Hey everyone! It's been a while but I'm back! I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to go to Maine with Nike to run the Beach to Beacon 10k and what an experience it was. I feel so lucky to have been able to attend. Here's a full recap of the trip.
Friday morning, I caught the 6:28 AM train into NYC. I arrive to New York Penn station at around 7:30 AM. From there, I whistled for a cab and when it came near the license plate said fresh and it had a dice in the mirror... unfortunately, that last part isn't true. It was just a regular cab. I arrived in the Upper East Side NIke store around 8 AM. As I arrived, the first thing I noticed were two huge charter buses that said "Just do it." with the Nike swoop. "Wow, how is this real life?" I thought to myself. I'm greeted as I walk into the store. They let us know where to go to sign in and that there is also food. At check in, we're given information about the restaurants in Maine and a gift card to cover dinner expenses. Wow. Seriously impressed. At about 9:00 AM we're instructed to board the buses and told that we each get a Nike neck pillow. I used mine the entire time on the bus. It was a really sweet gesture for them to include such a practical and helpful item. The bus was so nice! It had hardwood (I'm not sure if it was real or just looked like it) floors. Definitely an upgrade from the usual charter buses. I had a row to myself, so I could spread out, which was so nice. There were also outlets in each row of seats. I was so happy to have an outlet so my phone didn't die. We arrive at the Westin in Portland Maine and directed to a conference room where we can check in and get our hotel room key. We're also provided maps for a 3 or 5 mile shakeout run. Check in was very well organized and went very smoothly. All of the staff with both NIke and the Westin were fantastic. After check in, I head up to my room and see that there is my race shirt, bib, Nike hat and Nike bag laid out on the bed. There is also a sweet note explaining the events. So impressed. From there, I get changed and head out for a shakeout run. We ended up getting lost (even with the help of the map haha) and just sort of explored Portland. We ended up down by the water on a super cute path along the water. There were old train cars along the route. It was adorable (and of course I had to stop get a picture). We also passed the art museum. They had free entry for the day that I wish I would have taken advantage of, but I did get to see a few sculptures outside. After the run, I showered and changed and headed out for dinner. We ended up choosing what felt like the only restaurant that served pasta in Portland. The food was AMAZING. I ended up having leftovers of my spaghetti and meatballs that made it all the way by to NYC with me but then I threw them out on the bus. I still regret that hahaha. From dinner, I came back to the hotel, laid out all of my gear for the AM, washed up and headed to bed. Alarms were set for 4 AM. I'm not a morning person, so I was worried about that. I ended up waking up before the alarm even went off. I usually wear sunglasses (yes, I still run in RayBan aviators but I will be "growing up" and getting real running sunglasses soon) and a hat if it's really sunny. I chose to leave both at the hotel. They would have been helpful on the race! I also did not take advantage of the amazing breakfast spread Nike had provided, which wasn't smart. If I could re-do the race (which I'd love to do again next year Nike!!) I'd make sure I fueled better. We all loaded on the Nike bus at 6:15 AM and headed over to Cape Elizabeth. The race was very well run! Fantastic organization. Brovo to race organizers. The course was hilly and it was hot and humid but beautiful. It was a huge test of mental strength. The first mile went by so quickly. I remember thinking to myself, I'm going to PR big time. Then shortly into mile 3 (there was a huge hill a the end of mile 2) I realized a PR wasn't going to happen. I picked up the pace a little in mile 4. Mile 6 was my slowest mile. I let myself get into my head. I was exhausted but I know I could have kept going with a better attitude. One thing that surprised me was there was no race medal. Now, I'm not complaining but I do love me some race medals haha. After the race, Nike staff were waiting for us with towels and cold water / Gatorade. The other runners got warm water, which may not seem like a big deal, but after running a hilly 10k in hot, humid weather, cold water was so needed. I was so thankful for Nike's generosity yet again. It felt so good to towel off and drink a nice cold water. From there, we all loaded onto the buses and headed back to the Westin to shower, change and check out. On the way home, we stopped an an amazing brewery called Rising Tide. We had a huge room to ourselves. They had lobster rolls (yum!!), Greek food, soups, salad and drinks. I stuffed myself with a lobster roll, corn salad and lobster bisque. It was simply amazing. At 2 PM, we all headed back to the bus for a group photo then off to NYC we went. We arrived back at around 8:30 PM. The train was every hour on the 11's so I had about 40 minutes to get from the Upper East Side to New York Penn. If I missed that train, I'd have to wait another hour and take the 10:11 train. One of the sweet runner actually offered to drive me! I was so touched with her kindness, but after traveling all day, I felt bad making them drive out of their way (if you're reading, you know who you are... and thank you again!). So, I called an Uber and headed on my way. My driver was amazing. I explained to him my situation and he said he'd do his best to get me there by 8:50 PM. Wouldn't you know it, he got me there 2 minutes earlier than I was hoping. I don't Uber often, so I wasn't sure if I could tip through the app and he goes "don't worry about that. I'm just worried about you getting your train". What an awesome guy (I was able to tip him through the app)! Wow, that ended up being a long one. Thanks for reading. And again, a huge thank you to Nike. I'm so thankful for this experience and hope to do it again! xoxo, Chelsea
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Don't let the drop in temperature cause you to drop your mileage! We've reached that time of year where snow fall is pretty common (at least in the north east US) and roads and sidewalks can have icy patches. If you're having trouble getting your runs in during the winter, I've got a few ideas that might help you out! First, you've gotta have the right gear. You'll want to have gloves, warm socks, reflective gear, a headlamp (if running at night), hat / ear protection. One thing to keep in mind is that it's really easy to overdress in the winter. If you overdress, you'll cause your body to get too warm which will make you sweat. Then, your sweat will start to freeze and you'll be even colder than you were to start with. It took me a while to find the right amount of winter gear. My best advice is to feel a little cold when you start. If you go outside and you're already warm, you've overdressed. If you're running while it is snowing, you may want something to protect your eyes from the snow. I would recommend wearing a hat and sunglasses. Don't care about snow flakes pummeling your eyes? Me either! Enjoy those frosty eye lashes. Be sure to show them off in your post run selfie! Go slow! I wouldn't recommend doing any speed work outside when there is snow and ice on the ground. It's too easy to slip and fall. Keep the pace down and be aware of each step you make. On particularly slippery days, I keep my cadence up and my strides short to prevent slipping. I keep my cadence up because if I hit some ice, my steps are quick so my foot has already been pulled off the ground, making the slip have less impact on my center of gravity. My goal is to have my foot begin to lift as soon as it has touched the ground. I try to pretend the road is lava and I'm lifting my feet off of it. Also, by making my strides shorter, I'm keeping the center of gravity right under me. Leaning forward or backward will make it harder for you to stop yourself from falling if you slip. Don't be afraid to take your run indoors. Running inside, you won't need to worry about the elements. Many gyms have indoor tracks and there is always the treadmill. If you're hitting the treadmill you can watch some Netflix or listen to a podcast. For me, doing either of those really helps to make the time fly! If you don't have a gym and are in the market for a treadmill, I've got a great resource for you! After all, a treadmill is a large purchase, so you're going to want to make sure you have the best one for your needs. Reviews.com has reached out to me with a great guide I wanted to share. It'll make choosing a treadmill so much easier. They've done a TON of research and they even put the treadmills to the test. Check out their full guide on treadmills here: https://www.reviews.com/treadmills/ Enjoy your run! Running in the snow can be really enjoyable. On a snowy day it seems like the world has slowed down. There are less cars on the road and less people out an about. Don't think about a to-do list or work, live in the moment. Take in the the sound of snow crunching beneath your feet. Look around at the trees with snow accumulating on the branches. Feel the crisp air. Catch a snowflake on your tongue!
Xoxo, Chelsea run because I genuinely love it. The freedom of getting out on the road is amazing. I love that its is competitive but also relaxing. Had a hard day at work? Heading out for an easy run can really help to clear you mind and unwind. At the same time, during a race your lungs may be burning, you may feel like you're going to vomit, you're worrying about if your pace and if you need nutrition. So many things! Then the feeling of finishing a race makes it all worth it. It's just an awesome feeling. I love that running has made me set goals and work my buns off to get to them. Running isn't just those things though, running has a TON of health benefits. Sports Fitness Adviser has an amazing list of health benefits from running. I highly recommend checking it out here. Since I discovered my love of running I have made a LOT of mistakes, so I wanted to talk about some tips to begin running. Things I've learned along the way. Hopefully, they'll help you avoid making the same mistakes. While, I'm not a fast runner, I'm a month and one day away from an injury free year and I'm proud of that. *I am not a doctor and this in no way should serve as medical advise. Consult your doctor before beginning a new working preogam* If you're new to running and are having trouble getting yourself to follow through, register for a race. This will give you something to work to. It'll give you a reason to lace up and run when you may otherwise not have gone out. And man, that feeling when the race starts is like no other. Pure adrenaline. Plus, you'll get your first race bib, probably get a t-shirt or medal. Save your bibs! It's so much fun to pull out all of the bibs you've worn and reflect back on all of your hard work. If you are running at night, there are two things that I believe are critical. 1: Reflective clothing and 2: a head lamp. I love shoes that have reflection, but I also wear a reflective jacket. If it's too warm for that, I also have a reflective vest. It's so important to make sure you're visible to cars. The headlamp is important to help you avoid any hazards like potholes or sticks. Before you lace up, make sure you have the right shoes and that they fit properly. I recently found my first pair of sneakers I ran in (see the above image). I decided take a trip down memory lane and lace them back up for a short run. I couldn't believe it, when I put them on they were too small!! I'd say at least 1/2 size too small. What was I thinking?! Just another example of how I did basically everything wrong when I first started! No wonder I always had blisters from them. Start slow. If you go out and try to run 5 miles and you've never fun before, you'll likely be in pain afterwards. So, don't do that! I began by doing walking and running. I'd go out for maybe 30 minutes and do a 5 minute warm up, stretch and then 20 minutes of walking running. Sometimes I'd set a time and do something like 3 minutes running, 1 minute walking. You can also use landmarks. Run to the stoplight ahead and then walk past the next three houses, etc. Keep it fun! This graph shows the number of miles I ran per month since I began running in September 2013. Notice the months with big spikes, then a lull? Those are all injuries. I'd have a moth with big numbers, then end up hurt a few weeks later. I had knee issues, I had shin issues. My body basically hated me (I'm so sorry for hurting you, body! ha) Finally, this year I've learned to slowly work into it. I've also embraced running slower paced training runs. The picture above is the perfect example of running way too fast. For an easy run, I now do about 2 minutes faster than my 5k pace (and monitoring my heart rate). I had just run a 5k eight days earlier at a 10:52 pace. Please, do not do this! My pace for the 6 mile run should have been in at least 12:5x. Maybe even in the low to mid 13 min mile not 10:57, which was almost exactly the 5k pace. Not to mention, I should not have gone from running a 5k (with 1 training run) to running 6 miles in EIGHT days. Speaking of starting slow, run slow too. It sounds counter intuitive, but running slow is really good for you and can help you become a better, faster runner. In the early stages of starting to run, you're building up endurance and your body is getting accustomed to doing a new activity. So, I wouldn't worry too much about speed.
I made the mistake of trying to run faster and longer than I had the week before. My joints hurt and it wasn't fun anymore. I think my biggest piece of advice is to LISTEN TO YOUR BODY. I put that in all caps because it is sooo important!! I could have prevented so many injuries if I would have listened to my body when I started running. If your shin is hurting, stretch and ice it. Maybe even considering resting a few days. It all depends on the level of pain. I knew something was wrong but tried to "push through" and ended up with a stress fracture, which mean no running for at least 6-weeks. So, I had I listened to my body, I could have taken maybe 1-2 weeks off and had my shin splints go away BUT because I didn't listen they got worse, turned into a stress fracture and made my recovery time SO much longer. Finally, make sure you stretch! I battled with my IT band hurting until I found a stretch that I do all the time now. Stretching is super important and will help you stay injury free. I made a whole blog post about my go to stretches here. I'd love to hear from you! If you have any questions about how I started running or any advice I may have (or any what NOT to dos), shoot me an email or comment below xoxo, Chelsea While the desire to improve is always there, sometimes the motivation to actually get out and do it isn't. I'm coming off of a week where I had no motivation to run or blog. My feeling is, if you want something, you should make time for it. I want to improve my running. I want to continue to blog. My lack of motivation kept me from accomplishing both last week. Normally, I'm pretty driven. But with everything, there are always ups and down. So far this week, I'm back on track which got me to thinking about motivation. One thing I will admit I'm actually good at is staying motivated. My personality is to go at things 150. My good friend K.S. said it best "You overdo everything you do". BUT there are times, like last week, where it diminishes a bit. It's important to re-set and re-motivate yourself. Don't get down on yourself because you had no motivation. It's normal. It happens to everyone. Let that go, and move forward.
Motivation isn't forever. You need to replenish your motivation every now and again. I'ts like a pillow that needs to be fluffed. It's like lipstick, you need to reapply it from time to time. Here are my tips and tricks to stay motivated: 1. Preparation. Before the week began, I sat down a listed all of the days I planned to run along with planned mileage. Now I've got something in writing that I want to complete. This will keep me accountable on days that I'm feeling meh, to get out an accomplish the daily goal I set for myself. I use a planner for this and it is EXTREMELY helpful. I do not think I'd hit my goals without my planner (Side note: I went jumbo sized again this year, up from large last year, and I'm in love. SO MUCH ROOM FOR ACTIVITIES, er, I mean WRITING). 2. Attitude change. I was treating things that I love like a chore. I choose to do these things because I love it. No one is forcing me to do it. Once I reminded myself the "why" behind running (and blogging), I was able to change my attitude away from treating running like a chore and back into the mind set that I'm lucky to be able to do it. I remembered how frustrated I was when I was injured and couldn't run. During those times, I said I'd never take it for granted and yet, I was. 3. Set goals. Having a purpose for what you're doing makes it a lot easier to stay motivated. For me this year, first I was training for Broad Street, shortly after that a half marathon and now I'm aiming 1,000 miles for the year. Knowing there is a bigger reason than just that one run is really helpful. 4. Bribe yourself. A new lipstick just came out that you reallly want? A top, sneakers, bag? Do not allow yourself to make that purchase until you hit your goal! This will give you some extra incentive to hit your goals on days your motivation is low. PLUS, you get something you've coveted. Sometimes, that "thing" you've been wanting, doesn't end up being as important as it was when you set your bribe. 5. Remember how you felt when you didn't accomplish your goal. Sometimes, it's important to reflect on a time you've failed. Don't beat yourself up about it. But remember that feeling. Remember all the 'what ifs' that you had. You know you could have accomplished your goal, but you didn't get out and get it done, Let that feeling fuel you to get out the door, or to write your blog post. You can do it, so get up and do it now. 6. Just do it: as Nike says, "just do it". There are days when I'm feeling lazy and do not want to blog or run. But I make myself do it anyway. Why? Oh. Because she's dead... whoops, went off on a T.Swift tangent.. Let's bring it back in (told ya, it wouldn't be my blog without a side note here or there). I will just make myself go out and run or sit down and write because a lot of times (most time), once I've gotten started, I remember why I do what I do. I remember the feeling you get from a run (runners high is real!). I remember how good it feels to get my brain moving to come up with ideas or colorful language. xoxo, Chelsea You may have heard the saying that running is 90% mental. I tend to agree with that and my mind certainly was not in it on Saturday. I was slow to get up, didn't have the proper nutrition pre-race and generally, unfocused. I didn't "feel" like warming up. I was just blah. Looking back, I'm a little disappointed that I wasn't more focused. My training has been consistent and I know I could have done better. I wanted to do the race and I was excited about it but race day, my mind wasn't having it. I'll be sure to make sure to be mentally ready for my next race. That said, I'd still call it a successful day. I had great weather and the best fan/photographer there to cheer me on (I'm looking at you, Rob).
I was the third overall woman! It was a small race, so that isn't as impressive as it sounds but, I'm still pretty proud. I've never been able to say that about a race I've done. Now onto the summary: Goal: 54:47 or faster Actual: 6.82 1:01:57 -> 6.2 finished in 56:05 (calculated via Smash Run) Mile 1: 8:15 Race starts and I'm feeling pretty good! It was a smaller race, so I'm keeping up with the front-ish of the pack. This race was really cool because they didn't shut the roads down, the cops were driving along with us and closing the intersections as we arrived. I've never seen such a presence for a race. Big shout out to the East Orange cops. They did an excellent job! Mile 1 ends, I'm at 8:15. During my half, my first mile was in the 7's so I'm already a little behind. I'll just be more consistent here than I was for the half, I think to myself. Only three miles and I'm half way, this'll be easy. Mile 2: 8:53 At this point, I'm already feeling it. The music isn't doing it and I'm just feeling blah. I look at my watch and I haven't even completed mile two yet?! What is going on? I feel like I'm running forever at this point. This blows my mind. I usually never do runs that are shorter than three miles, so why would I be feeling this way during mile 2? I realized at this point, it's going to be a longgg race. Mile 3: 9:24 I finally made it out of the terrible second mile. I know once I finish this mile, I'll be about half way and I can start concentrating on picking up speed and finishing. I thought mile three would be better than mile two. I was wrong! Early into mile three, I was passed by two woman, I was no longer the first place female. I was frustrated. I tried to keep up with them but my mind wasn't in it. After I was passed, I thought about walking, I thought about giving up, I thought about quitting. Instead of stopping, I bargained with myself. Slow down for this mile, use it as a recovery mile, and if you still feel like quitting, you can walk next mile. And so, that is what I did. Mile three was my slowest of the run. Mile 4: 9:16 During mile 4, I really focused on picking things back up. I knew my cadence took a hit during mile three, so I really concentrated on lifting my feet as fast as possible. This made running a little easier and I began to settle into the run. At this point, I was already half way, and I stopped fighting with myself so much. Mile 5: 9:20 I was not feeling it! I settled in during mile four but mile five was just a battle. I knew the end was coming, I knew I was almost there but I just couldn't get myself going. There was a lot of internal battling going on during mile 5. I also knew I wouldn't PR during mile 5. Mile 6: 9:07 I think realizing I wasn't going to PR today allowed me to relax and not be so focused on the time. I passed a few people at mile six. Quick side note: there was a father and son running together. The son was probably about maybe 7-8 years old, maybe even a little younger. They ran almost the entire race hand in hand. I was so adorable and definitely #goals for me with out (hopefully) future children! The final stretch: .82 miles 9:06 pace A true 10k is 6.21371 miles. Understandably, I was excited when I entered the final stretch. I've completed 6 miles, so not much more left! 6.2 miles came and went, I looked at my watch and saw the mileage climbing. 6.4... 6.5.... Is this ever going to end?! What felt like turn after turn, I like someone was playing a joke on me. I actually thought the race would never end and that I was lost. Finally, one of the police officers announces through their car PA system, "You're almost done! You're going to tun right, then left. Then you'll make a right and you're on the home stretch." I felt like I had run for a while after the announcement and still no end in sight. I almost asked some people if I was getting close to the stadium because I was desperate to finish! Finally, I made the last turn and saw Rob. I'm almost done!! I thought. I was elated!! While, my recap may sound like I hated the race, I really did enjoy it. I always enjoy races. I'll be doing this race again if they have it next year. I was just so mentally not in the right place that it made reflection back on the race seem so, well, negative! Saturday was a big wake up call about how important mental strength is. Running is 90% mental, couldn't ring more true. While I will continue to work to be a faster runner, I'll also be working on mental strength. While I haven't exactly figured out how to go about doing that, I'll be sure to share what I come up with! I hope you all had a marvelous weekend! xoxo, Chelsea I figured I'd kick my first post about my favorite things with a fitness edition. This felt fitting considering this blog basically started as just a diary about my workouts and somehow transformed into so much more than just running. I've linked the products on all titles of the favorite thing I'm talking about! Lululemon SpeedsMy local Lululemon store let me know they've recently changed the name to Speed Up shorts. When I tried the Speed Up short, it fit exactly as the Speeds did, fewh! Speed, excuse me, Speed Up shorts are my go to shorts. I like the length, the liner and the material. Speeds are my go to shorts, especially for races & long runs. I like the 2-way stretch and the 4-way stretch. One thing that surprised my about Speeds and Lululemon is the sizing. While I'd say their sizing is pretty consistent across the board for me. I had to go a size larger than I would have initially guessed. But once I got over the fact that size is just a number (no one cares what size you are if you're happy with yourself), I rock the fact that I'm a 6 in Lulu, loud and proud. The only con with these is they're a little expensive for shorts. Sometimes you can find them on clearance but most time these will set you back about $60. The quality and customer service from Lulu is FANTASTIC, so for me, the investment has been worth it. Here's a few pictures of me either pre or post race in my speeds. Talos Jump Rope
Thanks to a good jump rope, I’ve discovered that jumping rope is HARD. It’s such a good workout too. I also like it because you can learn tricks and switch things up. If you don’t have a good jump rope yet, I highly recommend incorporating one into your routine. Here’s a video showing some variations (and you can see how much I’m enjoying it). Lumo RunIf you follow me, I’m sure you’ve read my rave review of the Lumo run. This thing is incredible. Coming from a cheerleading and gymnastic background, I’m a sucker for good form. Heck, when I saw Cirque du Soleil, I cried watching the perfect form of the performers. It was stunning. With running, I wasn’t really sure what good form was, so I just fumbled my way through it. This lack of form was a big contributing factor to being injured pretty much all the time in 2015 and 2016. Since I’ve been using Lumo, my form has improved. My times have improved. My confidence in my running has improved. I’m recovering faster after races because I’m using good technique. Is my technique perfect? Nope! I still have yet to get all 5 aspects Lumo tracks into the green. I can’t say enough how valuable Lumo has been for me. I’m a Lumo ambassador (my opinions are 100% my own), if you use my code CWI10, you’ll get $10 off a Lumo of your own! Reflective JacketNow that it is starting to get darker earlier means it is important to stay safe if you're working out outside. Rob got me this AMAZING reflective jacket for Christmas. I honestly feel so safe running while wearing this because I know that people can see me. Mine is made by Kyodan. Unfortunately, it looks like they're not making it any longer but I've linked a similar one above. That wraps up my list of favorite things, fitness edition!
I'd love to hear from you. What are some of your favorite fitness related things? xoxo, Chelsea
If you've been following along, you probably already know my goal was under 2 hours. My last half, my official time was 2:09:20 in 2015. My first half in 2014 was 2:13:14. I knew it was a lofty goal to cut off 9:21 from my 2015 half, but I'd worked my tail off training, so I knew I could do it. Did I do it?! Nope! My official time was 2:03:30. Officially, I missed my goal by 3 minutes and 31 seconds. I thought I'd be really angry at myself for not hitting my goal, but I'm not. If anything, I'm even more determined to keep my training up and get to that goal. Once I'm under two hours, my goals will be adjusted and I'll keep chipping away at my time.
The course came up as 13.4 (it did also for my two friends who ran with me). I also had to stop to use the bathroom (which wasn't on a flat surface and felt like it was going to tip... scariest moment of the race haha). Nike+ said my half time was 1:59:37. But none of that is official and the official is all that matters. The race was extremely well organized. It started exactly on time. They also did a fantastic job of explaining how everything was going to work. My corral, number 7, got to the start line and were off and running at about 7:37 AM. Man, I'll tell ya. You can't beat that feeling once the race official starts. A total rush of adrenaline. I swear I had a huge smile on my face the first few miles. I've got some photos to show it, but I haven't purchased any. Once I do, I'll update and post those here. I was hoping to write this great race recap where I could tell you how I felt at each mile, but I can't. The race was a blur for me. The miles seemed endless and all ran together. With the exception of when I stopped to use the port-a-potty around mile 5, and that crossing the bridge over the Schuylkill seemed like torture. The DJ pumping music at the end of the bridge turned my attitude around and re-energized my mind. The course felt really long. Running Broad Street, I remember seeing City Hall, which I knew was about mile 6 and thinking "holy cow, I'm almost done". I never got that during this race. The miles (especially once the course left the city and went around the Schuylkill) seemed never ending. I remember thinking at one point the race would never end. I tried to relax and enjoy the moment. Yes, the races feel like they'll never end but they always do and when they do, it seems to have gone too quickly. It is a weird feeling and in the moment, I tried to remind myself of that and to really soak in all the excitement from the race. The week leading up to the race I ran twice. Three miles on Monday and two miles on Friday. I thought I'd have super fresh legs. But I didn't. Me, R, K and J walked around Philly the night before. We got to see a lot of the sites and it really made the whole weekend a great experience, but after walking over 5 miles, my legs were drained on Sunday. If I had to choose to do it again, I would. Memories like that don't happen often, so I'd rather be 3+ minutes off my goal. I've included some pictures of our adventuring above. A lot of things wrong for this race. I went out too fast. I'm usually so conservative running, but my body felt good for the first 3ish miles (minus my stomach acting up), so I just went with it. I didn't make myself slow down. Hindsight, I should have forced myself to pull back. I didn't eat enough before the race. I also didn't eat a proper dinner the night before, so my nutrition was way off. It was also humid. But all of those are excuses, I'm proud of my time. I've managed to cut off over 10 minutes from my first half and almost 6 minutes from my second half in 2015. I'm also proud of myself for staying positive (for the most part!). Yes, there were some moments it crossed my mind that maybe I couldn't do it or I should just quit, but I was pretty good about pushing those negative thoughts aside. Overall, am I disappointed I didn't hit my goal? Yes. Am I disappointed in how I did? No. I trained hard and consistently for the past 12 weeks. There are definitely some changes I'll be making to how I train (namely training at faster paces) but next half when I actually OFFICIALLY hit under two hours, it'll be an amazing feeling. Until I find my next half, I'm going to incorporate lifting, BBG and yoga back into my training. If I want to get faster, I'll need to be stronger too. If you have anything more specific you'd like to know, please let me know. That's all for now! XOXO, Run Wilk Week 11 is the last "real" week of my program. Week 12 is race week and much less of an overall workload than I have been doing. I had debated making the week easier, but as the week went on all my aches and pains from last week had gone and I decided to continue to follow the plan. Monday: 3 easy miles to kick off week 11. My legs were tired from the long run, but it felt good to get back out there and get some miles in. Monday also consisted of food shopping, meal prep and lots of re-organizing. It was kind of like a spring cleaning but in the *almost* fall. I also cooked a nice dinner when I got home. Simple but flavorful. I plan on writing some blog posts about what meals I've been doing. I like quick and easy prep with only a few ingredients for weekdays. I don't have all night to spend cooking, so I've found some go-to easy recipes that I do. I've included some pictures of meals I've been eating below. Let me know if there is any in particular you'd like to know the recipe for. Otherwise, stay tuned! Tuesday: My body was still very sore, so I decided to pump my rest day up. In it's place, I did some more fall cleaning and outfit planning. My goal it to incorporate more of my clothes into my fall outfits. I've got so many items I've just forgotten about in my closet. If they don't get worn this fall, I'll be donating them. I also took some progress pictures. I haven't taken them in a while, so I was curious. I tried to find pictures from last year, but I didn't have any. June 2016 was the most recent I was able to find. I should also compare to my heaviest to see a full difference from where I've come. All in all, happy with the progress. The June picture, I'm wearing a loose top and bottoms. September a sports bra and tighter shorts, happy to see not to much bulging out! Wednesday: Aka Fantasy Football draft day! I'm in two leagues, first draft started at 8:00pm and the second at 8:30pm (PS - not a really smart idea! I ended up with back-to-back picks in one league the same time I had to make my first round pick in my other league). When I got home from work the one league still wasn't set up so I spent about an hour trying to get it set up properly so the draft could happen. Once I knew the league was good to go, I put on one of my favorite athletic outfits of recent days and headed out for a rainy run. The temperature was great and the rain wasn't too hard but hard enough that it kept me cool. Hal's plan only called for 3 miles, but it was a day where I was just really loving running so I let myself do an additional mile. Thursday: What a mess Thursday was! I brought all of my stuff to change at the track and headed over. There were soccer players on the field and a few people in the stands. There was also a little girl playing on the track. So, I decided it's okay to run! I'm about 1 lap in and hear people cheering. Is this a game? I think to myself. Then I spot two walkers coming onto the track. If they're walking on the track, I can run on the track. So, I pass them an begin lap two. When I finish lap two, I notice they are no longer on the track and realize it was a game, not practice! I felt like such a jerk. I packed up my stuff and headed home. Lesson learned! I'll be contacting the high school for a schedule so this won't happen again. Sorry parents and athletes! Friday: Diverting from my plan a bit, I decided to do 6 slow miles on Friday. I wasn't worried about pace, I just tried to keep my heart rate low and enjoy the run and the weather was beautiful. Saturday: I spent much of the day Saturday procrastinating (which would become a theme for the weekend). I ended up braiding my hair, which got me motivated to run. Why? Because I wanted to see if it would stay in! So, out I went. My goal was to do 6.3 miles, which would put me over 20 for the week. Went out for a nice and easy pace. I very strongly believe that slow miles are the best kind. Sunday: I've been tossing around the idea of not doing the 2 hour run that the plan had called for. I watched football (Go Eagles!!) and at about 6 pm figured it was time to get my butt in gear and get a run in. At around mile 2.5, my stomach started to grumble. I figured I'd go out another 1/2 mile, turn around and run home to use the restroom and then come back out and do another 4 miles. So I started asking myself some questions: Do I really need to go back? Am I just using this as an excuse to possible stop running? If you go back now, will you get back on the road or just call it a night? Why don't you just keep going and see what happens? So, that's that I did. Next time I looked at my watch, I'd be running for over 45 minutes. Only 15 more minutes and I'd be half way for the 2 hour mark. I can do that! So it was decided, I was going to complete the full two hours worth of running. I didn't get home until a little after 8pm. I was tired and hungry! Was it worth it? Heck yes! Completing that run was a great confidence builder. My body recovered faster than the last 2 hour run. I needed to be out for 2 hours and I'm glad I followed Hal's suggestion.
Look what you made me do has been on repeat (seriously.) since it was released. I can't get enough! Naturally, I had to include reference to it here. I know there are a lot of mixed opinions about it, I actually wasn't crazy about it the first time I listened to it... BUT I did audibly GASP when she said "Because she's dead". Now, I'm obsessed with it. What do you think of it?
Also, have you heard the Toxic LWYMMD remix that someone did?! It's delightful! Check it out below:
But I digress, back to half marathon prep report.
​ Monday: As usual, Hal has the week start off with a 3 miler. Hal is a genius. It makes easing into a new week a little easier. It's such a nice way to kick off peak week. No major issues to report. My hamstring is still a little sore. I made sure to KT tape it and stretch. I also learned not to form roll on the spot it hurts like I had been doing (whoops!).
Tuesday: I had planned to do another Track Tuesday, but mother nature threw a wrench into that plan. I like running in the rain, so I decided I'd do my tempo run for the week. I dressed too warm, which I feel like I do every single time it rains... why do I have such a hard time dressing correctly for the rain?! Anyone else out there do that too? I need to make sure to follow Runner's World's guidelines next time. Run went smoothly. At one point, I was like oh I really like this pace and I was at 9:03, which is faster than my goal pace. That was a really cool moment!
Tuesday also provided a feel good moment. Without going into too much detail, I got to help reunite a lot senior doggie with his family. It made my heart feel very happy. ​ I also realized, I had officially had my highest mileage in a calendar month since I've started running (and there were still two more days left of the month!). I have also beaten the miles run in a calendar year, with 4 months left to go! After dealing with a lot of injuries these past few years, I can't even describe how good it feels to really be back and finally moving forward to become a better, faster runner. Former record for a month:
Wednesday:
Wednesday: 3 easy miles. This run officially took me over the 100 mile mark for the first time ever. What a great feeling to hit that mark. I've been steadily increasing my mileage, so I'm hoping to hit more miles in September than I did in August. That is all going to rely on how I feel after the half though. I'm hoping my training helps me get a quick recovery so I can get back out on the road.
Thursday: For some reason I did not feel like running at all on Thursday. I brought my running gear to work and forced myself to change and head to the track. During the warm up I kept thinking, maybe I'll just stop now. I can just come back and do the workout tomorrow. Before I knew it, it was time for my first interval. Man, my heart was just not in it. I stopped a few times, stretched out my hamstring (still bothering me bit) and assured myself that after this interval I could quit. Then something happened, it it hard to describe but it is almost like my heart got back into the run out of the blue. I was pretty happy for that two. Besides the disaster first interval, all other intervals were faster than my goal pace. Official workout: 1 mile warm up, 4 x 1600 with .3 mile recoveries and a 1+ mile cool down. Part of the issue for me, was during interval 1, I tried to go slower so I was in the 9:0X range. I had a hard time holding that. For the final three intervals, I just let myself go hard enough where I was working, but not so hard that I would be able to hold the pace. My body seemed to like being in the 8:5x range more than the 9:0x range.
Side note - this was the first time I've been on a track and someone was running the wrong way. I'm still really new to the track, but is this something you see a lot? Do you say something to the runner? There were maybe 10+ people on the track all going the same way. I'm not sure why this person would run the other way? All I'll say is it was very frustrating have to doge her twice a lap. Maybe there is a reason I'm not aware of because I'm new to the world of track workouts. If so, someone fill me in please!
Friday: REST DAY. *Insert happy dance here*
Saturday: I was supposed to do a 55 minute tempo run today. With my hamstring still bothering me, I decided to go out and do 5 easy miles. I was hoping this would get everything loosened up again. I'm not looking to get injured so close to the half. So, that's what I did. I went out and tried to keep my heart rate down. Average BPM was 147. ​ R & I also took the day to walk around the Great Swamp. It was really great to get out of the house and explore nature. The highlight for me was getting to see baby turtles. They were so cute and tiny!! I've included a few picture from the Great Swamp.
Sunday: Final run of the week & my IMO the hardest of the program. 2 hours running 3:1. If you're new to this (I wasn't sure what it was when I started this plan) 3:1 means you do 3/4 of the run at an easy pace and the final 1/4 at or near your race pace. I'm just realizing that as I write this I've been doing these wrong. I thought the last 1/4 of the workout was progressively faster. I can't believe I've messed up these runs the entire training cycle. For this run, I was in the mid to high 9's instead of the low 9's. That makes me a bit nervous for the half.
My body felt really good during the run. I was able to relax and just go with the flow. I did get a little bored towards the end, but besides that (and the fact that I did the run wrong) I'm proud of this run. Closing thoughts about peak week: This training cycle seems like it has been one step forward with confidence of hitting my goal and two steps back. I'm proud of myself for doing 6 runs this week. I'm proud of myself for doing 36 miles this week and for hitting 100 miles in August. Is this going to be the race I break the 2 hour mark? Deep down I believe I can do it. I feel like I'm ready but only race day will determine that for sure. It is also bitter sweet that peak week is over. It means the training program is coming to an end. I feel like I've gotten attached to the program and I'm not ready to see it end. Can anyone else relate or is this weird?! I'd love to hear from you. Feel free to shoot me an email, connect via social media or leave a comment. xoxo, Wilk After week 8, my body was exhausted. Thankfully for me, Hal sets his program up in such a way that week 9 was a lighter week. My hamstring was still sore so I decided to really keep it easy. I also mixed up the called for plan for the week, so it wasn't really according to Hal's plan. I went more on how my body was feeling. Here are some pictures from this week. Monday: We were out of town Monday at an amusement park. It was so much fun and we did a ton of walking. So, active rest day! Checkout this awesome coaster. It was seriously so scary, but so much fun. 100% recommend going on it if you ever have the chance. Tuesday: I was still quite sore from week 8 but from past experience I knew the type of soreness I was having would be able to be shaken off the soreness by doing slow runs. I had only planned to do 3 miles, but I could really feel the kinks getting worked off so I went a little further.
Wednesday: After Tuesday's run, I decided to switch things up and do some 5ish milers at a slower pace. I was feeling like my body was finally recovering but wanted to go a little further than 3 miles to keep working things out. This run was solely based on how I felt. Surprisingly, I ended up with negative splits on the last 4 miles. My final mile was 9:58. My body felt really great and I didn't feel like I was pushing myself at all. Overall, great run! Thursday: My body felt great for this run, so I decided to stick with about 5 miles. Temperature was great. Nothing to complain about today! Friday: I had a wedding to attend Friday night (Friday night weddings are my FAVORITE!). I knew I wanted to get a run in but hadn't really decided on length. I've been toying with the idea of wearing a cheerleading bow in my hair for the half, so I wanted to start wearing if during my training to see if it would be annoying to run with. Besides that, Friday's run was just based on feel. I ended up doing a little over 4 miles. Friday night was filled with celebrating love and lots of dancing. Wedding Style Details: My dress was from Rent the Runway (Get $30 off your first rental: https://rtr.app.link/e/aQa6l4d3YF (disclosure: I'll also receive a $30 credit when you use that link)) by the designer Parker. I've worn several of dresses by Parker over the years and I've loved them all. This one was no exception. It was comfortable, easy to dance in and the ruffled of the shoulder sleeve added a fun twist to the little black dress. Shoes are Badgley Mischka. They are actually the shoes I wore for my wedding. I've found other options here and here. Saturday: Planned rest day! After drinks, dancing and celebrating, I knew I'd want to use Saturday as a rest day. Sunday: My hamstring is still tight. It feels like it make have gotten worse. My guess is that all that dancing irritated it. I decided to use Sunday as a rest day. I need to be fresh for peek week! 18 miles for the week. BRING ON WEEK 10 aka peak week, baby!! xoxo, Wilk
My Week 7 is composed of 6 runs: 3 mile, 4 x 800, 3 mile, 45 minute tempo, 4 mile race pace and 1 hour 45 minutes 3/1. Runs completed during week 7: 5/6.
I knew I wouldn't be able to follow the plan exactly this week because I'll be visiting the shore so I changed things up. Monday: 3 rainy miles. It actually felt really nice to run in the rain. A nice change up from the brutal heat. I've been really focusing on stretching and foam rolling after my runs. I really neglected this and I think that is why I was hurting last week. Tuesday: Track Tuesday! My first ever. I feel like a big girl *said in funny voice*. I was really proud of this run. When I did the 400 repeats, I stopped completely after each one to recover. For the 800s, I did a recovery lap. So for the entire workout, I was actually running. I took one quick swig of water 1/2 way through but that was it. I did 1+ mile warm-up. Once I came around the track to the area labeled 800, I started my first repeat. I kept myself in lanes 3-5 (when people were in my lane, I'd move closer to the center or away from the center depending on my speed compared to theirs). I'm not sure if that added any meaningful distance, but I'd rather be doing a little bit extra than cheating myself. My fastest 800 was the third - 800m in 3:35. Side Note - I love SmashRun.com. It allows you to select portions of your run so you can break down your pace. It also gives you a ton of insights into your running data. I highly recommend! I've included my graph below from Tuesday's track workout. You can clearly see the 4 repeats. Repeat #3 was the fastest, followed by #4.
Wednesday: Long run of the week. So, as you may already know, I run but I'm not an advanced runner or anything like that so I'm still fumbling my way through this all trying to get better. So, I'm an idiot for doing this the day after speed work. More experienced runners probably already knew not to do their long run after speed work, but I didn't. I learned the hard way! When I first started, my legs were DEAD ? I thought to myself, "okay. I'll just do the full time easy pace and do the 3:1 next week". After a mile or two, I got into a groove and decided I wanted to do 3:1. I didn't have a gu, so I had to improvise and brought Jelly Belly Jelly Beans. It was fun to be surprised with what flavor I picked each time. I really liked when I got the pear flavor and the apple flavor. Both were light and refreshing. Not so much the chocolate, too heavy tasting. The cinnamon was flat out gross while running. Overall, I ate too many. I ate some before I ran and I ate a bunch while I was running. Too much sugar (I was still on a sugar high at like 10PM). Overall, they did what they were supposed to do! I felt re-energized each time I'd have a few. I probably won't use those for the 1/2 but anytime I get into a pinch, I certainly would.
So, I'm running and running. I tried not to concentrate on pace for the first 3/4 of the run and really focus on quick feet and how I felt overall. Following Hal's plan, the last 1/4 mile of the run needed to be progressing. Mile 8 and 9 were negative splits. Last two miles were in the 9's. Overall, 10:31 average pace. I made sure to really stretch well and foam roll after. All this foam rolling is turning me into a cheetah. See what I mean?
Thursday: Slow 3 miles. Goal was to keep my heart rate low, shake out my legs and just enjoy the run. Average heart rate was 152. A little higher than I would have liked for a run like this, so next time I'll be working on that.
Friday: We headed down to Wildwood, so no run today! I included a couple of pictures from the weekend below. Saturday: Rainy tempo run. It was raining so hard, I really loved it. It was such a nice change from the heat and humidity. I also LOVE running on the boardwalk. I wish I could run on them every day. It feels like so much less impact and there is so much to look at on the boardwalk that time flies. Sunday: I was supposed to do 4 miles at race pace. With warm up and cool down, it would have been about 6 miles but after driving home over 2 hours and walking a ton this weekend, I was exhausted and took a rest day. Kinda irritated with myself because I was so close to getting all my runs in. Missing runs like this will definitely come back to haunt me if I miss my goal for the half marathon. Week 8 has officially begun! We'll be traveling again this weekend, so I've got my schedule made up to make sure I fit in all of my runs. Tuesday will be a double workout to fit everything. I'll be sure to make a full post about how week 8 goes. XOXO, Wilk The Broad Street run was by far the most fun I’ve ever had during a race. I’ve already got my fingers and toes crossed that I get accepted through the lottery again next year. I had read a TON of tips for people running the Broad Street run the first time, and I still found there were a lot of things that I would have liked to know beforehand. So, instead of doing a race recap, I decided to put a list together of helpful information for anyone running the race for the first time:
Got questions about what to expect? Let me know!! XOXO, Wilk I was officially accepted into the Broad Street run yesterday. I'm so thankful that both my friend, KS, and I got accepted. So, I had run my first training run on Monday, but last night was my first training run after being accepted. As you may know, I've had two pretty bad injuries the past two years which has kept me from running. I've been lucky enough to be chosen to be a Lumo run ambassador and it has literally changed my life. Sounds like an exaggeration, I know... but it is not. Lumo run has made me realize how little I knew about running and proper form. I've already worked to improve my cadence, bounce and braking. I still have yet to have all areas of form to be "in the green" aka good but it is so encouraging to see improvement each run.
The feedback during my runs is so helpful too. They've really done a great job in making their tips understandable and applicable. For example, braking. At first I didn't even understand what that meant, let alone how to improve on it. Lumo explains that braking is "Braking is the measure of how much your speed slows down with every step. Each time your foot hits the ground, your speed drops temporarily until you push off of your foot to propel forward and pick up speed again." A high braking will mean that your speed is being slowed and your wasting energy having to propel forward. My first run, which Lumo uses to analyze your form, my braking was 1.59p ft/s. Good form considers a braking of 1.31 ft/s to be good form. My last run, I got it 0.94 ft/s. So, I can clearly see that I've improved, making me a more efficient runner. My body feels it too! During runs, I feel so much smoother and easy runs feel so much easier. I'm so excited to continue to share my progress with ya'll. If you have any questions, please let me know! Interested in picking up a Lumo Run, pick one up here: bit.ly/CWLumo and be sure to use my code CWI10 for a sweet discount! Week 1 of marathon training and BBG has officially come and gone! *See below for the week's schedue* I was supposed to do 4 runs and 2 BBG. I completed both BBG workouts and 3/4 runs. I did not do the 8 miler that was scheduled for Saturday because my IT band is still hurting. I had to force myself through a 4 mile run on Friday. Pretty much limped after. Figured, if it was that painful to get through 4 'easy' miles, doing 8 at a much faster pace would be painful or cause injury.
I've been incorporating glut bridges and "clammies" to strengthen the area and prevent more IT pain but I haven't seen the fruits from that labor yet. After some research, I found out that my foam roller isn't the best kind to help with IT pain. So, I ordered a new, tougher roller and rolled quite a bit last night. In some pain today, hoping it's just because the foam roller is doing its job. If I can't get this pain under control, I'm going to have to put a pause on my running. I don't want to chance hurting myself like I did earlier this year with the stress fracture. Anyway, I forgot how much I LOVE BBG. I was SO, SO sore after legs. But it was totally worth it. I love the program and can't wait to see the results I get this round. That's all for now! Stay fit my friends... XOXO, Wilk This is a race that almost didn't happen. I was sick all week and things just kept getting worse. Achy, tired, cough.. all the signs of a bad cold. When the alarm went off, I seriously contemplated skipping the race. I felt horrible. But thanks to my husbands reverse psychology, I got up and got ready. I really didn't expect much from myself because it was the sickest I've felt in a long time. I'd be happy if I could just finish the race.
I LOVE half marathons and I especially LOVED this race. The course was beautiful, it was very well organized and overall it ended up being a great day! My only complaint is that the course was long. I had it at 13.4 miles. Not to say it wasn't hard. Because it was! Especially around the 6 mile mark. I felt sick, my legs were tired and overall I had pretty much no energy. Thankfully I had a gu with me. Drank that and made it over the hump. Once I hit the 7 mark, the countdown began! Thankfully the miles really seemed to fly by during this race. All except for the last 2 miles. I tried to push my pace harder to finish the race but there was nothing in the tank. Those last two miles just wouldn't end. When I finally saw the finish line I got very emotional. I'm not sure if it was because I was sick, but when I finished and saw my parents and my husband I almost started crying hysterically. Tears of joy for sure. It was definitely emotional to finish. Click "Read More" to hear the results. Another race in the books! This race is the race that got me into running. It officially marks the end of 2nd full year of running. I’ll need to eat my words in this post… I mentioned winning my age group was an unrealistic goal… well, I actually ended up doing exactly that! I was SHOCKED to say the least. I earned a shiny new PR (only by 9 seconds) and I won an iPad at their raffle. To say it was a great day would be an understatement. I think my distance training really helped on this race. The 3.11 miles flew by! Before I knew it I was up the highest elevation part of the course and heading toward the finish line. I think one area I didn’t focus on enough were intervals. Prior to my stress fracture, I was doing intervals a few times a week. I was getting a lot faster. I’ll be adding intervals back in and strides a few times a week. I’m also going to add in the Bikini Body Guide workouts again. They were killer and definitely made me stronger and faster. Next year is the 20th race, so it’ll have a lot more participants and I’ll be in a new age group. If I want to place in my age group again next year, I’ll really have to step up the training. This week is my peak week for ½ marathon training. I’ve got over 45 miles scheduled for the week. I hope my body keeps up! My 10 miler tomorrow is going to be split into 2 runs (5 miles in the morning and 5 miles after work). My long run of the week is 14 miles! I can’t wait for the ½… it’s going to be a great time and I’m beginning to think I like running longer distances better than short. I’d love to hear from you. What races do you have coming up? Hope you all have a great week! Hi everyone! I've been MIA once again. Things have been pretty crazy, first vacation, then starting a new job but I've got my act together and will be regularly posting once again. September 13th marked my 1 year anniversary of blogging. Crazy how fast time flies. I still remember creating my first post like it was yesterday. I'm reminded of the feeling especially because the 5k that I had blogged about is taking place this Sunday. Which leads me to lesson #1: Unrealistic GoalsAfter setting a realistic goal for the 2014 Berkeley Heights 5k, I proceeded to set an unrealistic goal for 2015. Win my age group. The difference between a 27 (and change) minute 5k and a 21-23 minute 5k is pretty large. A more reasonable goal, would have been to get a goal of top 3 in my age group. You live and you learn. So, I've adjusted my goal to place in the top 3 of my age group. Another unrealistic goal I had set, was to run 1,000 miles in 2015 (I only realized 6 months into it I had run less than 1/3 of that in the entire 2014). Running 321 miles in 2014 and expecting to TRIPLE my mileage in one year? Not realistic (and likely not healthy). It took my a while to come to terms with it. But, I've already completed 445 miles for the year and am looking to finish the year between 600-700 miles. Setting goals is a difficult act to balance. You don't want to set a goal that is too easy to achieve and you don't want to set a goal so high that you can never meet it (I'm talking shorter term goals). Long term, I want to run a 5k under 20 minutes (realistic). Setting that as a goal for 2015 = unrealistic. Don't set yourself up for failure like I did with TWO goals this year. Eventually, maybe I will win my age group, and I'm going to run as fast as I can on Sunday to try and make that happen. If I don't, guess what? That doesn't mean I failed. It just means my timeline to reach the goal was wrong. Sunday's Goals:
Back on trackAs I mentioned earlier, my posting has been sporadic at best. I've used the excuse of recovering from my stress fracture and even vacation but it's time to get back on track!
This time of year, I begin using my new planner. Today is that day. I've transferred all of the dates from the old, into the new and a commitment to myself to post regularly again. Future posts to include: more recipes, results from the 5k this weekend, organization tips and running / fitness / bikini body guide updates. Stay tuned! Week 9 has come and gone! I completed all four of my marathon training runs for the week but my bikini body guide week 9 workouts carried into week 10. This morning I did week 9 abs & after work I did week 9 legs to finish out the week. My legs are puddy! I had to modify a few exercises because I only had one bench. But wow. Really hard day! Bring on week 10! Running has been going better than expected! The interval runs are very challanging but I feel so accomplished when I finish. This week is going to include some new running shoe shopping! My poor Pumas are almost dead but I'm hoping to keep them around for short races because I love the two color shoes in one pair. In week 9, I ran only 14.9 miles but my pace was much faster than usual - 8:49! 178 miles or about 18% to my goal of 1,000 miles for the year! I can't believe month 2 is over! One month left of the bikini body guide 1.0... Interested to see how difficult 2.0 is! Now for running... The building up phase is complete and the general phase has begun. This phase is preparing me for the main phase, which is the most difficult part. I'm really enjoying the interval training and can't believe I'm able to survive running 7:30 intervals for 3 minutes. Even with a missed long run, I am still on pace for 1,000 miles! Week mileage: 26.3 - average pace: 9:40 Month: 68.9 miles - average pace: 9:51 Miles in 2015: 163.3 My favorite Puma shoes are almost at the 300 mile mark... Looking into new shoes to rotate. I'm thinking Hoka One Cliftons. Anyone ever use those? I've heard good things and it has great reviews. Week 4 recapThis week included my longest run ever: 2 hours and 2 minutes. It was only Monday of the week and I was worrying about the run. Would I be able to complete it? My left knee has been bothering me. Nothing major, just enough to be a nuisance running. I made sure to really stretch through the week, which seemed to help! So, week recap:
Monday: 40 minute Gipis marathon training run and Week 4 BBG Arms and Abs Tuesday: Week 4 BBG Legs and Cardio Wednesday: 40 minute Gipis marathon training run Thursday: 40 minute Gipis marathon training run Friday: REST Saturday: 2 hour and 20 minute Gipis marathon training run Sunday: Week 4 BBG total body The last time I ran over 2 hours was my 1/2 marathon back in October. By the end my body hated me and I felt like I was 100 years old. I was expecting to feel the same after my 2 hour and 20 minute training run, but surprisingly, I did not! I'm really impressed with how well my training has prepared my body for the run. I'm not an experienced runner, so for me 2 hours and 2 minutes is like "whoa!". I took goos with me, which ended up being expired.. YUCK. I only had one though. The texture wasn't right and as I finished the first one, I had a feeling it was expired. Thankfully my genius husband suggested I bring clementines with me. So, he pealed and separated a clementine out for me and bagged it up. It really helped! It was weird chewing the first few times. But I felt better each piece I ate throughout the run. I also noticed that at the end of this run my stomach didn't hurt. After my 1/2 marathon, my stomach was upset for the remainder of the night. I must admit I almost cried when I got home after my run. I usually run Gipis & Nike+ simultaneously, but for a long run I was concerned my battery wouldn't last so I only ran Gipis. With about 20 minutes left my music stopped so I took my phone out of the inside of my jacket. Somehow, I'd gotten locked out (I'm guessing that it considered my jacked rubbing an attempt to unlock and after a few 'bad tries' it locket). I try to unlock my phone and it said to wait 1 minute. I'm panicking! I know I have about 20 minutes left because it gave time remaining updates every 10 minutes from 40 minutes down to 10 minutes. The last I had heard was 30 minutes and I knew I had run almost 10. Finally, I get my phone unlocked and it says 21 minutes left. I decide that my phone will not freeze in 20 minutes so I put my armband back on over my jacket. 10 minute warning comes and goes... I'm in the parking lot near my house. I usually have to run around the parking lot at the end of my runs so I take a peek at my phone to see I have a little of 3 minutes left... then it happens. Music stops. No big deal, I think to myself. Then I realize my phone completely turned off. It must of crashed because when it turned back on I had 60% battery. So, I don't know my splits and I don't know if I beat my half marathon time. I think I might have because I ran the entire time, during my half marathon I had to walk a few times. But, I'll never know. I think I am going to invest in a GPS watch so that doesn't happen again. What type of GPS watch do you use? So, here is the total of my first month's journey to 1,000 miles Week 4 mileage: 25.7 miles Month 1 miles: 94.4/80 905.6 miles left! This week included 4 runs, 3 were 25 minutes and the final run of the week was a 1 hour and 50 minute run. It also included the two required bikini body guide workouts (I excluded the optional workout this week and added an additional recovery day).
All three 25 minute runs were done inside on the treadmill. I cannot understand why these three short workouts felt like an eternity but the 1 hour and 50 minute run felt quick. I need to make peace with the treadmill because with all the projected snow, I will not be getting in as many outside runs as I would like. For my long run, I accidentally left my Nike+ app on inside mode so it kept saying my average pace with in the 9’s. I was pretty bummed out when I finished and looked at Gipis and noticed it was actually 10:13. Still faster than the 10:26 that Gipis has recommended. I was very sore from BBG legs so I included lots of foam rolling. After my long run my left knee has been irritating me. I’ve foam rolled, stretched and taken extra rest days without any impact. It still doesn’t feel right. I will definitely be using rock tap on it for my 2 hour and 20 minute run this week. This week’s lunches includes roasted red potatoes and cubed chicken covered in a spicy tomato sauce. The threat of snow seems to be inevitable. We are predicted to get 2-3 feet. Not sure how I am going to get three 40 minute runs and a 2 hour and 20 minute run in. I’ve decided to start incorporating Insanity workouts into the routine. Substitute a total body BBG workout for Insanity. I want to keep things new and exciting (and keep my body guessing). So here are the totals: 18.5 miles for the week 68.7 miles for the month 931.3 miles left (approximately 7% there!) Week 2 does not technically end until Saturday but weather dependent I will not be running again until Sunday.
This week’s workouts were: Monday: Rest Tuesday: AM- Bikini Body Guide abs and arms, PM- 1hour 5 minute Gipis (running app) run Wednesday: AM- Bikini Body Guide legs and cardio, PM- 1hour 5 minute Gipis run Thursday: 1 hour 5 minute Gipis run Friday: AM- Bikini Body Guide full body Saturday: Rest *weather permitting – if it is supposed to rain all day Sunday, I will be running on Saturday* ***UPDATE: Weather did not work on my side, so I had to run on Saturday. This caused some differences in running totals.*** This week is the longest run time wise per day of my training program. Four runs of 1 hour and 50 minutes. It doesn't sound like it is that much, but I am also doing the Bikini Body Guide and didn't want to neglect those goals because of running. Monday was a much needed rest day after running Friday, Saturday and Sunday the week before. Tuesday was a great day, I felt great during both workouts. I am surprised how great I felt, had negative splits and completed the run with an average pace 34 seconds per mile less than the program called for. Wednesday = death! Felt great after the morning workout but when it came time to bundle up and run after work that day I was just exhausted. I learned a valuable lesson from it. Love the process. The first 3 miles of the run I fought with myself, “I don’t wanna do this”, “I wanna go home”, “UGH”… once I realized fighting with myself wasn't accomplishing anything, I gave in and decided to embrace the process. Part of the realization came from knowing that at my current pace I wasn't going to complete the run in the recommended time. To me, what was the point of even running if I wasn't going to meet the goal for the day, so I gave in and began to enjoy it. After embracing the process I was able to finish with an average pace 2 seconds per mile faster than the plan. I was so drained after the run though. I decided to take the morning off the next day and focus on finishing the run after work. It ended up being the right choice. Thursday’s run 16 seconds under the program goal. Although I almost didn’t go, (thank you hubby for encouraging me to run) I really enjoyed getting out and just running. I feel fortunate that I’m able to go out and run. I’m really trying to remember that every time I go out. Friday completed week two of the bikini body guide with a full body workout and the end to a long week. To sum it up: Week total: 33.4 miles Total 2015 miles: 50.13 Only 949.87 left! I'd love to hear from you: What races are you registered for in 2015? I haven’t registered for any yet but know I want to do several 5ks, maybe a 10k and a ½ marathon. 2016 will be the year of my first full marathon! 1,000 miles in 2015 has officially begun and here is a quick a recap of my first week at it… I’m still sick. This stubborn head cold / sinus infection won’t seem to let up but I had to push through and run anyway! As a note – I’m not just running to reach my miles; I’m following the Gipis marathon training program to prevent over use and increase speed and endurance. The week called for three 55 minute runs and a 1 hour and 5 minute run. I ran Monday (see previous blog post), tried to run on the dread-mill Tuesday and failed miserably. I didn’t even reach the mile mark before I called it quits, more running Friday, Saturday and Sunday for a total of 22.9 miles. In addition, I re-started the bikini body guide and did the 2 required circuits Tuesday and Saturday. The hardest run by far was Monday, I was very sick and breathing was hard but I pushed through and managed to get the run done.
This week is going to be a very difficult week. I’m actually exhausted just planning the workouts. The week plan includes three 1 hour and 5 minute runs, a 1 hour and 20 minute run, and 3 bikini body guide workouts. The plan is to rest today. My body is exhausted after the weekend. Morning workout of the bikini body guide circuits: Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and after work runs: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. This will allow a rest day on Friday so I can complete the 1 hour and 20 minute run on Saturday or Sunday. The following week will be much easier. The runs decrease to three 25 minutes and an hour and 55 minute run. Looking forward to that break! So, to sum it up: 22.9 miles completed 10:32 average pace 977.1 miles left or 2.29% complete My journey to 1,000 miles in 2015 began last night with a 5.27 mile run. My mileage was right on target if I complete 4 runs per week. Running in 25 degree weather on a dark windy night is not an easy task. But running on a night like last night while sick made it even harder. Breathing was very difficult, my goal wasn't to concentrate on pace but just to complete the run. I ended up being the exact pace my training plan called for though. The difficulty of the run was a wake-up call about how hard this journey will be. There are going to be days that i'm sick or tired and don't feel like running. But I need to keep pushing if I want to reach 1,000 miles in 2015. Before embarking on my 1,000 mile journey in 2015, I’ve decided to write a little about my journey and how I’ve ended up here.
From about the time I was able to walk I was doing gymnastics and cheerleading and as I got older I was active at least 5 days a week, often having two workouts a day. Fast forward to college – I decided to quit the D1 cheer team that I was on and eventually transferred schools and joined their D3 squad. I had managed to stay active and never really gained too much weight. College came and went and I began a desk job. The weight really started to pile on (I’m only 5’3’’ so any weight gain really shows). Eventually, I got engaged and lost the weight (full disclosure- I lost weight the wrong way) to fit into my wedding gown for my 2011 wedding. After the wedding, the weight just started piling on. I understand that some people would not have considered it “piling on the weight” but to me I was fat and unhappy with myself. Each person’s fitness and health journey is their own and no two are the same. I felt miserable, stopped caring about clothes and avoided taking pictures like the plague. I didn’t want to face that I had let myself get so out of shape. 2012 through September 2013: I realized I needed to make a change and completed 3 rounds of insanity. Towards the end of 2013 I registered for a 5k with my sister and discovered my love of running! September 2013 – August 2014: Running, cross training: stair master, bike, weights, etc. August 2014 – December 2014: Bikini Body Guide – completed the entire 12 week program without skipping a single resistance workout & continued running. So here I am… the conclusion of 2014 and I’ve decided to run 1,000 miles in 2015. Along with that, I’ve also gained a new outlook on eating. I’m trying a new program where I’ll be eating a much larger breakfast than I currently do and smaller meals after. I know people who’ve gotten great results. I’m going on vacation in August and my main goal is to feel amazingly confident in a bikini. I LOVED being in a bikini back in the day – I really took that for granted and will fight to get it back! |
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