in the machine and the tears just rolled down my cheek. I hate small spaces, I hate being in something that I cannot get out of if I need to. It's horrible. This tech was great though, she talked me through each step. I was scared but I just closed my eyes, counted the seconds through each scan series and after about 20 min it was over. I hope I never have to do that again.
The doctor is supposed to call me for a follow up appointment to discuss the test results, but as I mentioned earlier since I haven't heard anything yet I am assuming that all is ok. I will still feel better once I know for sure.
Thursday:
Planned day off.
Friday:
I ran 6 miles on Friday, and felt really good at the end of it. Felt like I could go run another 6 miles. Was great!
Saturday:
Day off!
Sunday:
Today I was scheduled to run 16 miles. I was nervous, since it would be the longest distance I had ever run. I woke up early (so I could still get back to watch the Open with my dad), had a smoothie and I was off! I ran on the Olympic Discovery Trail. I thought I would run 5 miles east, then back, then 3 miles west, then back and have my whole 16 miles done. The weather was perfect running weather a little misty and nice and cool. I was enjoying the run and scenery so much that when I got to 5 miles I just kept going, and going and going, until I was in my hometown of Sequim. My parents house is outside the town by 8 miles. When I reached Sequim and 8 miles I turned around and made my way back. It was gorgeous. I felt good for the first 13 miles, but the last 3 were HARD. Probably ran 1/2 and walked 1/2 of the last three miles. But either way...I made it!! All 16 miles done! I almost still can't believe it. The best part...I wasn't sore at all the next day! One of my toes hurt a bit, but that was all! I'm finally starting to feel more confident that I can complete this marathon!
To end this post, here are a few pictures from my trip home and my run on Sunday.
Days till Marathon: 74
Total training miles: 291.85
As usual, here is a recap of my training week:
Monday:
Today I was supposed to do a training session and then run 6 miles, but I cancelled both. I'm not supposed to do either until my ear situation gets figured out. I can't stop running but I can stop lifting weights until then.
Tuesday:
I gave myself this day off too. I know it doesn't sound like a good decision with the marathon so close, but there were more pressing things on my mind. Not even a good run was going to solve these problems.
Wednesday:
Today I didn't have any training scheduled. What I did have scheduled was my CT scan and MRI. So while I don't know my test results yet (although it's been a few days and I haven't heard anything from my doctor yet, so I'm taking that as a good sign), what I did find out for sure is that I am officially claustrophobic. Holy moly.
I had the option to make some medication prior to the appt to relieve any anxiety, etc., but I decided not to take it since I had to go into work and was planning on driving home to my parents house that evening.
I got into the CT machine and freaked out. Like majorly freaked out. I laid down, the tech started moving me backwards into the machine and while she was doing that, didn't tell me what she was doing as she was doing it. It freaked me out. I needed to know how far I was going in, for how long, etc. she didn't give me any of that. I cried, I apologized, I got through it. But I knew the MRI would be worse. So for the 30 min in between appointments I was scared out of my mind.
When the MRI tech called me back, she said she heard I had some trouble with the CT scan and I just started crying. I was so scared. I got in the machine and the tears just rolled down my cheek. I hate small spaces, I hate being in something that I cannot get out of if I need to. It's horrible. This tech was great though, she talked me through each step. I was scared but I just closed my eyes, counted the seconds through each scan series and after about 20 min it was over. I hope I never have to do that again.
The doctor is supposed to call me for a follow up appointment to discuss the test results, but as I mentioned earlier since I haven't heard anything yet I am assuming that all is ok. I will still feel better once I know for sure.
Thursday:
Planned day off.
Friday:
I ran 6 miles on Friday, and felt really good at the end of it. Felt like I could go run another 6 miles. Was great!
Saturday:
Day off!
Sunday:
Today I was scheduled to run 16 miles. I was nervous, since it would be the longest distance I had ever run. I woke up early (so I could still get back to watch the Open with my dad), had a smoothie and I was off! I ran on the Olympic Discovery Trail. I thought I would run 5 miles east, then back, then 3 miles west, then back and have my whole 16 miles done. The weather was perfect running weather a little misty and nice and cool. I was enjoying the run and scenery so much that when I got to 5 miles I just kept going, and going and going, until I was in my hometown of Sequim. My parents house is outside the town by 8 miles. When I reached Sequim and 8 miles I turned around and made my way back. It was gorgeous. I felt good for the first 13 miles, but the last 3 were HARD. Probably ran 1/2 and walked 1/2 of the last three miles. But either way...I made it!! All 16 miles done! I almost still can't believe it. The best part...I wasn't sore at all the next day! One of my toes hurt a bit, but that was all! I'm finally starting to feel more confident that I can complete this marathon!
To end this post, here are a few pictures from my trip home and my run on Sunday.
Days till Marathon: 74
Total training miles: 291.85
Monday, July 16, 2012
86 days
This week had a lot of downs but ended on a good positive...here it is...
Monday:
I had another personal training appointment on Monday. I really like the group that goes at 6pm on Mondays. Very encouraging of each other and fun to be around. It can make all the difference. So the training session was good, plus I got 1 of my 6 miles out of the way during the session by doing sprints on the treadmill.
After the session ended I still had another 5 miles to go. Maybe my legs were tired from the run on Sunday, maybe my mind wasn't there, but whatever it was I only ran 3 of the 5 miles. I felt a little bad about it until I told myself it was still 2 good hours of working out and that I would come back strong next time.
Tuesday:
Had the day off, and got to see Charisse and Kim for dinner! Always fun times!
Wednesday:
Today was the day that literally changed my life forever. A few weeks ago, during one of my training sessions, I felt my ear pop and/or get really full all of a sudden. It felt like my ear had filled up from water from swimming, or it needed to pop. I continued on with my workout and figured it would pop and go back to normal. When I got home from working out that night I was very shaky and felt like I was going to pass out. Even a little nausious. After all my years in sports and working out I had never felt that way at the end of a workout.
The next morning I woke up and felt nausious as well. My ear was still full and along with that I could hear a very high pitched noise in my ear as well. It sounded like a high frequency. It never went away. At work I also noticed that my hearing wasn't the same. I couldn't hear low tones, or nearly as well as I used to. After about 4-5 days of this, with no change I made a Dr appointment to see what was wrong.
I initially went to my family doctor who told me it was probably allergies (I have never had allergies in my life), and to take Clairitin. She said if it didn't get better in 2 weeks to call and get a referral to an Ear Nose and Throat doctor. Well all the Clairitin did was make me fell worse. So I finally got my referral to the ENT and this leads us to Wednesday.
My appointment was Wednesday. I went into a sound proof booth and did all sorts of hearing tests. When I was done the nurse said I have outstanding hearing for the most part, until it gets to the low tones in my right ear, then I can hear almost nothing. She said a name for what she thought it was, and I got excitied. A name! That has to mean there is a cure right? Yea, not so much.
I waited for the doctor with excitement, thinking soon I would be back to normal, but within 4 minutes of him being in the room I was crushed. Here are the main points of what he had to say:
*I have tinnitus. A condition where people have a constant ringing in their ear.
*If the condition does not go away within 1 year, it will never go away.
*There are a few steroid treatments to try but they are typically unsuccessful.
*He thinks I was born with a pre-disposition for a 3rd bone in my ear to move, causing this diagnosis. I need to have a CT scan done to see.
*I should not work out or run until we find out what caused this to happen.
*And, oh by the way, there is a small possibility it could be a brain tumor so I am going to order you a MRI too.
I'm a pretty emotional person, so I nearly lost it. Within 5 minutes I heard a) I'll never have my hearing back, b) you can't work out (not good for a marathon training plan) and c) it could possibly be a brain tumor.
For those of you who don't know me, brain tumor is the biggest trigger word I could hear, as my sister past away from a brain tumor when I was 12. So precautionary or not, it scares the shit out of me.
I know there are a million other things that could be wrong with me that would be way worse, but anytime you hear you won't be the same ever again, it takes some getting used to. I've been having quite the mourning party for myself this week.
You can call this overdramatic, but I challenge you to live every freaking second with a ring in your ear, and not be able to hear someone whisper next to you, or not be able to hear a normal conversation in a loud restaurant and then you tell me it wouldnt take you some getting used to and that it doesnt change things.
As a side note, doctors should not be able to pass med school without an A in bedside manner. My doctor couldn't have cared less that I was upset or that he rattled off live changing things like it was a grocery list.
So the rest of Wednesday was spent coming to terms with that news, and working late...so no run this day.
Thursday:
I was supposed to run 6 miles this day, but I didn't. I was still grappling with new about my ear, and with my doctor telling me not to run. I thought the running bit was ridiculous but I was worried I would do more damage, so I gave myself another day off.
Oh, I also had a 2nd appt with another ENT doctor at the same clinic to see if the steroid therapy would be an option for me. He wasn't in the room for more than 2 minutes before he said I wasn't a candidate. First, I was kind of ok with this, as the thought of steroids getting shot into my eardrum didn't really have me excited. Secondly though, I was pissed I took all that time off work to drive there for literally a 5 minute appointment with another doctor with no bedside manner.
Friday:
Day off!
Saturday:
Day off!
Sunday:
Long run day! I said screw the doctor, I've run since this ear thing happened and it hasn't gotten worse, so I'm gonna keep running (taking a break on the weight training though). 14 miles was my distance. I was nervous about it since last week I was supposed to do 12 and stopped at 11, but I started and felt good almost the whole way! I did walk a few times, but I finished the whole 14 miles in just about 3 hours and 17 min!! I was so proud of myself for finishing, for winning the mental game. I finally felt like I could do this marathon. Even better, the next day my legs felt great!
Only 86 days to go!! I can do this! One day at a time!
Final side note: if anyone reads this before July 18th, please send me good thoughts the morning of July 18th. I go in for my CT scan and MRI that morning. I'm sure that everything will be fine, but I won't stop worrying about it until I know for sure. Thanks for the good thoughts!
Days till Marathon: 86
Total training miles: 269.85
Monday:
I had another personal training appointment on Monday. I really like the group that goes at 6pm on Mondays. Very encouraging of each other and fun to be around. It can make all the difference. So the training session was good, plus I got 1 of my 6 miles out of the way during the session by doing sprints on the treadmill.
After the session ended I still had another 5 miles to go. Maybe my legs were tired from the run on Sunday, maybe my mind wasn't there, but whatever it was I only ran 3 of the 5 miles. I felt a little bad about it until I told myself it was still 2 good hours of working out and that I would come back strong next time.
Tuesday:
Had the day off, and got to see Charisse and Kim for dinner! Always fun times!
Wednesday:
Today was the day that literally changed my life forever. A few weeks ago, during one of my training sessions, I felt my ear pop and/or get really full all of a sudden. It felt like my ear had filled up from water from swimming, or it needed to pop. I continued on with my workout and figured it would pop and go back to normal. When I got home from working out that night I was very shaky and felt like I was going to pass out. Even a little nausious. After all my years in sports and working out I had never felt that way at the end of a workout.
The next morning I woke up and felt nausious as well. My ear was still full and along with that I could hear a very high pitched noise in my ear as well. It sounded like a high frequency. It never went away. At work I also noticed that my hearing wasn't the same. I couldn't hear low tones, or nearly as well as I used to. After about 4-5 days of this, with no change I made a Dr appointment to see what was wrong.
I initially went to my family doctor who told me it was probably allergies (I have never had allergies in my life), and to take Clairitin. She said if it didn't get better in 2 weeks to call and get a referral to an Ear Nose and Throat doctor. Well all the Clairitin did was make me fell worse. So I finally got my referral to the ENT and this leads us to Wednesday.
My appointment was Wednesday. I went into a sound proof booth and did all sorts of hearing tests. When I was done the nurse said I have outstanding hearing for the most part, until it gets to the low tones in my right ear, then I can hear almost nothing. She said a name for what she thought it was, and I got excitied. A name! That has to mean there is a cure right? Yea, not so much.
I waited for the doctor with excitement, thinking soon I would be back to normal, but within 4 minutes of him being in the room I was crushed. Here are the main points of what he had to say:
*I have tinnitus. A condition where people have a constant ringing in their ear.
*If the condition does not go away within 1 year, it will never go away.
*There are a few steroid treatments to try but they are typically unsuccessful.
*He thinks I was born with a pre-disposition for a 3rd bone in my ear to move, causing this diagnosis. I need to have a CT scan done to see.
*I should not work out or run until we find out what caused this to happen.
*And, oh by the way, there is a small possibility it could be a brain tumor so I am going to order you a MRI too.
I'm a pretty emotional person, so I nearly lost it. Within 5 minutes I heard a) I'll never have my hearing back, b) you can't work out (not good for a marathon training plan) and c) it could possibly be a brain tumor.
For those of you who don't know me, brain tumor is the biggest trigger word I could hear, as my sister past away from a brain tumor when I was 12. So precautionary or not, it scares the shit out of me.
I know there are a million other things that could be wrong with me that would be way worse, but anytime you hear you won't be the same ever again, it takes some getting used to. I've been having quite the mourning party for myself this week.
You can call this overdramatic, but I challenge you to live every freaking second with a ring in your ear, and not be able to hear someone whisper next to you, or not be able to hear a normal conversation in a loud restaurant and then you tell me it wouldnt take you some getting used to and that it doesnt change things.
As a side note, doctors should not be able to pass med school without an A in bedside manner. My doctor couldn't have cared less that I was upset or that he rattled off live changing things like it was a grocery list.
So the rest of Wednesday was spent coming to terms with that news, and working late...so no run this day.
Thursday:
I was supposed to run 6 miles this day, but I didn't. I was still grappling with new about my ear, and with my doctor telling me not to run. I thought the running bit was ridiculous but I was worried I would do more damage, so I gave myself another day off.
Oh, I also had a 2nd appt with another ENT doctor at the same clinic to see if the steroid therapy would be an option for me. He wasn't in the room for more than 2 minutes before he said I wasn't a candidate. First, I was kind of ok with this, as the thought of steroids getting shot into my eardrum didn't really have me excited. Secondly though, I was pissed I took all that time off work to drive there for literally a 5 minute appointment with another doctor with no bedside manner.
Friday:
Day off!
Saturday:
Day off!
Sunday:
Long run day! I said screw the doctor, I've run since this ear thing happened and it hasn't gotten worse, so I'm gonna keep running (taking a break on the weight training though). 14 miles was my distance. I was nervous about it since last week I was supposed to do 12 and stopped at 11, but I started and felt good almost the whole way! I did walk a few times, but I finished the whole 14 miles in just about 3 hours and 17 min!! I was so proud of myself for finishing, for winning the mental game. I finally felt like I could do this marathon. Even better, the next day my legs felt great!
Only 86 days to go!! I can do this! One day at a time!
Final side note: if anyone reads this before July 18th, please send me good thoughts the morning of July 18th. I go in for my CT scan and MRI that morning. I'm sure that everything will be fine, but I won't stop worrying about it until I know for sure. Thanks for the good thoughts!
Days till Marathon: 86
Total training miles: 269.85
Sunday, July 8, 2012
91 days!!
Here's how my week shaped up:
Monday:
I had my weekly personal training appointment on Monday. I had been doing them on Wednesdays, but moved them to Mondays to fit with the training plan better. I told my trainer, Rey, that I always have to run after the training sessions, so in order to save my legs a bit he would tell me when to do lower weights and not strain myself too much.
It's a group training session and there was a new guy in the session. Poor guy made it all the way through the session, then puked at the very end. The session was by no means easy, but of all the sessions I've done it was the easiest. Hope the poor guy comes back and can tough it out again.
After the session was over I headed upstairs to do the 7 miles of running I needed to get in. It was the first time I had done training and running on the same day, so I was a bit worried about how my legs were going to hold up. To make sure didn't overt do it I ran .5 miles then would walk for about a minute and so on. Got all 7 miles done, but I sure was feeling it at the end.
Tuesday:
Day off!
Wednesday:
My training plan had me doing a speed workout on Wednesday but I had the day off from work, and decided to go on a pretty extreme hike instead. I figured it wasn't running but it would be a good workout and a good compromise. Oh my god. Maybe one of the stupidest decisions I have ever made. The uphill climb was torture. I kept going, albeit slowly, but I wasn't going to be the one keeping everyone from the top. We got maybe 4-4.5 miles up and I could feel the extremes muscle fatigue in my legs. Every part of my willpower wanted to keep going by my legs wouldn't let me. We turned around, they guys I was with we're so wonderful and supportive. We made it to the bottom and after all was said and done it really was a wonderfully fun day. Lots of laughs and fun times.
Thursday:
My training plan was to do 6 miles on Thursday, but I made the decision to rest my legs another day. I felt better after the hike than I expected but another day of rest was probably good.
Friday:
Day off!
Saturday:
Day off
Sunday:
Ugh, long run day. My plan had me down to do 12 miles today. It's so freaking stupid, I did 11. How ridiculous right? I couldn't push through for 1 more mile. Ugh, so mad at myself. On the positive side, I ran 11 miles. I feel like after each run I should be feeling better about is marathon, but I just end up feeling worse and more scared.
Tomorrow I start another week of training, with runs on Monday, Thursday and Saturday. Let's hope I start to feel a little more positive about the race this week.
Days till Marathon: 91
Total training miles: 251.85
Monday:
I had my weekly personal training appointment on Monday. I had been doing them on Wednesdays, but moved them to Mondays to fit with the training plan better. I told my trainer, Rey, that I always have to run after the training sessions, so in order to save my legs a bit he would tell me when to do lower weights and not strain myself too much.
It's a group training session and there was a new guy in the session. Poor guy made it all the way through the session, then puked at the very end. The session was by no means easy, but of all the sessions I've done it was the easiest. Hope the poor guy comes back and can tough it out again.
After the session was over I headed upstairs to do the 7 miles of running I needed to get in. It was the first time I had done training and running on the same day, so I was a bit worried about how my legs were going to hold up. To make sure didn't overt do it I ran .5 miles then would walk for about a minute and so on. Got all 7 miles done, but I sure was feeling it at the end.
Tuesday:
Day off!
Wednesday:
My training plan had me doing a speed workout on Wednesday but I had the day off from work, and decided to go on a pretty extreme hike instead. I figured it wasn't running but it would be a good workout and a good compromise. Oh my god. Maybe one of the stupidest decisions I have ever made. The uphill climb was torture. I kept going, albeit slowly, but I wasn't going to be the one keeping everyone from the top. We got maybe 4-4.5 miles up and I could feel the extremes muscle fatigue in my legs. Every part of my willpower wanted to keep going by my legs wouldn't let me. We turned around, they guys I was with we're so wonderful and supportive. We made it to the bottom and after all was said and done it really was a wonderfully fun day. Lots of laughs and fun times.
Thursday:
My training plan was to do 6 miles on Thursday, but I made the decision to rest my legs another day. I felt better after the hike than I expected but another day of rest was probably good.
Friday:
Day off!
Saturday:
Day off
Sunday:
Ugh, long run day. My plan had me down to do 12 miles today. It's so freaking stupid, I did 11. How ridiculous right? I couldn't push through for 1 more mile. Ugh, so mad at myself. On the positive side, I ran 11 miles. I feel like after each run I should be feeling better about is marathon, but I just end up feeling worse and more scared.
Tomorrow I start another week of training, with runs on Monday, Thursday and Saturday. Let's hope I start to feel a little more positive about the race this week.
Days till Marathon: 91
Total training miles: 251.85
Sunday, July 1, 2012
Less than 100 days!!!
Less than 100 days to go!
Ok, I've said it before, but this time I really mean it...I'm going to start posting more frequently. I'm going to try and post after each training run, this way I won't feel so overwhelmed (like I do now) trying to write a post to catch up on everything.
I have less than 100 days till my marathon, 98 days to be exact. And I'm kind of freaking out.
It's been forever since I've posted last, so here is a quick update on what I've done:
•After the Rock 'n' Roll: ran 25.5 miles
•Vancouver USA half marathon: 13.1 miles
•After Vancouver: 5 miles
I'm a tiny bit behind where I hoped to be at this point. But this morning I updated my training schedule, rearranging runs around the late nights at work, vacations, etc. I feel good about the plan. A few of my thoughts/concerns:
•The plan has me paced to run the marathon in 5 hours, 43 minutes. That would be great, but honestly as long as I finish in less than 6 hours I will be ecstatic!
•my hardest training days will be Saturdays and Mondays. Saturdays are my long run days (with a couple Sunday exceptions), and Mondays I have personal training appointments in addition to my running mileage. If I can get to Wednesdays it is downhill from there.
•I have two vacations this summer and know it will take tons and tons of will power to make sure I get my runs in. My trip home to Sequim should be fairly easy to get the runs in, but I'm slightly worried about getting them in when I am in Vegas. Luckily it is a rest week in the training plan, with no run more than 7 miles. I'm planning on going to the hotel gym to run 3 times while I am there. I think that should help keep up my fitness while doing all the horrible things you do on vacation. :)
•Lastly, my weekends for the whole summer are shot. My long runs are on Saturdays, and when I am done with them all I want to do is sleep for days. It's a good thing my social life isn't very active :).
Tomorrow I start again, the official marathon training plan. I start with a personal training session then 6 miles. I can do it, I can do it, I can do it.....
Days till Marathon: 98
Total training miles: 233.85
Ok, I've said it before, but this time I really mean it...I'm going to start posting more frequently. I'm going to try and post after each training run, this way I won't feel so overwhelmed (like I do now) trying to write a post to catch up on everything.
I have less than 100 days till my marathon, 98 days to be exact. And I'm kind of freaking out.
It's been forever since I've posted last, so here is a quick update on what I've done:
•After the Rock 'n' Roll: ran 25.5 miles
•Vancouver USA half marathon: 13.1 miles
•After Vancouver: 5 miles
I'm a tiny bit behind where I hoped to be at this point. But this morning I updated my training schedule, rearranging runs around the late nights at work, vacations, etc. I feel good about the plan. A few of my thoughts/concerns:
•The plan has me paced to run the marathon in 5 hours, 43 minutes. That would be great, but honestly as long as I finish in less than 6 hours I will be ecstatic!
•my hardest training days will be Saturdays and Mondays. Saturdays are my long run days (with a couple Sunday exceptions), and Mondays I have personal training appointments in addition to my running mileage. If I can get to Wednesdays it is downhill from there.
•I have two vacations this summer and know it will take tons and tons of will power to make sure I get my runs in. My trip home to Sequim should be fairly easy to get the runs in, but I'm slightly worried about getting them in when I am in Vegas. Luckily it is a rest week in the training plan, with no run more than 7 miles. I'm planning on going to the hotel gym to run 3 times while I am there. I think that should help keep up my fitness while doing all the horrible things you do on vacation. :)
•Lastly, my weekends for the whole summer are shot. My long runs are on Saturdays, and when I am done with them all I want to do is sleep for days. It's a good thing my social life isn't very active :).
Tomorrow I start again, the official marathon training plan. I start with a personal training session then 6 miles. I can do it, I can do it, I can do it.....
Days till Marathon: 98
Total training miles: 233.85
Monday, May 21, 2012
Portland Rock 'N' Roll Half Marathon
The race experience started when they sent out a notice that the I5 bridge was closed the morning of the race. So instead of dealing with bad traffic in the morning I stayed with my friend Jody in Portland. Race morning I got up and drove to the start line, there were a few sprinkles coming down which I didn't expect because I thought it was supposed to be sunny for the race. As we waited to start the sprinkles kept coming down, nothing to big but enough to realize it wasn't going to be a nice sunny day like I expected. At about 8:20am my corral finally crossed the start line and we were off! I was excited to get going but did my usual reminder to myself to not start out too fast. We started off running the regular streets in downtown Portland, but around mile 1.5 we crossed over the Hawthorne bridge to the east side of Portland. It was exciting to have a race on that ran through the east side since most stay on the west side.
When I'm running I like to have little goals to get to, whether it's getting to the next mile marker, or the next water station, or where my supporters are cheering me on, either way I like having something to run towards. So for this race I wrote all the water stops on my wrist, right next to my breathe tattoo, so. Could have some more milestones to look forward to.
Things were going well around mile 4 or so. I'll admit, I had stopped to walk a couple times for short periods but was keeping a good pace when all of a sudden I could feel my toes on my left foot start to feel restricted and tight. I kept running and figured it would go away and I could just run through it but this time I couldn't. So I stopped, took off my shoes and adjusted my socks (which are 5 toed socks). After the brief stop I was better and back on track.
Miles 3.5 through 5.5 were on Hawthorne which was a long, slow, gradual, sneak up on you hill. Oh it was painful. I knew my friend Jody was going to be cheering me on a little after mile 5, so I had something to look forward too. I saw Jody, did some high five-ing, and was on my way. As a sidenote: I know you only see the people you know who are cheering you on for a few seconds during the race, but those seconds really matter. It is something the runner really looks forward to. As a supporter you never know how much those brief few seconds of support can help the runner. For me, it gives me the perfect pick me up and dose of adrenaline I need, no matter how much pain I was in a few seconds before, seeing your supporters makes all that go away for a bit.
After I saw Jody I continued on, and about a mile later I felt the same restriction in my left foot again. I stopped again, fixed my sock again, and hoped this would be the last time.
Around mile 7.5 we turned on to Burnside, which meant we were over halfway there, and most of the rest of the race had a bit of downhill to it. :) I knew I was going to see Jody again around mile 8.5, so I kept my focus there. It was about this time that I could feel my ITB starting to act up. On the up and down hills I was having to limp a bit as to not flare my knee up even more. When I saw Jody it was at the very bottom of a hill and I was limping pretty badly. I saw her and wanted to get a quick picture with her. She was so great, standing out in the rain to cheer everyone on. Thank you Jody, it meant so much! So we got our picture taken and I was off for the rest of the race. After I saw Jody I knew there was about 4.5 miles left and my goal was to finish it in just over an hour, to finish the whole race in less than 3 hours. Once I got to 9 miles I just focused on keeping my pace to less than 15 min per mile. Which was easy when running but there were some walk breaks in there, so I wanted to make sure I kept up a good pace when I did let myself walk for a minute or two.
In the last few miles of a race I look for those small milestones more than ever, next miles marker, next water stop, next band station, etc. Miles 9-12 were just that. Looking for anything I could to just keep going. I fully admit it helped that there was a slight downhill for a majority of these miles. My knee was in quite a bit of pain at this point, but I knew it would be over soon.
Around mile 11.5 I got stopped at a couple intersections for cars to go through. After the second time I was thinking about the stoppage when I felt a pop in my left foot. My left pinky toe had blistered and popped! So much for anti-blister socks! After the initial pop it didn't hurt, so I just kept on going.
Once I got to mile 12 I got excited. I knew the Steel bridge was coming up, which meant there was by about .75 of a mile after the bridge. After watching my pace I knew I would get in under the 3 hour mark, just how much under was the question. The downhill of the last few miles was really putting a strain on my knee but I knew I didn't have far to go. When there was only about .75 miles to go I really wanted to stop and walk just for a minute or two, but I was almost there, I wasn't going to let myself down. So slowly but surely I ran the next .5 of the race, trying to just do anything to not make myself stop. I saw a sign that said "don't walk now, people are watching", which is EXACTLY how I felt! With about .25 miles to go I just wanted to be done, I could see the finish line, and I wanted to finish strong so I picked up the pace. Not a sprint, but a good fast pace, and I crossed the finish line!!! Yea me!!!
I ended up finishing the race in 2 hours, 53 min and 11 seconds. Just under 4 minutes off my PR. I am very happy with the time considering I didn't train much at all. Then there is a small part of me that says if I didn't have to stop and fix my socks twice, or take a picture with Jody, I might have beaten my PR. But I would rather not have injured myself more, and have a fun pic with my friend who sacrificed her morning to cheer me and others on, than getting a PR. I was very very happy with my time, the race, even the weather! Rather have a consistent sprinkle than the heat any day!
And now my sixth half marathon is done! One more half to go, the Vancouver Half Marathon in June, then the full marathon in October. After this last race I am feeling pretty good about how I will fair in both. Can't wait to get out there again!Days till Marathon: 139
Total training miles: 190.25
Saturday, May 19, 2012
Slacker
Well it's been a month since the Corvallis Half, and the night before the Portland Rock 'n Roll Half. All the time in between has been difficult...really really difficult to stay motivated.
Week 1 after Corvallis:
No motivation, told myself I would only give myself a week off. I should have known better.
Week 2 after Corvallis:
3.5 miles
4.75 miles
Week 3 after Corvallis:
Felt like I was getting back into it, and back into a regular training schedule:
5 miles
8.5 miles
Week 4 after Corvallis:
Got lazy at the beginning of the week, and had horrible headache at the end of the week. Tried to run on Sunday and could only get 2 miles done before my head hurt too much that I had to stop
2miles
Week 5 after Corvallis:
On Wednesday I had my first personal training session. I ridiculously thought i would get my run in after my session...yea right. Got a great workout in, but was tired. I should have ran that day because I was so sore on Thursday and Friday I couldn't get a run in either!
So after a month of horrible, or more so non existent, training I am getting up at dawn tomorrow to run the Portland Rock 'n Roll half marathon. I will finish, maybe not a great time, but I will finish.
After basically a month off I need to tell myself that was the last time I can do that. Until October I have to focus, focus on the 26.2 miles.
Hopefully tomorrow will be a good start!
Days till Marathon: 141
Total training miles: 177.15
Week 1 after Corvallis:
No motivation, told myself I would only give myself a week off. I should have known better.
Week 2 after Corvallis:
3.5 miles
4.75 miles
Week 3 after Corvallis:
Felt like I was getting back into it, and back into a regular training schedule:
5 miles
8.5 miles
Week 4 after Corvallis:
Got lazy at the beginning of the week, and had horrible headache at the end of the week. Tried to run on Sunday and could only get 2 miles done before my head hurt too much that I had to stop
2miles
Week 5 after Corvallis:
On Wednesday I had my first personal training session. I ridiculously thought i would get my run in after my session...yea right. Got a great workout in, but was tired. I should have ran that day because I was so sore on Thursday and Friday I couldn't get a run in either!
So after a month of horrible, or more so non existent, training I am getting up at dawn tomorrow to run the Portland Rock 'n Roll half marathon. I will finish, maybe not a great time, but I will finish.
After basically a month off I need to tell myself that was the last time I can do that. Until October I have to focus, focus on the 26.2 miles.
Hopefully tomorrow will be a good start!
Days till Marathon: 141
Total training miles: 177.15
Saturday, May 5, 2012
Corvallis Half Marathon
It was a week to go until my first half marathon of the year. I was excited because I felt like I have been really training hard, and in better shape for this half marathon, than any other one I’ve done. I did a great 11.5 miles on Sunday, and was ready for my weekly training. Monday I was still tired from my long run on Sunday, so I decided to give myself the day off. Went to bed Monday night and looked forward to my Tuesday run. Woke up on Tuesday and could barely breathe! My back hurt when I woke up and figured I had just slept funny, but by the time I got to work I could barely breathe. It was like my ribs were bruised. It was the weirdest thing. I already had plans to go out on Tuesday, so I figured another night of sleep would make them all better. Nope! Those damn things hurt until Friday. I almost went to the gym on Wednesday, but I didn’t want to hurt them more than they already did, so I opted to stay home. It was a smart choice I think. I’m pretty sure my body is sending me every possible signal that I shouldn’t be a runner, and I am doing as best as I can to avoid each and every one of them.
On Friday my stomach/ribs felt good enough to try a short run, in preparation for the race on Sunday. I went to the gym, ready to get a good run in. My breathing was ok, not too much pain, but then, around mile 2 I could feel my ITB's starting to act up. Talk about f'ing frustrating! I've been training for months with my knees cooperating and not bothering me, but noooooo, they have to act up the run before a race. Again, frustrating!
Race day finally came and it was a beautiful day in Corvallis! Minor per-race mishap when I lost my license but thankfully one of the volunteers picked it up and had it safe for me to pick up at the end of the race. Once that worry was gone I could focus on how to run the race. It was at last years race where I ran my personal best half marathon time, at 2 hours 47 min 20 seconds. This year I had trained harder and was in better shape, so I was really hoping to better my time. After a few more anxious per-race moments it was time to run!
The race started and I felt really good. I was paying attention to my watch to make sure I wasn't starting out to fast, kept to my pace and just enjoyed the run. I remembered that last year I stopped to walk a bit around the 4 mile mark, this year I didn't take a short walk break until 8 miles in. Also, from miles 4-6 there is one long gradual hill followed by small rolling hills for a while. Last year, because of my knees, I walked all the hills, just didn't think my knees would be able to withstand the incline. This year I pushed myself through the hills though, which was a mini victory in itself. :)
My brother lives along the course route and he was going to cheer me on by his house, between mile 8-9. I was crushing along and I have to admit, I thought he was going to miss me. I had passed where I expected to see him and he wasn't there, so I figured he overslept for was there and had already gone. Next thing I knew, I turned the corner, and there he was! He smiled and waved and I weren't over for a quick second to say hi, I mean I was running a race, no long hellos allowed :). One of his roommates, whom I had never met, came with him which I though was really nice of him. I told Geoffrey I would see him in about an hour at the finish, and waved goodbye.
This is where the last few miles got hard. There were 4 miles to go, and by this time the sun was out and it was hot! I know, hot in April in Corvallis, but it really was! the last four miles were tough, but I just kept remembering how tough they were last year too, and that in comparison it was easy.
Since it was such a beautiful day out, lots of people were out cheering the runners on, which is always nice. It was fun to run down 26th street (fraternity row) and remember all the good times (and let's face it, bad times) I had there. I was getting closer, only about two miles to go and you pass the Memorial Union which was literally my home away from home for 4 years. And just when you can see the stadium and you think the finish is so close you can taste it, you take a right turn and you still have another mile to go. Possibly the cruelest mile on the course, just because you think you are so close to the finish but realize you still have another mile to go.
The whole course is beautiful, it has to be, it's in Corvallis, there's no other choice. It like a 3 hour run through memory lane for me, and it's wonderful. But the best part of the race is the finish line. As you finish the last mile you run through Reser stadium parking lot and run down the players tunnel onto the football field, you race to the 50 yard line where your name is called, you are on the jumbo ton, and most importantly...you are finished!
Unfortunately my brother had a bit of trouble getting to the finish on time, so I finished about 10 min before he could get there. But once he was there I gave Nima good ole sweaty hug, and thanked him for cheering me on.
I was a bit disappointed when I finished because according to the time I was keeping on my watch I though I was about a minute behind my time from last year. Which had me fairly down for a little bit confiding how much better prepared I was this year. But when I came home and checked the official times I was happy to see that I was actually faster this year...by a whole 4 seconds!! :)
I'm happy I ran the Corvallis half again this year, and I'll probably sign up for it again next year. It's out of the way, and takes some time to get there, but it really is gorgeous and I just love that place. When I left Corvallis, a little piece of my heart stayed there. :)
The good: I felt fine the next day! I tiny bit sore, but not at all what I expected. My training really worked!
The bad: Good grief did I get burnt! I didn't even think to put on sunscreen and my back got scorched!
The funny: my favorite sign: "Awesome job random dude that I don't know"
Total training miles: 153.4
On Friday my stomach/ribs felt good enough to try a short run, in preparation for the race on Sunday. I went to the gym, ready to get a good run in. My breathing was ok, not too much pain, but then, around mile 2 I could feel my ITB's starting to act up. Talk about f'ing frustrating! I've been training for months with my knees cooperating and not bothering me, but noooooo, they have to act up the run before a race. Again, frustrating!
The race started and I felt really good. I was paying attention to my watch to make sure I wasn't starting out to fast, kept to my pace and just enjoyed the run. I remembered that last year I stopped to walk a bit around the 4 mile mark, this year I didn't take a short walk break until 8 miles in. Also, from miles 4-6 there is one long gradual hill followed by small rolling hills for a while. Last year, because of my knees, I walked all the hills, just didn't think my knees would be able to withstand the incline. This year I pushed myself through the hills though, which was a mini victory in itself. :)
My brother lives along the course route and he was going to cheer me on by his house, between mile 8-9. I was crushing along and I have to admit, I thought he was going to miss me. I had passed where I expected to see him and he wasn't there, so I figured he overslept for was there and had already gone. Next thing I knew, I turned the corner, and there he was! He smiled and waved and I weren't over for a quick second to say hi, I mean I was running a race, no long hellos allowed :). One of his roommates, whom I had never met, came with him which I though was really nice of him. I told Geoffrey I would see him in about an hour at the finish, and waved goodbye.
This is where the last few miles got hard. There were 4 miles to go, and by this time the sun was out and it was hot! I know, hot in April in Corvallis, but it really was! the last four miles were tough, but I just kept remembering how tough they were last year too, and that in comparison it was easy.
Since it was such a beautiful day out, lots of people were out cheering the runners on, which is always nice. It was fun to run down 26th street (fraternity row) and remember all the good times (and let's face it, bad times) I had there. I was getting closer, only about two miles to go and you pass the Memorial Union which was literally my home away from home for 4 years. And just when you can see the stadium and you think the finish is so close you can taste it, you take a right turn and you still have another mile to go. Possibly the cruelest mile on the course, just because you think you are so close to the finish but realize you still have another mile to go.
The whole course is beautiful, it has to be, it's in Corvallis, there's no other choice. It like a 3 hour run through memory lane for me, and it's wonderful. But the best part of the race is the finish line. As you finish the last mile you run through Reser stadium parking lot and run down the players tunnel onto the football field, you race to the 50 yard line where your name is called, you are on the jumbo ton, and most importantly...you are finished!
Unfortunately my brother had a bit of trouble getting to the finish on time, so I finished about 10 min before he could get there. But once he was there I gave Nima good ole sweaty hug, and thanked him for cheering me on.
I was a bit disappointed when I finished because according to the time I was keeping on my watch I though I was about a minute behind my time from last year. Which had me fairly down for a little bit confiding how much better prepared I was this year. But when I came home and checked the official times I was happy to see that I was actually faster this year...by a whole 4 seconds!! :)
I'm happy I ran the Corvallis half again this year, and I'll probably sign up for it again next year. It's out of the way, and takes some time to get there, but it really is gorgeous and I just love that place. When I left Corvallis, a little piece of my heart stayed there. :)
The good: I felt fine the next day! I tiny bit sore, but not at all what I expected. My training really worked!
The bad: Good grief did I get burnt! I didn't even think to put on sunscreen and my back got scorched!
The funny: my favorite sign: "Awesome job random dude that I don't know"
Total training miles: 153.4
Monday, April 9, 2012
April Update
Last week I felt like I was able to get back into more of a groove with my running and training. Felt good to be back in the habit! Had to get my serious training hat back on since I half a half marathon on April 15th!
Wednesday, April 4th: 4 miles
Saturday, April 7th: 3 miles
Sunday, April 8th: 11.5 miles
My long run was really good this week! Ran at about a 13:30 pace, but ran the whole thing and felt mostly good the whole way too. I stopped only to refill my water bottle, but I figure that's about the same length I would stop at a water station on a race path so I'm not beating myself up about it. :)
A few thoughts:
A) I joke about how slow I am, and I know its all about getting the mileage in, not how fast I'm doing it, but good grief I think a snail could be at me. In a perfect world I would be happy with 10 min miles, but realistically I would at least like to get to 12. Hope it happens one day...at this pace the freaking walkers can beat me.
B) I have my first half marathon of the year coming up on Sunday, the 2nd annual Corvallis half marathon. I ran it last year and ran my PR time on that course. M in better shape this year and with better training, so I hope I can get a new PR, if even only by a few seconds.
C) I use Nike+ to keep track of my running. Since I started running again in the summer of 09, I have run over 650 miles. With my most recent long run, I finally hit the blue stage! Silly things,I know, but I'm excited about it. Only purple and black stages after this. Just a short 900+ miles to purple group. :)
D)Apparently I have caught half marathon fever. I have the Corvallis half this weekend, then Portland Rock n Roll on May 20th, and I think I am going to sign up for two more this week. I think I am going to sign up for the Vancouver USA half on June 17th and the Lackamas Half on July 22. I figure it's good motivation to really keep me to my training plan. Plus it means more shiny medals :). And the best part, gives me something else to be mad at Mirranda about, this is totally her fault.
Two more training runs this week, then half marathon on Sunday! Wish me luck!
Days till marathon: 181
Total training miles: 140.3
Wednesday, April 4th: 4 miles
Saturday, April 7th: 3 miles
Sunday, April 8th: 11.5 miles
My long run was really good this week! Ran at about a 13:30 pace, but ran the whole thing and felt mostly good the whole way too. I stopped only to refill my water bottle, but I figure that's about the same length I would stop at a water station on a race path so I'm not beating myself up about it. :)
A few thoughts:
A) I joke about how slow I am, and I know its all about getting the mileage in, not how fast I'm doing it, but good grief I think a snail could be at me. In a perfect world I would be happy with 10 min miles, but realistically I would at least like to get to 12. Hope it happens one day...at this pace the freaking walkers can beat me.
B) I have my first half marathon of the year coming up on Sunday, the 2nd annual Corvallis half marathon. I ran it last year and ran my PR time on that course. M in better shape this year and with better training, so I hope I can get a new PR, if even only by a few seconds.
C) I use Nike+ to keep track of my running. Since I started running again in the summer of 09, I have run over 650 miles. With my most recent long run, I finally hit the blue stage! Silly things,I know, but I'm excited about it. Only purple and black stages after this. Just a short 900+ miles to purple group. :)
D)Apparently I have caught half marathon fever. I have the Corvallis half this weekend, then Portland Rock n Roll on May 20th, and I think I am going to sign up for two more this week. I think I am going to sign up for the Vancouver USA half on June 17th and the Lackamas Half on July 22. I figure it's good motivation to really keep me to my training plan. Plus it means more shiny medals :). And the best part, gives me something else to be mad at Mirranda about, this is totally her fault.
Two more training runs this week, then half marathon on Sunday! Wish me luck!
Days till marathon: 181
Total training miles: 140.3
Monday, April 2, 2012
April 2
Todays training plan was to run 5 miles at a 13:32 pace. Since I had a little falling off the wagon lately with my training, I've made a decision. Until the half marathon in May, the one I origionally set this plan up for, I'm just going to focus on the mileage and not the pace. I'd rather make sure I get the miles in than do it in a certain time.
Since I just did my long run yesterday I was worried about tired legs and getting through the 5 miles. Around mile 3 I could really feel the fatigue setting in, but I powered through and finished the 5 miles in about 1 hour and 10 min. :)
I'm taking tomorrow off, but I'll be back at it on Wednesday.
Days till marathon: 188
Total training miles: 121.8 miles
Since I just did my long run yesterday I was worried about tired legs and getting through the 5 miles. Around mile 3 I could really feel the fatigue setting in, but I powered through and finished the 5 miles in about 1 hour and 10 min. :)
I'm taking tomorrow off, but I'll be back at it on Wednesday.
Days till marathon: 188
Total training miles: 121.8 miles
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