Increasing Intervals

I have no scientific rhyme or reason for running the intervals I run. I know that Jeff Galloway has a chart to figure out the best intervals to use, however I have been to comfortable, stubborn and lazy to get my book and look it up.

I probably should...

Anyways, I decide to increase my intervals when I feel like I'm getting too comfortable, or when I feel ready for a challenge/extra push.

I've run 30:1, 45:1, 1:1 and currently 115:1. I do hope to eventually get to running for a few minutes and walking one or less, but I have to work my way up to it.

As I left work today I checked my interval timer. It was still on the 30:1 intervals from the race on Saturday and I made a comment to Lorien that I would run the 30:1 intervals tonight for 30-40 minutes. But as I started driving home I thought about pushing myself and increasing my intervals. 

Instead of adding more time to the running intervals though I decided to take away time from the walking interval. I ran 1:15 and walked :45. It worked well and the first two miles were under 12 minute miles. 

The third mile I told myself to slow down. Way down. And I did. To a 13:46 minute mile. It was more of a cool down than anything because I feel like I went out to fast (like I tend to do). 

I need to stop going for speed and remember that, for now a least, I'm working on building up distance again. 

I'm definitely not a speed runner and probably never will be, but it's something to think about working on. I would like to continue improving and continue to push myself to that next level. At the same time I want to stop taking on too much at once.

For now I will continue to bump up the intervals until I get comfortable. It's been nice feeling proud of myself after a run, no matter the distance.

Running Recap

My first run of the week was on Tuesday. I contemplated going Monday, but decided that I wanted to spend time with my family so I went Tuesday after work at my parents house. I started out going my normal route, but then decided to cross the street so that I could have a slightly different course. I can't even tell you what a difference it made to just be one block over.

The plan was to turn at the normal street in order to get back on track and to continue running the 2.2 mile route. But I felt great and I wanted to keep going. So I did by turning left instead of right. This course would include a lot more hills, but what the heck. I love hills!

I was running along, doing my thing, clearly not paying as much attention as I should have. I ended up running right past a bee hive, which was located at the base of a light pole. So I was literally running through it. My watch beeped at me to walk, but I just kept running. When I finally felt like I had gone far enough I started walking, but I could still hear buzzing. I couldn't figure out where the bee was until I looked back and saw that the sleeve of my shirt was moving.

The bee had found it's way inside of my shirt...

One of my fitness/running goals is to eventually be confident enough with my body that I would be able to run on a hot day in just a sports bra and running shorts/pants.

I may not have been confident, but I don't believe I have ever taken my shirt off as fast as I did. I shook my shirt out and the bee flew away. I lucked out that 1. I wasn't stung and 2. That only one car had the unfortunate experience of seeing me in my sports bra and running pants.

I continued on my run without any more excitement. I feel like it was a good run with a pretty good average pace.

Distance: 4.23mi
Time: 52:33
Avg Pace: 12:25
Elevation Gain: 307ft
Mile 1- 11:57
Mile 2- 12:16
Mile 3- 12:42
Mile 4- 12:27
Mile 0.23- 7:53
Temperature: 72*, 73% humidity

I decided to run again on Wednesday. We were going to go to dinner with the family for our weekly trivia night. The restaurant is probably less than a mile away if I take the shortest path. I decided, however to go the long way around and make it worth my time.

It was definitely a good use of my time and I'm really glad I decided to run there.

Distance: 2.56mi
Time: 30:31
Avg Pace: 11:54
Elevation Gain: 264ft
Mile 1- 11:48
Mile 2- 11:41
Mile 0.56- 7:02
Temperature: 73*, 73% humidity

Patrick and I had plans Friday afternoon so I decided to take the whole day off of work. This gave Patrick and I a chance to take Isabel to school together. Since Patrick's schedule didn't really work to my advantage to run this weekend I decided I would run after dropping Isabel off at school. The first two miles were a little rough with some shin/calf pain as well as a little ache in my knee. It went away though and I feel like I did well in staying strong and slowing down. I'm still not quite where I want to be speed wise on my long distance runs, but I'm learning to listen to my body and let the time figure itself out.

I have a mile time in mind that I would prefer to stay under so anything under that is fine by me, especially since I'm going to need to hold that time for 13-26 miles while in a race.

Distance: 5.17mi
Time: 1:06:04
Avg Pace: 12:47
Elevation Gain: 136ft
Mile 1- 12:31
Mile 2- 12:54
Mile 3- 13:14
Mile 4- 12:41
Mile 5- 12:28
Mile 0.17- 2:14
Temperature: n/a

As soon as I got home from my run Friday morning I really wanted to go out and run again. My next opportunity was Saturday morning, but I wasn't sure what time we would be home from the concert. We ended up getting home after midnight and I didn't fall asleep until close to 1am, however I had already made plans to wake up at 630am and head out for my run.

The course was from my apartment to my niece's soccer game. I mapped it out on map my run and it totaled just over 5 miles. I figured it would be a good distance to run again and since it was my first time running that distance two days in a row it would give me a small idea as to what training for Dopey would be like (on a much smaller scale).

I woke up early and headed out. The course was simple. All I had to do was stay on the wash the entire time and when it ends I would be about a block away from the soccer fields. Unfortunately, and I have no idea how this happened, I ended up going the wrong way. I would love to walk the course again in a few days to see where I should have gone because I've done this run before and I have zero idea as to what happened. Anyways, the run ended up being 6.65 miles due to this little detour.

I felt great. The first mile or two was a little rough starting out. I felt stiff and obviously pretty tired, but I did it and I feel great that I did.

It's weird thinking that I'll be adding another 20 miles on top of that 6 mile run. I often think about that when I'm running and I really need to be kinder to myself. I have to realize that taking two months off means that I am starting over completely. My fitness level is not the same and I have to reteach my body how to run for this amount of time and for these distances. It doesn't take away what I've already done and it doesn't mean that I won't be able to do it again. All that it means is that I have to take training seriously in order to make it.

Distance: 6.65mi
Time: 1:25:04
Avg Pace: 12:48
Elevation Gain: 300ft
Mile 1- 12:43
Mile 2- 13:06
Mile 3- 13:12
Mile 4- 12:44
Mile 5- 12:45
Mile 6- 12:13
Mile 0.65- 8:17
Temperature: 64*, 94% humidity

Running Recap

I am in love...

My new GPS watch is AMAZING! I was pretty disappointed when my watch died and decided pretty quickly on a new one. These decisions normally take me weeks, if not months, so to be so happy with a decision that took me only a couple hours is pretty awesome.

I've used it for every walk and run since getting it on Friday and it is so cool.

I really like that something so small has 1. Already paid for itself and 2. Pushes me to go out even when I don't want to.

The weather has pretty much sucked all week long. I usually get to work around 7am on the mornings when I do not take Isabel to school and it's already 75 or higher. There have been multiple days this week where the weather has gone over 100 degrees.

Fall... Where are you?

I really am trying to not let the weather be a factor into whether or not I get my run in for the day. I know my limits (or at least I think I do, whether I listen is another factor completely).

Tuesday was my first run for the week and I told myself to go slower than normal because of the heat and the course. I ended up faster than any run I've recently run.

Distance: 2.14mi
Time: 25:05
Avg Pace: 11:42
Elevation Gain: 369ft
Mile 1- 11:45
Mile 2- 11:22
Mile 0.14- 1:56
Temperature: 81*, 66% humidity

I didn't feel like I was going that fast while I was running, but I could feel it when I finished. The first mile was a lot faster than I had planned and since it was mostly uphill I pushed myself the second mile in order to be faster than the first.

I ran again on Thursday. It was another hot day so I decided to wait until after dinner to let it cool down a little. Not the smartest decision I've ever made. In fact, I think running after dinner was worse than the heat. But I made it and I was definitely riding the endorphin high afterwards.

Distance: 2.63mi
Time: 32:27
Avg Pace: 12:19
Elevation Gain: 369ft
Mile 1- 12:27
Mile 2- 12:05
Mile 0.63- 7:54
Temperature: 82*, 55% humidity

Saturday's run was a scheduled 4 mile run and I was really looking forward to it. Since Patrick had to work I ran around my parents neighborhood while they watched Isabel. Their neighborhood = hills. Rachel decided to pass up running with me this weekend because of the hills and Lorien was going to go be fitted for proper shoes today since she has been having shin problems.

I stuck with my 1:1 intervals and although it was tough getting through the first two miles since it was mostly uphill I made it through and getting to the top was amazing. I felt so good that the last two miles flew by. That could also be because it was mostly downhill...

I'm thinking of increasing my intervals to 1:15:1 next week, so we'll see how that works out. I am really into watching myself improve and I am happy that I am pushing myself to go farther and faster and longer rather than just stick to what I'm comfortable doing.

Distance: 4.22mi
Time: 53.31
Avg Pace: 12:41
Elevation Gain: 366ft
Mile 1- 13:14
Mile 2- 13:09
Mile 3- 12:17
Mile 4- 11:56
Mile 0.22- 2:53
Temperature: 68*, 94% humidity

Pictures while on my run 9/7

 

 

 

Thursday Thoughts

Thankful Thursday:

Five things I am thankful for about myself

1. I am thankful that I am trying to become a more organized person. I am at the point in my life where I want everything to have a place and for everything to be picked up and put away by the end of the day. It may not always happen and I may not always enforce it, but it's what I mentally want to have happen and I think I am attempting to take the steps necessary to make it happen (getting rid of things I do not want/need/use as well as making a chore chart so that Patrick and I feel equal and both participate).

2. I am thankful that I am physically active. I may not always do the workouts I have scheduled or even get in as many as I would like, but I am active and I always feel good and enjoy the endorphins after a good workout. Even simply getting through 5 days of the squats challenge has shown me that I'm stronger than I give myself credit for and I am really enjoying the sore thighs and rear end already.

3. I am thankful that I am willing to put my training on the back burner for others. Sometimes I am able to get in my alone training just for me and I am so grateful for those runs, but I am also so happy to run with other people and to spread the love I have of running to others. Sometimes it's important for me to focus on my run and the things I need to make it through, but most of the time I am so much more interested in seeing other people succeed and reach their goals.

4. I am thankful that I am still excited about our finances and that things are going fairly well. We have been able to make it each week with a little left over. Not much, but enough to feel like there is a bit of a safety net. This paycheck and last paycheck we were even able to transfer extra over to our house savings. We're making progress and that's the important part. I'm also really excited because we are making progress in paying off the rest of Patrick's debt and should be done paying it off by this time next year (if not sooner!)

5. I am thankful that I am feeling sore from the squat challenge. It seems silly because today is only day 5 and I will only be doing 40 squats today, but for some reason it feels different this time around. I think it's because I am taking my time each squat and getting down lower as well as focusing on the movement instead of just getting it done to say it's done. I like feeling sore when I feel like I've earned it.

Five things I am thankful for in life

1. I am thankful that I have had a job with the same company for 3 years. My official anniversary date is September 20th, but I should be receiving my bonus check anytime between now and that date. My goal about a year ago (when things weren't going so well at the office due to people who have bad attitudes and negative personalities) my goal was to make it to the three year mark in order to receive my bonus and because I think that's a good amount of time to be with a company before starting to look for a new job. Well, I've made it. I'll be receiving my bonus. I was recently promoted. And that negative person is no longer working here. Although it would be helpful to make more money, Patrick and I aren't that bad off and if needed I could try to find something so that I can work from home to make a few extra dollars a month to help. I think that it would be worth it right now to stay where I'm at because what I've seen in the want ad's are not offering close to what I make now.

2. I am still thankful for my wonderful parents. I do not know what we would do without them and we are so incredibly lucky. My mom picks up Isabel every day from school unless Patrick is off of work and it is so comforting to know that she's with someone we know, love and trust. She then has to go back to the same school to pick up my niece and her two friends, take her friends to the Boys and Girls Club. It's a lot of driving and a lot of stress, especially when the girls don't get along (which is more often than not). I feel as though my parents did a pretty good job raising my sister and I. We've never had trouble with the law, we've never done drugs, we made mistakes but learned and grew from them, we both have decent jobs and we are both married to pretty awesome men. My parents raised us into good people and I know that their influence on Isabel will help her become a good person as well.

3. I am thankful that I have my new GPS watch. It is amazing and I love uploading my workouts onto my computer. I didn't know that my other GPS watch could do the same and I was able to get it to work for a short amount of time to download those past workouts. I don't want to take this watch off because it doubles as a regular watch. I use it for every walk and/or run so that I can keep track of my progress. I love when something so simple can push you to workout longer and harder. I want to keep seeing the miles increase and the speed increase and every thing else that it offers to track is just icing on top of a pretty sweet cake.

4. I am thankful that we are going to be having a garage sale sometime soon (not quite sure when). We have already started going through our apartment to get rid of the things that we no longer want/need/use and I just downloaded a declutter calander (password: iamorganized) to make sure we get through the entire apartment and really end up getting rid of the unnecessary items as well as clean/organize what we keep. I am excited for this project and even more excited for the money we may make to put towards debt and savings. Most likely (depending on how much we make) we will put a third towards our past (debt), a third towards our future (savings) and a third towards the present (a night out).

5. This week I am most thankful for my husband. On Sunday we had quite a scare and I would really like to never experience anything like it again. Patrick has had a neck problem for as long as I have known him and it has gone on before that. He recently started seeing a doctor for the problem because it finally became unmanageable. On Sunday the pain was more than he could bare, so he decided to take two muscle relaxers. Unfortunately he had also been out in the heat, he didn't have enough to eat and he had a beer. The mixture of everything caused him to almost pass out, become extremely jittery, slur his words and have a difficult time focusing and responding, and all around scare the living day lights out of me. I was not aware of all of the factors when the symptoms first came on and I would have sworn I thought he was having a stroke. An ambulance ride, 5 hours in the ER and an IV of fluids later and he became the man I know. They did do a scan of his head to make sure it was not a stroke (which scared me even more when they thought it could be a reason to the behavior), but thankfully that came back clear. I love this man so much, and the thought of losing him was almost more than I could bare. Thankfully he is alright though and we did have an appointment with his doctor to go over the MRI results. As of right now he needs to focus on taking his anti-inflammatory twice a day, icing his neck every day and using heat every night. He will be starting physical therapy soon. If that doesn't help then most likely he will see a surgeon. Fingers crossed that the physical therapy helps and that he follows through doing what he needs to do.

Throwback Thursday:
I think it's going to take me a little while to get used to posting pictures of myself from the past. I feel a little weird doing it, but there are not a lot of pictures of myself from the past five years and that's kind of something I regret. So I'm going to put them out there from all phases of the past few years. From my highest weight when I was nine months pregnant and the yo yo weights from then to now. I don't know how many pictures I actually have, but I think it will be good to come to terms with my past in order to accept who I am now.

It's been one hell of a journey and I am ready to see myself, maybe the way others saw me. Again, I don't know how many pictures there are of me since I'm usually the one behind the camera. I'm going to do my best to pick pictures that show my body since this is a weight loss/fitness blog (or at least it's supposed to be).

My photo CDs are in no particular order (an ongoing organizing task I have yet to find time or money to do). Since they are not in any order, the photo's I post weekly will also not be in any particular order. I will do my best to include a year, but most pictures will be from March 2008-present as that is when I started saving my pictures onto discs.

 February 2009- Isabel's one year pictures

I had a friend of mine take pictures a few weeks before Isabel's first birthday so that I would have some new pictures of her to put up for the family to see. I know that at that time I was concerned that I hadn't lost all of the baby weight and that I would be doomed to carry it around with me forever.

I did eventually lose what I had gained and then some. And then it quickly came back on.

But looking at these pictures now, four and a half years later I don't see my weight. I'm not looking at my body. I'm looking at my smile and how in love I am with a little girl that makes any room she walks into brighter. She has been such a bundle of joy since the day she was born and I cannot believe how she has changed since the day she was born and how she has changed my life.

"You're Beautiful"

These are the words I heard as I sat on the floor in my parents living room, red faced, dripping sweat and huffing and puffing. I was 5 minutes post run and still out of breath and plain tired from a simple 2.14 mile run.

Summary

Distance:	2.14 mi
Time:	25:05
Avg Pace:	11:42 min/mi
Avg Speed:	5.1 mph
Elevation Gain:	369 ft
Calories:	279 C

 

Laps3

Split Split Hours:Minutes:Seconds Time Miles Distance Minutes per Mile Avg Pace Summary 25:05.2 2.14 11:42 1 11:45.8 1.00 11:46 2 11:22.7 1.00 11:23 3 1:56.7 0.14 13:39

Weather

81°

Feels like 83°

12 mph WNW wind

Humidity 66%

 

I ran hard for the weather being so hot and humid. I continue to tell myself to take it nice and easy, to not go out too hard too fast and to just get out for the run. No PRs needed for a two mile mid week run. I keep going out with that intention and I keep running faster than I intend to. It's not really too much of a problem yet because I don't feel like I'm going as fast as I am. There are miles where I am shocked that I was able to hit that time. Impressed and shocked.

 

Yesterday's run felt good. I pushed but I didn't feel like I pushed too hard. I contemplated going farther than I had planned, but the heat did end up getting to me toward the end and I decided to just end where I had originally planned on ending.

 

I got back to my parents house. I looked like hell. I know I did. I felt like hell, so I know that I looked it as well. As I mentioned before I was red and sweaty and huffing and puffing long after my run had ended. Isabel had brought me a cold water bottle and I was so grateful. I thanked her and she sat next to me. Right up next to me.

 

She sometimes has an issue with respecting other peoples personal space. I have a bubble and when I'm sweaty that bubble is pretty big, mostly out of respect to the other person. But when you have a child, more often than not, that personal space is non-existent.

 

She always asks me after a run or a workout if I am sweaty. Yesterday was no different. I politely responded with "Yes, I am". We sat in silence for a minute or two. She then turned to me, made sure I was looking at her and said "You're beautiful". Nothing else. Just those two words. Then she turned back to watch her show on the TV.

 

I had tears in my eyes immediately and simply said "Thank you".

 

I have a tendency to tell her she is beautiful at the most random of times, but nothing prepares you for when they pick up on those habits and turn them around to give you such a wonderful gift. I felt special. I felt loved. And I felt beautiful.

 

Hot, sweaty, out of breath and absolutely beautiful.

Running Recap

My first run this week was on Tuesday. After taking the weekend off I was kind of jonesing to get out for a run early in the week, but I'm also trying to incorporate strength training and I don't want to fall back into my habit of all or nothing.

It's not ideal for this week as I would prefer to do M/W/F Gym and Strength training and T/Th/Sa Running, but sometimes you have to adjust for life. This week was back to school night (on Wednesday) and Patrick had to be at work early both Wednesday and Friday which means I take Isabel to school and can't go to the gym in the morning.

Unfortunately the weather has been full on summer and it is not very comfortable. I know my limits and I know that I am capable of running in 90 degree heat as long as I stay hydrated. Tuesday I made sure to drink as much water as possible throughout the day because I knew that it was going to be hot when I got off of work and was able to go for my run.

I used to be able to skip a run based on a number of excuses, but my main excuse was blaming the weather. Too hot, too cold, too wet, etc. It really didn't matter what was going on. If I didn't want to run, then I didn't and I could justify it left and right.

Tuesday I told myself as I was driving home that if it was over 90 degrees when I got to my parents then I wouldn't run. But if it was anything under 90 degrees then I would. I was hydrated and I needed to get my run in. As I got off of the freeway it was 91 degrees and I told myself to just go and get it over with.

Yes it was hot. Yes it was uncomfortable. Yes I was dripping with sweat when I was done. And yes I loved every minute of it. I did not regret going and even though I told myself I could go at a snail's pace I ended up sticking with my normal pace and even finished one of the miles under 12 minutes.

Pride..

I had another run scheduled for Thursday, however by the time I got ready to head home it was still 100 degrees and even I know better than to push myself in that. I would much rather take the day off of running than push myself too hard in that heat. That plus my GPS watch breaking was more than enough to exhaust me.

My long run this week was a scheduled 3 mile run with Rachel and Lorien. This was Lorien's longest distance run so far. Rachel has been walking and hiking lately to stay active, but this run was her first in a while. We decided on 30:1 intervals.

I decided to run to Rachel's house (about a mile) at 1:1, run with them for 3 at 30:1 and then run home at 1:1. It was a great run and I felt good the entire time. It was hot and humid out, so that didn't help much, but it's good to run even if the weather is not ideal because you never know what race day is going to bring and you want to be prepared for anything.

I was also able to use my new GPS watch for the first time. I ordered it Thursday after mine died. I decided that it was a purchase that needed to be made sooner rather than later as training has already begun and will be going on for a long while. I bought the Garmin 110.

Today was my first time using it since I had to charge it all night last night. So far I really like it and I love the features it has online. I posted a link to my workout for today and I like that feature a lot. It shows elevation and what the weather was like for my run, my pace and my mile times. It's pretty cool.

Untitled by xxvi.ii at Garmin Connect - Details

In case the link doesn't work...

Summary

Distance:	5.19 mi
Time:	1:11:51
Avg Pace:	13:50 min/mi
Avg Speed:	4.3 mph
Elevation Gain:	177 ft
Calories:	663 C

	Your swim efficiency is calculated by your total time plus strokes normalized to 25 meters (fixed distance). This allows you to compare your swim efficiency to another pool or open water workout.

	Your SWOLF score is the time in seconds plus the strokes it takes you to complete one pool length. For example 30 seconds plus 25 strokes equals a SWOLF score of 55.

 

Details

 

Timing

Time:	1:11:51
Moving Time:	1:10:44
Elapsed Time:	1:17:44

Avg Speed:	4.3 mph
Avg Moving Speed:	4.4 mph
Max Speed:	20.0 mph

Avg Pace:	13:50 min/mi
Avg Moving Pace:	13:37 min/mi
Best Pace:	3:00 min/mi

Speed

Pace

 

Elevation

Elevation Gain:	177 ft
Elevation Loss:	182 ft
Min Elevation:	710 ft
Max Elevation:	823 ft

 

Laps 6

View Splits

Split Split Hours:Minutes:Seconds Time Miles Distance Minutes per Mile Avg Pace Summary 1:11:51.4 5.19 13:50 1 12:16.2 1.00 12:16 2 14:49.0 1.00 14:48 3 14:17.9 1.00 14:18 4 14:38.0 1.00 14:38 5 13:06.0 1.00 13:05 6 2:44.4 0.19 14:13

Weather

75°

Feels like 75°

8 mph WNW wind

Humidity 69%

 

Not a bad run when the sunrise is so beautiful.. I absolutely cannot wait to go for another run to use my watch. So excited and so happy with my purchase.

My GPS Watch Has Died

And I am mourning it's death like it's a dear friend.

Because it is.. Or was..

My GPS watch was my first big ticket item I purchased for myself. I very rarely buy myself things other than clothing and this was the one thing that I desperately wanted. It took me months to talk myself into spending the money and when I finally got it I knew that it was worth every single penny.

I wore it for all of my training runs and it made it through 3 marathons and 6 half marathons. I had hopes that it would make it through the rest of my races and training. There were no signs that it would not turn on this afternoon for my run.

I am devastated. Which seems like a silly reaction over an electronic devise.

I am now on the hunt for a new GPS watch. I was hoping to just be able to purchase another Forerunner 305, but the manufacturer has discontinued this watch and the one available on Amazon is $329. I refuse to pay that much.

In fact, I'm having a difficult time justifying spending over $100, which I know I will have to do. I see this being a decision that will more than likely take me another few months to make before I inevitably decide that it is a purchase I will not regret making on myself.

Replacing this watch will not be easy. It was easy to use and learning something new is not what I had in mind while beginning my training for the next two years. Plus I can't justify spending close to $200 on myself right now.

Then again I know that I will eventually buy one and should just do it because it's not that big of an issue and because I know I will use it as much as I did this one (if not more since there will be more training happening).

I seriously feel like I am mourning a friend, which may sound ridiculous, however it was not something I expected and is difficult to accept. I will feel naked without it, or at least until I can replace it.

R.I.P. my friend. The past 1405.46 miles will not be forgotten.

Running Recap

My first run this week was Monday. I decided to run again by Isabel's swim lesson, which works perfectly. Going between work and her lesson gives me a little over 30 minutes to run, which is just enough time. I found that I was able to get in a great run over 3 miles each day and was only 5 minutes late to her lesson.

Patrick and my parents are so awesome in allowing me to go for my run before her lesson. They are so easy going and supportive of my training that I can't even begin to express my appreciation to them.

Monday's run was a new course for me. I've really been enjoying that. It's really good to mix things up every once in a while and when I'm able to make up the route as I go it makes it more exciting for me.

This run had more hills than I am used to and my shins definitely have been feeling it. But I just have to keep telling myself that I love hills and that I eat hills for breakfast. I can't walk up them if I'm on a run interval because that doesn't benefit me (although I do love when it works out to be on a walk interval when I get to a hill).

Each mile got just a little slower, but I am still happy with each miles time. I think that this is the pace I am going to aim to keep for most of the races I have signed up for next year, at least the ones that I am running alone. LA last year I kept a pace under 14:30 for every mile (my slowest being 14:10), so I think that this would be a manageable pace to try to keep for Mountains 2 Beach if I stay consistent with it during training.

Total distance: 3.04mi
Total time: 37:41
Mile 1- 12:08
Mile 2- 12:21
Mile 3- 12:25
Mile 0.4- 0:46
Avg MPH: 4.8mph
Max MPH: 7.0mph

I ran again on Wednesday as scheduled. I ran in the same area by Isabel's swim lesson but went for a slightly different course. Not much changed other than I took out one of the hills (the biggest one) from my run on Monday. I went just a little farther and ended up going a little faster as well.

My shins were really tight again, so I backed off on the third mile in order to give them a break. I still finished the mile with a good time and felt great when I finished.

Total distance: 3.07mi
Total time: 37:34
Mile 1- 12:03
Mile 2- 11:58
Mile 3- 12:36
Mile 0.7- 0:55
Avg MPH: 4.9mph
Max MPH: 7.3mph

On Thursday I was thinking about going for another run. I had my gym clothes with me and I just felt great and ready to go. So I changed before I left work and ended up going for a third run this week. Still on the same general course.

When I got out there though I felt sluggish and it was a tough run physically. I pushed through and was really proud of myself for finishing. Sometimes I can feel like I'm having a great run and it shows and other times I can feel like my run is awful and I end up having decent mile times. This was one of those days.

When I got to the pool to watch Isabel swim Patrick rubbed my shins and calves for me. I even called a local massage school to see how much their sports massages are. I'm not too concerned about the pain, but it is a good idea to take it easy after my long run. As long as I pay attention to my body then their shouldn't be an issue. It may be time to replace my shoe inserts though.

Total distance: 3.05mi
Total time: 38:16
Mile 1- 12:21
Mile 2- 12:22
Mile 3- 12:35
Mile 0.5- 0:57
Avg MPH: 4.8mph
Max MPH: 6.8mph

Views from running this week:

My long run this week was a total of 4 miles. I am slowly increasing my mileage until marathon training officially starts on August 31st. I decided to start training a month early to get my body ready for the 5Ks I signed up for in September and October.

My niece is nine years old. At this point she has done one 1 mile fun run and a 5K which she ran with her mom. She has voiced interest in running a half marathon with me (as has my bonus/step daughter). I figured the best place to start with that is to sign her up for another 5K race since her last one was over a year ago.

She will be joining my best friend and I in September at the Simi Valley 5K. I bought her her own interval timer and decided that I would pick her up and we would run for part of my long run this morning.

We live less than a mile from each other, so the plan was to run to her house, run with her for about a mile, run back to the apartment and then finish up my 4 miles there. I ended up being ready earlier than I had thought I would be, so I went for a mile before I went to pick her up. I ended up being 0.04 miles short of hitting 2 miles when I got to their house, so I passed it and came back to pick her up. I started my run with 1:1 intervals and changed it to run 30:1 with her.

I didn't want to push her too far too fast, so we started with the slower intervals and went for a total of 1.21 miles. I was pretty impressed with her. She did great and I had to pull her back from pushing herself to go faster. I told her that we can work on speed later, but first we have to get to the distance.

Just after we hit mile 1 I asked her if she felt like she could keep going. She said yes with a smile. I promised her that I wouldn't make her do anymore today but that I was glad that she enjoyed it so far. I asked her if she was still interested in running a half marathon with me at some point. Her smile got even bigger and she said yes.

I was really impressed with her for getting up early on a Saturday to go for a run with me and I think that this is going to be really good for us as aunt and niece to get closer and that it's going to be good for her both mentally and physically. I can't wait to keep running with her and to see her improve.

I did really well on this long run to pull it back and to run slower than I did during the week. I didn't feel like I was going too fast and I just let my body do what it needed to do. I think that this is where I would like to be on future long distance runs that I go on by myself (between 13-14 minutes). I am getting excited to get up into the higher miles again and to get to that first start line at the end of September.

Total distance: 4.13mi
Total time: 55:45
Mile 1- 12:46
Mile 2- 13:21
Mile 3- 14:45
Mile 4- 13:04
Mile 0.13- 1:47
Avg MPH: 4.4mph
Max MPH: 6.5mph

My Beloved Interval Timer- Running Recap

Prior to the beginning of this week I had not been running consistently. Shocker, right?

I mean, I haven't really had a good track record with sticking to something, especially a goal that puts me first. So it was only a matter of time before I stopped something completely. I just didn't think it would be running..

I am the queen of excuses and would use as many as possible to convince others and especially myself to not go for a scheduled run. But I feel committed right now to my training schedule and my weekly workouts and that means running rain or shine, outside or on a treadmill, interval timer or naked.

Tuesday was my first run on my current weekly workout schedule. An easy 30-45 minute run around my parents neighborhood and down to the pool where Isabel has her swim lessons. An easy 2ish mile run. A piece of cake.

Except that my interval timer, my convenient little Gymboss timer that beeped at me when it was time to run and again when it was time to walk went missing in action. This would have been the perfect time for me to make an excuse. No interval timer = no run, right? Right?!?

Not this time. Nope. Not when I have a goal in mind.

Instead I ordered a new one yesterday and decided that I would just count my steps for intervals for my scheduled runs until it came in the mail. Every time my left foot hit the ground I would count and I would do so for 100 steps. Then I would walk for 100 steps and repeat for the entire run. Some what annoying, especially going uphill when my mind was going a few different places and I kept recounting the same step (thankfully it was during a run interval so I don't feel like I missed out on my workout), but it worked and I ended up being able to run more than my normal interval time.

The new interval timer I bought myself to replace my plain black one that I've had for two years.

My run was 32:14 and a total distance of 2.54 miles. Not my best time, definitely not my worst. And I surprisingly was able to handle the intervals just fine. This was exciting for me because I've been very comfortable at 45:1 since my running started.

Mile 1- 12:41
Mile 2- 12:34
Mile 0.54-6:58

I averaged 4.7 mph (thanks to my long legs and my ability to walk at a consistent 3.5-4 mph pace) and my top speed hit was 6.6 mph (most likely while going downhill).

Not too shabby getting back into it..

Wednesday was my second scheduled run and it was a little different than Tuesday's because I ended up finding my interval timer (clipped to my hydration belt of all places- and the last place I thought to check). I decided to change things up and instead of running 45 seconds and walking 1 minute I switched it to running 1 minute and walking 45 seconds.

The run felt slower than Tuesday's run and I was sure that I was going to be running 13-14 minute miles. I kind of let go and just let my body find it's pace while still pushing a little. To my pleasant surprise, I ran both miles less than Tuesday's fastest mile. This course was relatively flat the entire time with maybe a very slight incline for the first half and a very slight decline for the second half.

It felt good to be out running too, not forced. I was a little concerned that I would be taking on too much the first week of training, but I have been able to stick with the schedule fairly well and I know that it will soon become a habit. I plan on switching things up every once in a while to keep my body guessing and to keep it interesting, but at least I know what I am capable of without going too crazy.

Wednesday's run was 31:22 and a total distance of 2.49 miles.

Mile 1- 12:26
Mile 2- 12:20
Mile 0.46- 6.36

I averaged 4.8 mph and my top speed hit was 7.3 mph.

My long run was scheduled for this morning. I decided last night that I would allow myself to get up when my body was ready and I would go for my run then. But even though I had the best intentions to go to bed early in order to be up early I knew my morning run was doomed as I watched the clock tick past 10 and then 11 pm.

I was still up fairly early, but was exhausted. I had about an hour long internal debate with myself about whether or not I should go. The voice telling me to just go and get it over with was louder then the one telling me I could wait until this evening, but somehow the lazy side took over and I laid in bed.

The motivation this morning was also cut short when I weighed in this morning. It should have pushed me to go, but instead it did the opposite and I ended up over eating and not tracking today.

That weigh in also put me in a bad mood for the rest of the day and I really just wanted to push off my run until tomorrow. I knew that wasn't a good idea but I was mad about my weigh in, mad about my attitude, mad about over eating, mad about not just going for my run this morning, mad about so many things. Patrick kept pushing me to go (which was irritating me even more) and I finally got to the point where I got frustrated enough to just go.

What a run!

My long Saturday run is supposed to be at a speed 1-2 minutes slower than my weekday and race day pace. This is to try to prevent injury and to maintain stamina on a long distance run. I went out with the best intentions to go nice and slow with 13-14 minute miles. I changed my watch to run 45:45 intervals just to test it out and to hopefully go slower than Wednesday since I would be running less.

Maybe I need to go for a run when I'm pissed off more often...

Today's long training run was 37:40 and a total distance of 3.10 miles.

Mile 1- 12:20
Mile 2- 12:11
Mile 3- 11:32
Mile 0.1- 1:35

I averaged 4.9 mph and my top speed hit was 7.3 mph.

I'm happy with the improvements of my mile times, not just in this week but since starting back running in May, but at the same time I really need to reign it in on my long distance training run. I am hoping that once my niece starts running with me to train for the 5K in September it will help me to slow down a little.

I think I am going to try to make my weekday runs just a little farther in distance, but we'll see what the week brings. My next training run will be 4 miles next Saturday. Since I'm training for a shorter distance race in September I don't need to increase the mileage too much yet. I am looking forward to getting back into the double digit miles, but that won't be for a month or two.

Be Your Best at Marathon Running- Part 1

I started reading Be Your Best at Marathon Running by Tim Rogers about a week ago and I could not put it down. There is something about reading about running that makes me want to run...

This book has a lot of useful information regarding running your first marathon. Since I have already completed three marathons I found a lot of the information to be a repeat to what I already know. But it never hurts to have a refresher course. And since I never read anything the first, second or even third go at running a marathon, this is a very informative book to me. There were a lot of things that I didn't take into consideration and a lot of things I wish I had known then.

But I can't go back and learn then what I know now. So I will continue to read, continue to learn and continue to run. And in doing those three things I will continue to improve.

So far I have made it through about a third of the book and am ready to share what I have learned up to this point. As with all books I review on here I want to highly suggest reading this book. There is so much information in this book that it would be impossible for me to include it all here without typing the book word for word. Instead I have included highlighted parts from each section that I personally found the most useful as well as my top 5 from the books "10 Things to Remember" at the end of each section.

Chapter One: Are you up to it?
Top tips & Insight:
"Be prepared to make major lifestyle changes and make sure that those closest to you totally support your efforts."

"If you don't commit the time to your training you will have a thoroughly miserable race day and potentially not even finish."

"Although it's not advisable to carry out too many of your training runs on a treadmill, it's a good alternative and obviously better than skipping your training session completely."

"If you are really struggling to get out on a training run, apply the two-minute rule. Say to yourself 'I am just going to run for two minutes' and then make the decision to continue or not. I guarantee you'll find that once you have started, you'll continue and complete your session."

"The secret to successful fundraising is a simple one- start early. If you begin your fundraising as soon as possible and continue to have it uppermost in your thoughts from the minute you sign up, right up until race day, then you are far more likely to achieve your target."

Things to Remember
1. You will be able to complete the marathon distance if you are committed, focused and train correctly.
2. Training for a marathon won't just impact on you, it will affect many others greatly.
3. You need to commit to your training plan- you must be committed from day one and regard it as your bible right up until race day.
4. Sometimes you'll need to be selfish- you'll need to have a singular focus throughout your quest to run a marathon in order to succeed.
5. Dietary changes are inevitable. You'll need to be prepared to reduce your alcohol and fatty foods, and increase carbohydrate-rich sources.

Chapter Two: Choosing your first marathon and getting a place
Top tips & Insight:
"Don't underestimate how much motivation you will glean from spectators on race day; support from the crowd can be the difference between completing the marathon distance or not. It's hard not to carry on running when you hear shouts of encouragement and applause from all around."

"Choose a charity with a cause with a cause that touches you personally, or that is close to your heart. This will not only make a positive difference to your fundraising, but, and more importantly, will give you that extra drive to commit to training, and will greatly enhance your experience on race day."

Things to Remember:
1. Define what you most want to achieve from completing a marathon. This will help you choose the most appropriate event for you.
2. Your choice of event should not be a flippant one, take time to make this decision.
3. If you do run for a charity, try to choose a cause that has a personal connection. This will help your fundraising, training and enhance your race day experience.
4. If you do run for a charity, training and fundraising aren't exclusive goals: it's a dual challenge.
5. Bigger events can be harder to get a place in, but the crowd support will be immense and can be the difference between completing the distance or not.

Chapter Three: You're in, now what?
Top tips & Insight:
"It is important to keep a training log and monitor your progress against a series of short-, medium- and long term goals."

"The sooner you get your mind to work on focusing on smaller challenges that lead toward to an overall goal, the better. This is the key to marathon training and running on the day, to break the challenge down to manageable sections, which you tackle on by one."

"You are not alone in your marathon challenge and making a connection with others aspiring  for the same goal is very important. Blogs are one of the best ways to monitor training and network with others, you can exchange advice, highs and lows from the very start of your training right through to race day, and beyond."

"Because running is seen comparatively as a 'simple' sport, and not requiring vast amounts of equipment, many people underestimate the importance of appropriate kit. Yes, to start a career in running is straightforward, requiring a few key items- but these items need to be fit for the purpose and suit of your needs."

Things to Remember:
1. Get a medical check-up to ensure you have the 'all clear' to start your training.
2. Choose a training plan and stick to it.
3. Talk things through with family and friends and start to plan how to fit your training into your current lifestyle and commitments.
4. Start a training log or blog to track your progress.
5. Enjoy the experience; be excited about the challenge ahead of you.

Chapter Four: The right gear
Top tips & Insight:
"If you choose the right gear, you will enjoy your running much more. Adapt to the conditions and invest!"

"When you try on any item of kit before buying, take a few running steps or at least mimic a running action to get an idea of how it'll feel. You might feel a bit silly, but doing this will help you choose comfortable kit that is right for you."

"Reflective snap bands are really useful and versatile; they simply snap around your wrists, upper arms or ankles and instantly add a reflective quality to any item of your running kit."

"Kit that you like wearing, or look forward to wearing, will have an impact on your willingness to train. You are far more likely to get out on your planned training runs in kit you feel excited about wearing."

"Remember at the peak of your training you'll be running for well over three hours. Bear this is mind when you are selecting any item of gear, a slightly scratchy cuff after ten minutes can become a nightmare situation two hours into a long training run."

"Fast-paced music can instantly raise the heart rate and give you an energy boost just when you're starting to flag- and it can also help you to sustain your rhythm, when you can literally exercise in step with the music."

Things to Remember:
1. The right kit will make you run better, prevent injuries, keep you safe and make you feel good.
2. The most expensive doesn't necessarily mean the best, although more often than not you get what you pay for.
3. When buying your shoes get your gait analyzed.
4. Layering several thinner garments is the best way to protect you from the cold.
5. Look for kit made from fabrics that are described as 'wicking' and 'breathable'.

Reading About Running

I love to read.

I love to run..

I love to read about running...

It makes sense. I think that there is so much more to running than getting out there and doing it, although that's the most important aspect. Running is physical and mental and anything to get you through a run is important.

My original "ritual" for running were my knee high socks. I have half a drawer full of knee high socks. They were my thing for a while. I think it was because I'm a pretty quiet and reserved person and this was my way to go a little wild. I wore them the first time at our first Mud Run and continued throughout most of my races (including Mickey Mouse socks at the Disney half, Robin socks matching Rachel's Batman socks at the Hollywood Half and socks that had "Los Angeles" down the sides for the LA Marathon to name a few). I stopped wearing them as often when I noticed more and more people wearing them at races.

I decided recently that I wanted to add to my book collection, especially my running book collection. I think that reading about running and getting hints and tips about making through a run is an important part of the process. There may be something that you haven't thought of that can bring you to the finish line. Something that you would have never thought of before.

For me, I can sometimes get through a run just by thinking of an inspirational story that I have read about someone else and it can help me get through a difficult run because someone else has been through a lot worse. Granted it doesn't make the run any less difficult to get through, but sometimes just thinking "if they can do it, so can I" can push me to finish.

I've started reading the top book, Be Your Best at Marathon Running. I'm enjoying the book. Although it is geared toward a first time marathon runner, there is still a lot of information in there that I am finding helpful. I hope that all of the running books I've found so far (and hope to find in the future) are as insightful as this one.

Running Without Music

When I first started running on my own to train for my first mud run I used music. Every single run. It was part of my running gear to have my iPod in hand and I couldn't make it through a run without it. I realized early on during that race that it was not a smart idea to train with music if you can't use it on race day.

It was back then that I started using intervals without realizing that it was thing. I would run a song, walk a song and repeat. It was tough and it made me hate running and I would dread any scheduled run. It was not fun.

When we started training for the LA Marathon almost three years ago, I started out using music. It didn't take long before I realized that I could run without using music and quickly trained myself to run anything under 13.1 miles without music. It wasn't too difficult after getting used to it and I am really grateful that I am able to run for long distances without that tool.

I'm mostly grateful for it because I am able to use it as a tool. I was able to run both the 26 Angel Run and this years LA Marathon without music for more than half of each race. In being able to do this I gave myself an extra boost when I started listening to the music and it really helped me get past some mental walls.

The last time I updated my iPod I got rid of my running play list. I don't know why other than I didn't have any plans on running any distances over 13.1 miles. Then I decided that I was going to run the Dopey Challenge. I knew that at some point during the four day race I was going to need some help, most likely on the last day during the marathon.

So I updated my play list. As of right now I have 114 songs on my running play list. It consists mostly of Britney Spears, Ke$ha, The Black Eyed Peas (no shame!) and a bunch of other music that has a good beat that will keep someone pumped up while putting their body and mind through hell. This play list will last a little over 7 hours and should be more than enough to get me through the Disney weekend. I'm sure it will change between now and that weekend, but for now I'm happy with it and will use it when needed during the training process.

Another suggestion I've heard before is to download an audio book. It is supposed to distract you enough while running so that you're focusing on the words of the book and not about the pain you may be feeling or the distance you have left. I have not tried this yet, but it might not be a bad idea to have the option on my iPod.

Running Gadgets and Gear

It is not very often that I buy myself an expensive present. I have no issue buying stuff for other people, or even the occasional shopping "spree". But ask me to spend $100 or more on myself on a single item and it takes me a very long internal debate as to whether or not I should.

It took me over a year and a half to be fitted properly for running shoes because I could not imagine spending that much money on a pair of shoes...

I received my current running shoes as a gift from my parents 12 days before this years LA Marathon. It was a necessity at that time. Either get new shoes or drop out of the marathon. And quitting was not an option. So my parents took me to the shoe store and I was fitted and I will never go back to trying to save money on running shoes by buying them at Kohl's or any other department store. A good pair of shoes can make or break you.

There are certain other running accessories that are necessary. I have a drawer in my dresser for running pants. A drawer of running shirts. And a drawer full of sports bras and knee high socks. Then I have a night stand that has a drawer that has my fuel, my fuel belt with water bottles, gloves and ear warmers (for the cold days).

The best gift I've ever received for running (besides my current pair of shoes) is the heart rate monitor Patrick bought me for Christmas a couple years ago. I love it and don't need to guesstimate how many calories I'm burning during each workout. I just need to replace the battery in the watch, but it has been well loved.

That brings me to the best gift I bought myself...

That would have to be, 100%, my GPS watch. No doubt about it. It was so worth the money I spent on it and the time I waited to get it (including multiple canceled orders for various reasons- mostly Amazon running out of the product). My main question I asked myself before I bought it was "will you use it?" And the answer was yes. And I do use it. All the time. It is by far the best thing I own, with a close second being my interval timer (but that was a no brainer and very inexpensive). The interval timer is a very convenient way to run intervals without having to look down at my watch. It's easy and I like easy!

I will say that I find myself enjoying a run so much more when I am running "naked". I highly enjoy using my GPS watch and interval timer. I love knowing the distance I have gone. I love knowing the speed I'm going. I love knowing how fast my mile is. I love being able to keep track of my progress. But, there is something about going out for a run and just running based on how you feel.

I usually run "naked" when I am just going for my 1 mile streak run. I know the distance from my front door and back that brings the distance to 1.18 miles. I know where to start running and I know where to turn around. I don't worry about how fast or how slow I'm going. All I have to do is just keep my feet moving.

The last running product I have that I would recommend are running books and especially a training log. I have recently added to my running book library and am starting to read more and more about running (more on that later). I don't think my training log is quite what it should be.

I haven't really added much more information other than 1) the date 2) daily miles 3) total miles (which also serves as total saved) 4) squats completed for the day (which will turn into the next workout I start up after the squat challenge is over) 5) streak day # (I have written the streak # I'm on every 5 days). I know some runner's write down thoughts and feelings about a run, but I'm not really there yet (I just bring all of that here). I personally enjoy updating my training log after a run. It helps me see where I'm at and I take pride when I see myself reach certain milestones.