Glad that's over

Run: 15 miles

It wasn't pretty but I did it. Even though my average pace was a full minute slower than I wanted, I can still check my first 15 mile run off the list. There were a lot of factors that made today difficult and I'm not using them as excuses for my poor performance but there were some things I needed to take note of and change going forward


The one major factor was totally out of my control - HUMIDITY. To say that it was muggy, might be the understatement of the year. My first step outside I was hit with a wall of dense, hot air and I knew we were in for it. I could literally see the moisture in the air with my headlamp. I'm not sure if it was the humidity or the fact that I forgot my Endurolytes but I was sooooo thirsty. I drank a lot more water than usual (and more than is probably recommended while running) but I just couldn't quench my thirst. I was really thirsty all day yesterday, too, so I'm sure I started out slightly dehydrated. Although I drink a lot of water on a daily basis anyhow, I learned my lesson and will make more of an effort to hydrate with something other than water for these long runs.


The other big issue of the day was my aching feet. This was much more than the usual tired feet after a long run. In fact, as soon as we got back to our cars, I immediately took my shoes and socks off and did a little "foot yoga." It felt like I had been walking on rocks all day. After some discussion, Christy and I determined it was from my trip to the mall the day before in flip flops/heels. I walked from end to end in those shoes. There's another big lesson from the day. I guess because these are just training runs I don't think I need to make any special preparations but today was a huge wake-up call that I need to respect these runs more. That's what training is for though, right? Mental, physical and circumstantial preparation.


For nutrition I had a TriBerry Gu at 5, a Jet BlackBerry at 9, G2 at 13 and a G3 Recovery when we finished.

Compression/Recovery Gear

I've decided that I need to invest in some compression pants. They aren't cheap so I want to make sure I get the most for my money. My initial reaction was to go with Zoot because I love all of their products but the 2XU compression gear is pretty impressive, too. Any suggestions? Feedback would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks and have a great weekend!

Sore!

Wednesday
Run: 6 miles
1 mile easy @ 10:00
4 miles @ 8:41
1 mile easy @ 9:13

Strength training: Lower Body & Body Flex

Once again, the tempo pace seemed a little too easy (8:54) so I sped up a bit. It was a good run and I think it's safe to say that tempo runs are my favorite. I don't particularly enjoy intervals and my long runs are completely draining but the pace and distance of the tempos is juuuuust right.

The Y offers a Body Flex class which is a weight training class that focuses on each muscle group for 4 or 5 five minutes of non-stop reps. It is a great workout but the only downside is that the class schedule only offers 2 (of the 7 classes per week) to accommodate working folks and even they are a close call with a 5:40 start time. Anyway, this was all just a long way to say that I wanted to take the class but wasn't sure I could make it on time so I followed the run with lower body weight training just to be sure I got some weight training in for the day.

Leg press
3 x 10 @ 90 lbs
Calf raises
3 x 10 @ 90 lbs
Lunges
3 x 8 @ 50 lbs (the squat rack was occupied to I had to use the Smith machine - not my favorite)
Leg extensions
12 @ 30 lbs
10 @ 35 lbs
8 @ 40 lbs
6 @ 45 lbs
to failure @ 30 lbs

Turns out, I was able to make the Body Flex class and now I am so sore that it would hurt if a butterfly landed on my ass. Thank you lunges and squats :)

Thursday

Strength Training: Cardio Sculpt

If there is anything that I learned in Boot Camp, it's that the best cure for sore muscles is more exercise so Cardio Sculpt was my remedy. It's funny because I've never really been a big fan of gym classes (other than Boot Camp which I love and miss terribly) but I am enjoying the change of pace as well as the bonus time with my friends.

Unfortunately, my daughter woke up at 3 a.m. for no apparent reason other than disturbing my sleep so my morning bike ride on the trainer got the bump.

Intervals and an epiphany

Monday
Run: 6 miles
1 mile warm up
5 x 1K @ 7:41 (400 RI)
1 mile cool down

This was exactly what intervals should be. I was okay for the first three but the last two were a battle of will.

Tuesday
So much for my plan. With 5 people going 5 different directions, I can make all the schedules I want but there's never any guarantee. This week there won't be any runs at the track with Caden but I plan to pick up where we left off next week.

I actually ended up making this a rest day, however, I got anything but rest. Do you ever have those days where it feels like everything just tumbles down on you? This was one of those days. I was only 4 hours into my day when I had a moment of complete hopelessness - I was overwhelmed with every aspect of my life. I had so many balls in the air and they suddenly felt like bowling balls that were impossible to juggle. It was a moment of total defeat. And then came the spark. An ember of anger that quickly grew to a blazing fire of determination. Failure is not an option. I have come too far and fought too long to give up now. That is the moment that defines me. It is my ability to forge through the "walls." I may not be the fastest or the strongest but I never give up. That mental fortitude cannot be taught, bought or borrowed. It is earned at the finish line and every single one of us needs to remember those defining moments and apply them even for the intangible finish lines of life. Extraordinary is defined as "going beyond what is usual, ordinary, regular or established." What we do, whether 3.1 or 140.6, makes us extraordinary. Don't ever forget that.

Week #2 and Week #3 recap

Whoops! I completely forgot to post my weekly results.

Week #2

Run: 25 miles

Bike: 60 min

Strength: 1 hour

Week #3

Run: 26 miles

Bike: 45 min (Spinveral's #3)

Strength: 1 hour

I need to get back on the bike!

Over the hump

Run 14 miles @ 10:27

I woke up the morning of this run stiff and sore from the Cardio Sculpt class on Thursday night. It was now day 2 post workout and you know that's when it really settles in. Since the park doesn't open until 6:00 a.m. (along with the sun), Christy and I started at 5:00 a.m. and ran 5 miles to the park and then an additional 9 miles in the park. Equipped with my new headlamp, we were ready to set out in the dark. That is until we got about a 1/4 mile in and I heard this very loud "croak" from the wilderness next to us. Immediately I was uneasy because the thought of any critter near me makes me squeamish. I mentioned to Christy that the big ass frog making that noise better stay put. She hemmed and hawed a bit and then reluctantly told me that it wasn't a frog... it was a gator. Fantastic. So there we were running in the pitch black with only the 10 meter circle of light from my headlamp as visibility, I was so sore I could barely take the next step let alone run for my life if needed and this horrible "croaking" terrorized us for at least 2 miles. Let me tell ya, I have never been so happy to see the sun. It's one thing to be around nature when you can see it from a distance, it's an entirely different situation when it's dark and you won't see it until you're practically on top of it. Me no likey.

Once inside the park, we clicked off the miles pretty quickly. The schedule called for 13 miles and after debating on whether to add another mile or two, we settled on 14. It was a much better run than the last few weeks and I'm really happy to see slow and steady progress. It's hard to see such a slow pace but I need to keep in mind that for now, it's just about increasing the mileage. It was my longest run to date and has officially put me on the other side of the half marathon fence. Despite the wild kingdom moments, I liked the new route. We were done much earlier and mentally, it was nice breaking up the run into three chunks - north 5, in 4, out 4 plus 1 for good measure.

P.S. On the way back to our starting point there was a dead gator in the road. Yes, I should be sad but I'm more concerned that it was heading to/from the path that we were on that morning. The dangers of running take on a whole new meaning down here in the swamp we call Florida - yikes!

Butt kicking Thursday

Run: 2 miles
Cardio Sculpt

Yesterday started off with my 7 mile tempo run and ended with an hour of Cardio Sculpt (high impact strength training) and a 2 mile interval run with my younger son. I was a sweaty, nasty, sore mess and I loved it! Other than boot camp, I'm not really one for gym classes but I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised by last night's class. Due to my lack of coordination, I avoid anything "dancy" or with several steps to remember and the class included minimal amounts of both. There were a lot of push ups and I tried to keep up but my shoulder wasn't cooperating and I ended up having to substitute them for crunches or other ab work.

After the class, we headed over to the track. My little one rode her scooter around and I put my son to work. I'm going to keep track of his runs on my blog to keep him accountable as well. He has the talent but his biggest obstacle is mental strength. His initial black belt test requires 2 miles in 18 minutes but he will ultimately have to run 2 miles in 16 minutes to pass. Right now, he has a lot of work ahead of him but I know two nights a week at the track will get him there.

Caden's run:
800 warm up
800 @ 10:07
800 @ 9:12
800 @ 9:14

Last night we established some ground rules. For starters, every time I would offer encouragement he would cut me off and argue with me. Once he starts arguing it quickly turns into whining and frantic breathing so rule #1: no talking. Focus on one foot in front of the other and find the rhythm of your breathing and stepping. The next issue was that he would just stop to walk, no warning. To me this is unacceptable when we are only running 800's so rule #2: every time he stops, he owes me 10 mountain climbers at the end of the lap. Next week, Tuesday will include drills and a longer main set and then Thursday we'll do 800's again.

Intervals + Florida heat = Failure

Run: 3 miles

Well, it certainly looked good on paper. The plan was to do my interval run on the track next to my oldest son's football practice while the younger two kiddos played with their friends. The only problem was I did not take into account that even at 7 p.m. the temps are still in the 90's with serious humidity and the sun blazing down on us. I finished two warm up miles, the first interval (1200 @ 7:57) and half of the second interval (1000 @ 7:54) before I hit complete engine failure. I was done.

So intervals will go back to the treadmill at 5 a.m. from now on. I did convince my younger son to run with me at the track next week. He is currently phasing for his Black Belt in Karate and needs to complete a 2 mile run in 16 minutes as part of the criteria. That kind of run I think I can handle. So it will help him train for that goal and help me get a few extra miles for the week.

Progress

Run: 13 miles

Saturday's long run was pushed to Sunday to accommodate my son's football activities. Thankfully, my running buddies were able to adjust their schedules as well so I wouldn't have another long and lonely run. I also managed to remember my watch, two Gu's and thank you to the running God's (as well as a nice little uproar from the running community) we had water on the trail.


So I have another 13 miles under my belt. The pace wasn't anything impressive but it was much better than the last two long runs and progress is progress! I think we shaved more than 10 minutes off of last weekend's 13 miler. It was nice to have Christy doing her usual distraction/cheer leading techniques. I wore my water belt for the most of the run and it wasn't as bad as I remembered it. It's a good thing, too, considering I'll be wearing every Saturday from now on. I also need to invest in a head lamp because as the mileage increases, my start time will need to get earlier.

Too easy treadmill tempo

Wednesday

Cardio: 30 min elliptical (replaced my bike ride)

Wt. Training: back/bi

Thursday

Run: 7 mile tempo

1 mile easy

• 1 @ 10:00

5 miles @ MP (9:39)

• 1 @ 9:31
• 2@ 9:22
• 3,4,5 @ 9:13

1 mile easy

• 1 @ 8:06

Obviously, I didn't do a very good job of following my scheduled paces. Although I think 9:39 is too ambitious for my MP, it was much too easy for a five mile tempo. As you can see from the last "easy" mile, I was desperate to get off the treadmill. Seven miles is a long time to be running in place and staring at the same wall. Overall, it was a good run - it was easy, my legs felt great and now I'm one run closer to 26.2!

I followed up the run with some stretching and foam roller torture. I hit a spot on my right IT band that hurt so bad it made my stomach turn. Needless to say, I'll be working on that throughout the weekend.

Happy Training!

That's right my friends, TWO posts in as many days. I'm on a roll.

Today's schedule called for intervals, always a pleasure. The pace was really challenging (for me anyway) but thankfully there were only four. I added an extra warm up mile for good measure.

Run: 5 miles

2.5 warm up

4 x 800 @ 7:35 (2 min RI)

.5 cool down

I've been trying to incorporate more weight training so after my run today I did some leg extensions and leg curls. Not a very impressive weight workout but I want to ease into it so I can actually walk tomorrow.

Week #1 - Base Building

I'm not sure where my motivation went but I would appreciate if it found it's way back to me. I started this blog for accountability but it became way too easy to not post which in turn made it easy to not train. The solution - now I am adding blog goals to my list, minimum 2 posts per week.

So here's my training recap:

Week #1 - Base Building
-1 bike ride: 1 hour

-Interval run: 6 miles
2 mile w/u
3 @ 1600 (2 min RI) @ 8:06
1 mile c/d

-missed my tempo run and second bike ride.

-Long run: 13 miles
Solo 13 mile run, no watch, no water and 1 Gu. The watch wasn't a terrible loss because the trail has mile markers. The single Gu was poor planning on my part. The water, however, was completely unexpected. I've been using this trail for over a year and have always had water at some point. There were times when the water was warm or a few water stops were empty but for the most part, I've always had water. I can't stand wearing a water belt so it's one of the main reasons I run this particular trail. I guess I better break out the water belt, though, I can't take a chance of having another run like this.

On a positive note, it was the first time I reached the "end" of the trail where it meets the SunCoast. On the way back I began to think of all the different routes for my longer runs. I have quite a few options so it will be nice to change it up if I feel like it.