Carmel Week 8: Unstoppable to Unsure

Unstoppable to Unsure

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James' buddy had a Mario Brothers/Poop Emoji birthday party.

After a rough week last week, I entered this week feeling a little more fresh. The snow wouldn't stop, so I got a lot of use out of my new YakTrax. The poor road conditions and cold temps also forced me to slow down the pace. It was probably the best thing for my legs this week. The YakTrax gave me fearlessness that allowed me to glide over the poor road conditions without feeling like I was going to fall on my butt. After a couple of easy snow runs, my legs killed my speed workout. I came out of it feeling great and wishing I had run faster. After two more easy runs, I had to conquer another long run. It wasn't that great and left me questioning my ability to meet my goal.

Silly fun.

• 1/15: 6.28 miles, 9:35/mile; Shoulder workout, 30 minutes. This was an interesting run. So much freaking snow on the ground. Sarah and I could only hope we'd make it out alive. I used my yak trax for the second time. Boy do those things work! Since it was hill surge day, I was a little nervous about doing them with the weather conditions. We found a hill at the end of a road that was fairly clear and decent enough to get the job done. Despite the difficulty running through the snow, this was actually a pleasant run.
  

  

  A bit frosty.

• 1/16: 8.52 miles, 8:13/mile. Workout: 10 minute warm up, 20 minutes steady, 15 minutes faster, 10 minutes faster, 5 minutes fastest, 10 minute cool down. This is the same workout I had three weeks ago. My goal was to attempt to run it just a tad faster than the first time. I ran it on the treadmill last time as well. That made it easy to determine my pace goals. The entire run felt to smooth! I couldn't believe it. When I finished, I almost wished I had pushed it a little more. Either way, I'm very happy with how I did.
  

  

  

  Practicing towards my goal of doing a handstand this year.

• 1/17: 9.5 miles, 9:23/mile; Chest/Back workout, 30 minutes. What a chaotic day! My planned group run was cancelled due to the pre-wind chill temps predicted to be in the negatives. It was actually 9 degrees which is totally doable. UGH. I decided I would just hit up the treadmill after work to get my 60-85 minutes. We are currently house hunting and have been heart broken 4 times already due to homes already being in contract. We FINALLY got a call to actually look at a house! I could not pass up the opportunity. Therefore, I had to cancel my running plans AGAIN. After drama and chaos I could have done without, Sarah told me she could join me for some post-work miles! No treadmill AND a partner...yes please! I completely failed to wear my night gear. It didn't cross my mind that the sun was setting and that we'd be ending our run in the dark. Our neighborhoods are still full of snow which made the run a little more difficult. We got the miles and felt like rock stars when we finished.
  

  

  YakTrax are amazing!

• 1/18: Yoga, 1 hour. After killing myself during the yoga workout last week, I opted for something a little more low key. I did a 10 minute core yoga workout followed by 35 minutes of restorative yoga. I then practiced some arm balances and inversions for another 15 minutes.
  

  

  Improving my wheel pose.

• 1/19: 6.04 miles, 9:06/mile. Easy miles with strides...although, my strides were more like "move your legs the best you can in this freaking cold weather." I didn't have any work, so I was able to meet Britt just after Jimmy left with the kids. We did the first 4 miles together before we split off so she could get some faster ones. I'm so happy to be finished with coffee in hand!
  

  

  Post run coffee in a mug is my favorite.

• 1/20: 18 miles, 9:18/mile. Meh. It was better than last week, but still not as great as I typically feel on my long runs. Slightly discouraging. I'm not sure if it's the weather or something else. Oh well. I met my lady, Lisa B, for the first 8.5 miles. I then joined CRC for their group run in Westerville. The group run was on the Alum Creek Trail which was still pretty messed up from the snow. There were some clear areas, but a lot of slick spots as well. I didn't wear my yak trax today thinking I wouldn't need them. I was supposed to run my last three miles faster with my personal goal being my marathon pace. The first was 8:17, but I kept slipping and sliding on the ice. The snow also made it tough to keep pace. I decided it wasn't worth a fall and slowed down for the last two. I still ran them under 9 minutes, but not even close to race pace.
  

  

  Also improving my eight angle pose.

• 1/21: 3.38 miles, 18:07/mile. After skipping my walk last weekend for a rest day, I was finally able to connect with Meg again. We met in New Albany for an hour stroll. The weather was finally appropriate enough for Sophie to join us.
  

  

  Completely pooped after her walk.

  
  

  

  Send up a prayer that this girl has her baby before February 17th! [ME, Meg]

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As the week ended, I just kept thinking about how happy I was that I still have 10 weeks to train for this race. For whatever reason, I'm not feeling super confident about achieving my goal. I think I'm getting the winter blues.

Our home starting February 27th.



Carmel Week 7: From Tired to Dead Tired

From Tired to Dead Tired

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A yoga first! Side crow pose.

Last week's weather postponed my long run to Sunday. Because that run included some snow, I was more sore than I'm used to dealing with after a long run. I hopped into this week not feeling as rested as usual. By the time Wednesday rolled around, I was whooped! It took a lot of mental power to get through my Wednesday run knowing that I'd get a running rest day on Thursday. I just needed to pick a cross training activity that didn't tire out my legs! FAIL. Even though my yoga workout focused more on core and upper body, you can't really avoid working your legs. I felt like complete crap during my long run. Just a tough week overall.

• 1/8: 6 miles, 9:07/mile. Hill surge day. I forget the situation outside, but I don't run on the treadmill for fun, so it must have been stupid out there. I set the treadmill to a stupid easy pace for most of this run. I WAS TIRED! When I got to the last 10 minutes of my run, I incorporated my 10 hill surges by increasing the incline. I left this run wondering how I'd survive speed the next day. 
• 1/9: 8.91 miles, 8:10/mile. Icy roads and track took me to the mill again. I don't mind risking it for an easy run, but not when speed is on the plan. One of these days, I'll be able to do my track workout on an actual track. Workout: 10 min up, 9x800m w/400m recovery, 10 min down. I was instructed to run the 800s in 3:38. The closest treadmill setting was a 7:13/mile pace, so I went with that. It wasn't as horrible as anticipated considering how I felt the day before. I was still tired going into it, but I tolerated the workout well.
  

  

  Post run smoothie, y'all.

• 1/10: 8 miles, 9:17/mile; Bis/Tris, 30 minutes. Jesus take the wheel...or my running legs. I was so freaking tired when I woke up. Not as much sleepy as fatigued. I knew it would take all the mental power I had to will myself through 70 minutes of running. I'm glad I had some buddies to help me through it. I was motivated by the increased temps. Although, dressing for today confused me since I've gotten used to triple layers! Today called for all easy miles...thank goodness. There was only one section that was slightly slick, and our only near death experience was at the beginning. It involved a coon....CREEPY!!!
  

  

  A not as cold morning.

• 1/11: Core Yoga Video, 50 minutes. Cross training day. I wanted to give my poor legs a break after putting in a lot of miles the past four days. I opted for a yoga workout that focused more on upper extremity and core. Gosh it had me sweating!
  

  

  This was a pretty tough pose to hold!

• 1/12: 18 miles, 9:16/mile. About that long run (insert all the eye rolls). I told my pals that it felt like mile 22 of a marathon...but for 18 miles. Here's the situation. Columbus was supposed to get the crazy ice/snow storm Friday night, and the temps were drastically going to drop from the mid/high 50s to the 20s. WTF. Because of this, I decided it would be a good idea to get my long run out of the way. It was 57 degrees when I woke up! Shorts weather, baby!! I met Sarah at 5:30 a.m., and we set off for 6 miles before coming back for Brittaney. I was unusually tired when we started. I figured it was all in my head because Coach wanted me to try a carb depleted run. I was so freaking hungry. I tried to forget about how I felt assuming I was being mental. I think the humidity was a factor also. I quickly stripped to my sports bra because I was dripping in sweat. After the first 6 miles, I knew this wasn't going to be a good situation. I was toast already! How in the heck was I going to finish 12 more miles?! I felt so famished that I took a gel when we dropped her off after 10 miles. I was hoping it would help me in some form or fashion. IT. DID. NOTHING. O.K...8 more miles. I can do this. Up to this point the predicted rain held off. There were spotty drops here and there, but nothing significant. When Britt and I sat off for the rest, I got to the point that I had to stop for a few seconds. I just couldn't will myself to keep going. I ended up telling Brittaney to go ahead of me. I knew that I felt worse holding her back. She was kind enough to oblige to my request. At this point, I had run about 13 miles. My goal for the rest of the run was to turn my watch off of the pace setting so that I wasn't tempted to look, and then take the run one mile at a time. If I could make it through a mile, I gave myself permission to stop a few seconds and stretch. My freaking hips were so tight. It felt so good to give them a little stretch. I spent the next 4 miles trying my best to enjoy the misty sports bra run. As I approached 17 miles, I thought I might actually pass out. I prayed like never before that something would change. Seconds later, the sky opened, the rain started pouring down, and the wind was out of control. It felt like the temperature dropped in a matter of a minute. I stopped to put my t-shirt back on and made my way to my van. Normally I wouldn't like this change in the weather, but the rain and wind made it cold enough that my body went numb and I couldn't feel my pain! LOL. My last mile was 30+ seconds faster than the previous solo miles because I just wanted to be done. I went home, showered, made breakfast, and spent the next two hours drinking coffee, stretching, and relaxing. UGH. So glad that's over.
  

  

  Look how much I slowed down after 13!

• 1/13: Stability and chest workout, 30 minutes. Because my legs felt like crap yesterday, I saved my stability exercises for today. I added some chest exercises after finishing those. It made for a nice gym date with the hubs.
• 1/14: 6.3 miles, 9:41/mile. When I saw the weather forecast for today, I knew the right person to call. Katie mentioned to me recently that she loves a cold, sunny run. We planned a post-church run party with a special appearance by Noemi. I used the snow covered roads as an opportunity to try out my new yak trax.
  

  

  Post run selfie with my lady love.

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Side note: I don't want you guys to think I've been slacking on my strengthening. Zach incorporates a lot of leg and core training into my workouts. I just don't bore you with the details! Fortunately, it allows for me to focus more on upper extremity strengthening when I have a chance to lift...which is hopefully helping with my yoga!

Carmel Week 6: A Change in Mindset

A Change in Mindset

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Roop LOVES playing with Parker at Ms. Jane's.

Let's see if I can adequately articulate what has been in my head this week...

I've heard people say, "Think of your race as the reward for all of the hard work you've put in." I wanted to take that a step further and relate it to each week of training. Instead of getting nervous about my speed workouts, I want to look at them as my opportunity each week to get the crazy out and allow my mind and body to stay focused on the task. They are my reward for be disciplined with my easy runs!

I spent some one on one Starbucks time with my boy.

Update on my back: I think I mentioned that I hurt my upper back last week after trying to increase my resistance and doing too much work/lifting around the house. It was bothering me just a bit the first half of the week, so I avoided yoga and lifting arms just to be safe. I attempted a yoga workout on my cross training day and had no issues!

• 1/1: 6.2 miles, 8:54/mile. Hill surge Monday (10x10 seconds). More craptastic weather prompted me to hit up the gym for my workout. I wasn't really sure which incline to set the treadmill to for my hill surges, so I had to do a little testing on the first two. I ended up deciding on 6.0 incline with my pace ranging 7:14 to 6:59.
  

  

  A little New Year's cupcake baking.

• 1/2: 8.04 miles, 7:58/mile. Speed workout: 10 minute warm up, [8 minutes challenging/3 minutes steady] x4, 10 minute cool down. Again, due to weather, I did this on the treadmill. It was a tough one by the end!! My paces were as follows: WU- 9:13/mi, steady- 8:13/mi, CD- 9:05/mi, challenging interval paces- 7:24, 7:21, 7:19, 7:19. I had this same workout a few weeks ago and I was able to run it a tad faster this time! Per usual, I was ok for the first 2 1/2 intervals, but it started feeling tough after that. EEK.
  

  

  So tired.

• 1/3: 8.85 miles, 9:03/mile. Today was a simple 60-80 minutes of easy running. The past couple of weeks, I've been running closer to the 60 minute mark because I was either pooped or cold AF. This week, I had the opportunity to run in the sun. It was cold, but at least the sun made an appearance occasionally. I explored a couple of streets in Hilliard for potential future homes. No such luck on anything today.
  

  

  A bit nippy.

• 1/4: Yoga, 45 minutes. Today was cross training day, and I was dying to use my new yoga mat. I found a YouTube video and was brave enough to do it in front of strangers at the gym. I can't wait to wake up to sore muscles in the morning!
  

  

  
  

• 1/5: 6.12 miles, 8:59/mile. I took my legs to the treadmill for the THIRD time this week. Even though it's not the most optimal situation, I haven't hated it yet. Today's run was easy with 5x30 second strides in the last 10 minutes. To switch things up a bit, I took Amanda up on her offer to run at Lifetime Fitness. I'm looking forward to gaining 20 degrees on Sunday so that I can avoid doing my long run on the mill.
  

  

  
  

• 1/6: 3.27 miles, 19:09/mile. So f'n cold...so, so cold. I met Meg at Schneider's all bundled up for a 1 degree (not considering wind chill/real feel temp) walk. We were frozen to our bones, but we got donuts to help us with the mental part of that.
  

  

  Frozen toes and fingers...at least our faces felt good! [ME, Meg]

• 1/7: 16.25 miles, 8:46/mile. What a roller coaster long run planning has been the past couple of weeks! I opted to wait until Sunday after church because it was supposed to be in the low 30s. Heat wave!!! It ended up being low 20s and windy, but still better than single digits...especially since I was supposed to attempt some faster miles at the end. I met up with Amanda for my first 6 miles. We nixed my original route due to lots of snow. Amanda's not a fan of it (I will admit that it does irritate my piriformis a bit). We avoided the snow, for the most part, in this 6 mile section before meeting Brittaney and Elizabeth for the last 10 miles. Again, I had to alter the planned route due to the road/trail conditions. As we headed into New Albany, there were many sections that it was impossible to avoid the snow. The only time it truly sucked was when we got to the faster miles. You can only go so fast when running in snow! I was able to knock out a couple of miles in 8:33 and 8:32 despite the conditions, and finally a road mile of 8:03 to end the run. I'm confident that my other faster miles would have been in that area had they been on the clear road as well. Regardless, we had a great run and end to another week of training!
  

  

  [ME, Elizabeth, Brittaney]

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Well, 6 of 18 weeks are complete for The Carmel Marathon. If the current long run pattern continues, I'm guessing I'll be running 18 miles this week! EEK! Hopefully the weather will be a bit nicer (I'm not counting on it). 

A friend posted a link that compares your times to other runners. These were my results for my age group overall (using my PRs). I didn't realize until later that it had the female only option as well. 



Carmel Week 5: This Weather is Stealing My Miles!

This Weather is Stealing My Miles!

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This weather has me all f'd up this week. It's goofing with my running plans and making me mentally unstable. Due to the nature of my job, I'm in this crap throughout the day. I'm just over it! I opted for the treadmill for my speed work in fear that I'd hurt myself. I sucked it up and went outside the other days, but it was stupid.

I missed some intended mileage on Wednesday. I wanted to run 10 more minutes. I was so close to finishing later than evening, but work was too crazy and left me with a couple hours of unexpected documentation to deal with. After asking Coach to let me run long on Friday due to a couple of things out of my control, he told me not to make up for my 55 minute Friday run [I was to take off Saturday and do my scheduled walk on Sunday]. I was like NO!!! I am NOT missing a 55 minute run and pretending it never existed! After whining about it, we compromised and decided I'd still rest on Saturday, and I could choose walk OR run on Sunday. I'm not letting this stupid weather steal my miles from me!

• 12/25: 6 miles, 9:10/mile. My regular easy run with hill surges (10x10 seconds). I kept it in my hood today, but didn't get to use the hill I was interested in because of the slick sidewalks (this particular hill is by a busy road). I had to find the best one possible in which I could use the road. It was so freaking cold outside which made me dread the upcoming week because it was only getting colder!
  

  

  A white Christmas in Columbus!

• 12/26: 8.45 miles, 8:17/mile. Today's speed workout was a progressive run: 10 minute warm up, 50 minute progression [20 steady, 15 faster, 10 faster, 5 fastest but still in control], 10 minute cool down. I opted for the treadmill in fear that my limbs would snap if I tried running fast in the frigid temps. My paces were as shown in the pic below. I wish I had been able to run this on the road and without looking at paces, but it wasn't worth it today. I just tried to keep in mind what a Hal Higdon tempo run would look like and keep the paces based on his principles.
  

  
• 12/27: 7.17 miles, 9:02/mile. OMG...this cold weather is absolutely ridiculous!! Today was, by far, the worst. I enjoyed my time with the girls, but it's just too damn cold to enjoy the run. I intended to run 75 minutes, but stopped around 65 minutes because it was suddenly colder, and I just wasn't feeling it. The instruction was to run 60-75 minutes, so I still accomplished the workout.
• 12/28: 10 cycling miles, 45 minutes 32 seconds. Work has been insanely busy, and my kids have been insanely insane. Jimmy looked at me and said "So, child watch tonight?" YES SIR! We took ourselves to the gym, put the kiddos in child watch, and exercised the stress away. 
• 12/29: 16.01 miles, 8:53/mile; Back workout, 40 minutes. On a Friday?! Yes. Due to the weather and the fact that I'm taking James to see Paw Patrol in the morning, I asked Coach if I could run long today. My intention was to run on the treadmill (which I hate to run on more than 6-8 miles) so that I didn't have to deal with the cold weather. My BFF texts me last night to ask about my running plans. She convinced me to deal with the cold temps by saying she'd run all 16 with me! Say what?! I sucked it up, put on triple layers, and had an amazing early morning run with only two death-defying situations.
  

  

  Amanda and me.

  
  

  

  This is what me and my fellow runners are dealing with! BS!!

• 12/30: REST. I promised Zach I would not run or take a brisk walk today. I did stay pretty active most of the day. I shoveled our driveway and sidewalks in the morning, took James downtown to the Ohio Theater, and went on  a cleaning rampage after dinner. I think I pulled a back muscle (or it's just really tight and irritated)! Ugh. I tried upping some weight at the gym yesterday. I think that irritated it. After all of the shoveling and housework, it got to the point where I had it on the hot pack and tennis ball.
  

  

  Although the show was super annoying, his excitement was SO worth it!

• 12/31: 6.3 miles, 9:15/mile. What a glorious run! The temps, of course, were frigid in the early morning hours, so I opted for a sunny run in the mid to upper teens! It's amazing the difference a little sun makes. I was able to connect with Katie. She took me on a tour of her surrounding neighborhoods. The miles flew by as we chatted about the habits of our families.
  

  

  Katie took me on a tour of Medallion.

  

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I finished 2017 with 2075.18 miles! I'm a little surprised considering I followed the four day per week running rule in the spring (to prevent postpartum injury). The spring brought me several highs, while the fall...well...not so much. Regarding my fall struggles and the meds I was on, I think the doc and I have finally found something that works for my body and my budget! I hope it continues to help and allow me to be more mentally AND physically stable.

Aside from the typical paying off school debt and growing as a wife/mom, these are my 2018 goals:

HAPPY NEW YEAR, FRIENDS!

**Side note about my back: After all of the adulting on Saturday, I could hardly move by bedtime. I couldn't believe how intense the pain was in my back. I was hoping I could just sleep it off, but it was keeping me awake. Finally, at 4:20 in the morning, I got out of bed, took some ibuprofen, and tried to sleep on the couch with the heating pad on my back. Although it was very difficult to fall back asleep, my back did feel better in the morning. I was very cautious the rest of the day and avoided my intended yoga workout.



Carmel Week 4: Still Figuring Out the Lingo

 Still Figuring Out the Lingo

 

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Roop goofing around with her brother's hats.

 Although Zach says I'm not annoying him, I tend to have a lot of questions regarding his lingo. He is trying to get me away from focusing on a specific pace. Instead, he wants me to go by feel. This is so foreign to me! This week, I battled with words such as "on," "steady," and "speed up each mile." I honestly don't know how I fared with the expectation, but here's how I did:

• 12/18: 5.84 miles, 9:25/mile; Bis/Tris, 30 minutes. Today was hill surge day (55 easy minutes with 8x8 second hill surges in the last half of the run). To get my butt out of bed, I agreed to meet some friends at the dam in Westerville. We ran a 5 mile route, then I did my surges and finished up my minutes. I told my friend Lisa that I wanted to run slow today because of last week's conviction. I still don't know if my easy is too fast sometimes. Today was rough until I did my hill surges. It's like they woke me up.
• 12/19: 8.22 miles, 7:55/mile. Speed workout: 10 minutes warm up, [4 minutes on/1 minute steady] x9, 10 minute cool down. My first question to Zach was, "What is 'on'?" LOL. He explained it in words, and I did my best to follow. He challenged me to do this entire run by feel (which I did!). I goofed up my watch during one of my intervals (as seen in the red below). I meant to stop my watch to blow my nose and strip, but I forgot to stop it. Apparently this took me about 45 seconds, so I decided to just run steady for the remaining 15 seconds and go back into my next "on" interval. This would have changed my overall mileage and average, but I'm still good with the result shown. The second half of the run was actually easier than the first half. It takes me a while to warm up. I finished feeling like I worked hard, and felt decent the rest of the day.
  

  

  
  

  

• 12/20: 6.56 miles, 9:10/mile; Chest/Back workout, 30 minutes. Oh my was I sore this morning!! That workout yesterday worked my legs for sure (in addition to my run, I had a bunch of other exercises I had to do...I also went ice skating with James.). I was instructed to run 60-70 easy minutes. I normally go for the higher end of things, but not today! I could have forced myself to run 70 minutes, but my legs told me to stop at an hour. Fortunately, Sarah was in the same boat. I was happy with our run, and actually felt better after finishing. My legs weren't as sore as the day progressed.
• 12/21: 10 cycling miles, 45:03; 15 minutes inversion practice. Once again, this was placed perfectly where I needed it in my week. My legs felt so much better last night, but the easy cycling helped work out the remaining yuck.
• 12/22: 7.79 miles, 8:59/mile. My Friday easy run was upped to 70 minutes and my strides to 5x25 seconds. A fellow runner organized a bRUNch for those of us that didn't have other responsibilities in the late morning. Following the run, we met at Northstar for coffee and goodies.
  

  

  We took over the streets of Westerville!

  
  

  

  We then took over Northstar.

• 12/23: 4.08 walking miles, 14:46/mile. Saturdays are typically for long runs, but the weather had other plans. I don't necessarily avoid the rain, but I'm not a fan of cold and rainy. I got permission from Coach to switch my long run to Sunday and do my walk today. When the rain cleared in the afternoon, I took Sophie for an hour stroll.
• 12/24: 14.01 miles, 9:02/mile. My long run workout called for 14 miles with the last three faster (if I was up to it). My hips always feel a little sore when I run in the cold, so I wasn't super confident about running fast when I reached mile 12. I ran the first 10-12 miles with Sarah and Chris, and finished the last two solo. I had to deal with some elevation, but it didn't seem to have a horrible effect on me. My last three miles were [8:11, 8:12, and 7:58].
  

  

  Two of my crew.

 

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This week, I hit my goal of running 2017 miles in 2017! I'm thankful for all of the people who helped get me there.

 

MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE!!!

Carmel Week 3: Baby It's Cold Outside

Baby It's Cold Outside

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Cuddles with mommy. I was getting all the love.

Winter is officially here.

Coach added a few new things to my routine this week including:

-butt kicks

-broad jumps

-bounding (talk about looking stupid)

-fire hydrants

-hips circles

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Let's talk about pace. I am not given paces...I am given "feelings." I know this will be a good thing, and it will contribute to my goal of using my watch less. I'm proud to say that, although I analyze my paces after the fact, I haven't looked at my watch during training runs in at least two months.

Here's my struggle: I know the paces I've run in previous races and I know my race pace goal for my next marathon. When I see the overall average of some of my "easy" runs, I wonder if I should slow down even more.  In the moment and after I finish, I feel great...even later in the day and the next day. Then I read all of these articles talking about running 1 minute to as much as 2.5 minutes slower than marathon race pace. For me, that's 9:12-10:42/mile. There are times I can't force my body to go 10+ minute miles. I know it sounds weird, but it's true (there are also times my body can't go faster than that!!).

So, WHAT IS EASY?! I think it will always be an ongoing topic of conversation without a specific answer. I do know that a majority of my runs are not within 30 seconds of my goal race pace nor do I strive to run PRs in my training. LOL. I think this is just something I will have to continue to figure out.

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• 12/11: 5.74 miles, 8:43/mile. Today's workout included 8x8 second hill surges in the last half of the run. Unfortunately, I had to run in Hilliard (which I normally wouldn't mind), and it does not have a nice, steep hill. I went to the only hill I knew of and hoped for the best.
  

  

  My surges marked in yellow.
• 12/12: 7.94 miles, 8:11/mile; Chest/Back, 30 minutes. Since the weather called for "squalls," 1-2 inches of snow, and high winds with gusts up to 30-40 mph, I decided it wouldn't be in my best interest to do my track workout on the track. UGH. So stupid because I love track workouts. Let's just say that the weather wasn't exactly as predicted, but I followed through with my plan to run at the gym. I popped into The Y as soon as they opened, and tried to pump up my mental. It felt so early!! Workout: 10 minute warm up, 8x800m with 400m recovery, 10 minute cool down. I was asked to run my 800's in 3:38 (7:16/mile pace). The closest pace on the mill was 8.3 mph or 7:13/mile. I ran my warm up and recoveries at 9:13/mile and my cool down between 9:13 and 8:57/mile. Oddly enough, my last two intervals felt the best.
  

  

  Look what I finally did!

• 12/13: 6.35 miles, 9:27/mile; Shoulder workout, 30 minutes. BRRRR!!! Garmin tells me it was 19 degrees outside with 9 mph wind. I didn't really notice any wind. I do know that the real feel was in the single digits. My point being that this was my coldest run so far this season! I had three layers on my head (balaclava, ear warmer, hat), three top layers (tank, long sleeve tech, jacket), and two pairs of tights....oh, and three pairs of gloves! I nailed it because I wasn't cold or hot. Anyway, today called for an hour of running. I met up with Sarah, Lisa B, and Elizabeth for a stroll through Gahanna. I ended my run with 3x20 second strides, but felt like a sumo wrestler as I was "running" them.
  

  

  Finally starting to see the benefits of my hard work.

• 12/14: 10.1 cycling miles, 45 minutes. Cross training day took me back to the gym for cycling. I was able to listen to a chapter or so of a running book to pass the time.
  

  

  The birthday boy!!!

• 12/15: 5.98 miles, 8:22/mile; Power Yoga, 1 hour. It drove me slightly crazy that my distance ended up being 5.98 miles. One might think I would run a few more seconds to get to 6, but, when you are anal like me, you stop at 50 minutes because that was your intended workout. Earlier in the week, Amanda texted me saying she found a hill in Powell that she wanted to run. We arranged our schedules appropriately so that we could check it out together. For those familiar with the area, we started at the Powell YMCA and ran down Carriage Road. This road is rolling until it gets just east of 315 where the hill of interest was located. The hill is about 0.35 miles in length with an elevation gain of about 125 feet. So, maybe not a crazy ass hill, but about as good as it gets in Columbus! LOL. Let me just put this out here: I ran too fast. I know I did (see discussion above! LOL). 
  

  

  She can't get enough of me. She just has to find hills to entice me to hang out with her. [Amanda, ME]

  
  

  

  The bottom of the hill.

  
  

  

  The top of the hill.

• 12/16: 14 miles, 8:56/mile. I'm starting to dislike winter long runs more than summer long runs. I used to hate summer because the hubs would have to be at volleyball by 8 a.m. That meant super duper early long runs. No one wants that on a Saturday. As the years passed, he was gracious enough to change his volleyball schedule so that I didn't have to wake up as early. Winters have become summers, but not as early. Sarah met me at 6 a.m. this morning for 9 miles, and I finished the rest solo. I wanted to stop with her. I was tired today...and cold! Initially, I felt overdressed. On the way back to our vehicles, the wind was hitting our faces. I couldn't get warm after that.
  

  

  Hmm...smells good...looks good...

  
  

  

  I gotta try this stuff...

  
  

  

  YUMMY!!!!

• 12/17: 5.86 walking miles, 16:38/mile. Another walk with Meg! This time we met up with Christine in Worthington. She took us on a tour of her neighborhood and the Worthington Hills Country Club area. There were some interesting homes out there. My Aussie, Sophie, joined us and was a trooper. I think she's capable of much more activity than I give her credit for, but I'm so scared to do too much too fast and injure her!

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Me: James, keep looking at mommy. Don't stop looking at me. Ruthie...Ruthie...RUTHIE!!!!! Roop: WHAT MOM?!

Overall, it was a great week of training. I was more sore from my Friday run than my speed workout! Also, that Power Yoga class Friday mornings at the Y is amazing! I am ALWAYS sore the next day. I think coach is extending the times of my easy runs this week. I'm looking forward to what's in store!

Carmel Week 2: The Speed Workout My Body's Been Waiting For...

The Speed Workout My Body's Been Waiting For

 

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I love hard workouts. I like seeing the workout on paper and thinking "What the hell?!" I love initially doubting myself and then proving my thoughts wrong. I love the way I feel when I want to quit and eventually overcome it.

 

My speed workout this week was a little different. On paper, it didn't seem impossible...maybe because I haven't really done a speed workout in a while. Also, Coach didn't put a specific pace. He just used the terms "easy," "challenging," and "steady." My mind, of course, has to have  a pace in mind or it doesn't understand. I'm trying to retrain it! With that being said, to guide me since I'd be running on the mill, I thought I'd try something around 10k pace. Per usual, I asked Amanda her thoughts without stating my own thoughts. She confirmed that 10k-ish pace sounded like a good goal pace to hit (with "steady," in my mind, being MP + 10-20 seconds).  I will tell you more about how the run felt as I recap my week:

 

• 12/4: 5.69 miles, 8:48/mile. Workout: 50 easy minutes with 8x8 second hill surges. I was excited to see the word "hill." I was actually getting ready to tell Zach that I needed to start incorporating hills for Flying Pig. Since I had to stay in the Hilliard-ish area to run this, I decided to go a little north to Dublin and run Cardinal hill. After travelling up and down Dublin Road for my easy miles, I stopped at the bottom of Emerald Parkway. I was quickly reminded that this hill is more challenging if you are going up the entire thing. Eight seconds is a little tricky. I will have to find a better hill for 8 second strides. I decided to sprint 8 seconds and continue up the hill for a few seconds for recovery. I then did my next 8 second surge before recovering down to the bottom. I did this times four to get my 8 surges!
  

  

  I'm learning to use features on the watch that I've had for three years! LOL. These are my hill intervals.

• 12/5: 8.1 miles, 7:59/mile. I barely squeaked that under 8! (P.S. That was not the goal.) Workout: 10 minute warm up, [8 minutes challenging/3 minutes steady] x4, 10 minute cool down. I took my legs to the mill for this run (weather was shotty). I did my warm up at 9:13/mile and my cool down at 8:55/mile. My "steady" pace between "challenging" intervals was 8:13/mile. My 8 minute split paces (per mile) were as follows: 7:27, 7:24, 7:21, 7:19. The first two and a half intervals were tolerable. When I got to the last 4 minutes of the third one, I knew my last interval was going to take brain power! Especially since I was trying to negative split my workout. I took this run two minutes at a time during the challenging sections. This really helped me to focus and made the time go by fast. The three minute steady sections felt great (which boosted my confidence a bit regarding my goal marathon pace). Overall, I ended the workout feeling spent! I was so excited about running a workout that took that much effort that I sent a message to Coach telling him the workout was awesome. LOL!
• 12/6: 6.65 miles, 9:02/mile; Bis/Tris, 30 minutes. I was instructed to take today very easy due to yesterday's speed. I'm glad that was the expectation because my legs were toast! OMG. I was so sore and so fatigued. I met Sarah to venture off for an hour of easy running (3x20 sec strides in the last 10 minutes). I'm actually shocked that we ran that close to 9 minute average. We both felt like crud and I certainly didn't think we were running that fast. I was dragging fo sho.
  

  

  Strength training is paying off!

• 12/7: 11.2 cycling miles, 44:56. Cross training day! Last week I did yoga. This week, I new my legs needed something to work out the rest of the yuck. I thought an easy cycle would be the perfect thing. I went to The Y after work, put the resistance to an easy level, and let my legs work it all out. I think it's exactly what I needed.
• 12/8: 5.37 miles, 8:44/mile; Power Yoga Class, 1 hour. I had the opportunity to run after sending the kids off to the sitter. Yay, sunlight! Today called for an easy run with 3x20 second strides. Brittaney and I set off to explore a neighborhood in Gahanna that we weren't familiar with. Just trying to open up options! After a short break that allowed for two small cups of coffee, I headed to The Y for a yoga class.
• 12/9: 13 miles, 8:34/mile. I was slightly non compliant today (which is not my style). I was to run 12 miles with the last two "faster" if I "felt good." The mile pace of 8:34 is typically not my long run pace. Not that I can't run that pace for that many miles, I just try to keep it closer to 9 minutes if possible. We met at Amanda's house for a group run. I had the pleasure of meeting two new ladies. I ran an extra mile beforehand since the group was planning to run 11. Somehow, during the run, we got off course and that added an extra mile. I ended up with 13! Geesh. My goal for the faster miles was to target goal MP (8-8:12/mile). My splits those miles were just under 8 minutes. I felt good almost the entire run until the last 1-1.5 miles. I had to go poop!! It hit me all of a sudden. And wouldn't you know, I couldn't go when I got back to Amanda's to use the bathroom. Ugh. Stupid bowels.
  

  

  Old and new friends. We are frozen. [Amanda, Elizabeth, ME, Liz, Amy]

• 12/10: 2.31 walking miles, 20:33/mile. I officially love having walks in my training program! I got with Meg again, and we decided on Highbanks. What a perfect weekend for it to snow. It was so beautiful walking on the trail. We saw lots of deer tracks!
  

  

  Blonde snow bunnies. [Meg, ME]

 

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Overall, I really enjoyed this week of training. My yoga has had me sore all weekend, but it's a good kind of sore. I finally recovered from that workout on Tuesday! HA!! I really hope I can stay motivated and excited through the winter.