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.

"That's Quite an Accomplishment!"

We finished our 5K strong. I suggested that when we got close to the finish area that we just run the rest of the way, even if the interval timer beeped at us to walk. They both agreed and I could tell that it was going to be a good, strong finish for all three of us.

It took us 44 minutes, but we did it. This is my slowest 5K, but it was also my first as a pace group leader (unless you count the races I run with my sister). A little over half way was the most difficult part which included a trail and uphill, two things we hadn't really trained for. It wasn't awful, but different.

My niece wanted to take an extra walk break just after mile 2 (something I told her we would do if needed). I suggested we just go a little slower for the next running interval. We did but then she complained about a cramp in her side. I had us put our arms above our heads and breathe deeply. I really wanted to push her enough to finish without taking extra breaks. I told her that it was her head telling her she couldn't do it and to push through.

She did and ended without taking any extra walk breaks.

I couldn't be more proud of my niece and of my friend.

So why is it impossible for me to be proud of myself as well?

After the race my mom, Isabel and I went to the nearby grocery store to pick up something to eat and a coffee from Starbucks. We had a little bit of time between the race and Emma's soccer game so we went to kill some time. I still had my bib and medal on so the lady at the Starbucks counter asked me what race I just did. I told her the Simi 5K and she said "That's quite an accomplishment."

My initial reaction was to tell her that it's really not. That my normal course is a 5K and I can do it daily. That my favorite distance is a half marathon. That the tattoo on my wrist was for a full marathon. The distance of a 5K is "only" 3.1. That there were people I ran with who completed their first 5K, that my niece placed second in her age group, that they accomplished something that day.

But I stopped myself. I simply said "thank you" because it is an accomplishment. The completion of a race- 5K, 10K, half, full, ultra- is an accomplishment. I will display my bib on my display board that I made myself with just as much pride as the rest. I will hang my medal on my display board that I made myself with just as much pride as the rest. Why? Because it was an experience that I don't want to forget.

Did anything special happen on that race to me in particular? No, not really. But I had a wonderful time. I felt pride in pushing other people to try something they may not have tried. I have a new running buddy that enjoys it just as much as I do. And whether I was participating in the race or not, I would have needed to run 3 miles that day for our training plan.

I really need to start giving myself more credit for the things that I do. I need to stop thinking that what I do isn't as important or impressive as someone else who is doing the same exact thing. I went out and I ran. Bottom line. Regardless of time, speed, distance. I did it.

Night Before Race Day

Tonight is the night before the Simi 5K.

This will be my first race in 6 months and 4 days.

I feel prepared. I feel ready. I feel excited. I feel nervous.

I don't want to say it's "only 3 miles" because I have been known to tell people to never put the word only in front of any amount of miles. Own it. Be proud.

It's three miles! Well, 3.1 to be exact.

That's not what's getting to me. It's not the distance. It's the atmosphere.

I both love and hate the crowds at race day. It causes anxiety which in turn pushes my adrenaline up and I am able to push myself further and faster during the race, most of the time.

I am trying to not let myself get worked up. I was used to this and need to get used to it again since I will be doing this at least once a month for quite some time. I am trying to shift my focus from extremely nervous to extremely excited.

You see, as I've mentioned, this will be the first 5K race for my best friend and the second 5K race for my niece. I am so excited to run with them and hopefully be there for some support along the way. They may not need it, but I'll be there to provide whatever I can. This race is for them.

I'm so happy to get back to racing. It helps me with training to have races set up. It's my main source of motivation when it comes to running. As much as it causes anxiety it causes happiness too and that's where my focus needs to be.

All I can do tonight is have a light dinner, set my clothes out for tomorrow and be ready to cross that finish line and collect my bling. No reason to worry or stress about it because there's nothing I can do at this point to change anything.

Plus, I've run much longer distances with much less preparation, something I do not recommend. This time I know I am more than ready.

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

 

 

 

Training Schedule- Revised

I discussed our training schedule with my sister over the weekend since I will not be participating in the LA Marathon this year (still having mixed feelings about that...). She's still not sure what her plan is, however she did update our training schedule just in case she does decide to join me on the races I have scheduled. there's going to be a lot of running going on next year..

Some of my half marathons that I have scheduled are going to need to fit in some how, but for the most part I think it works itself out fairly well.

2014  Training Schedule
	Date	Mileage
Week 1	8/31/2013	3 miles (COMPLETED)
Week 2	9/7/2013	4 miles
Week 3	9/14/2013	5 miles
Week 4	9/21/2013	3 miles	Simi Valley 5K
Week 5	9/28/2013	6 miles
Week 6	10/5/2013	3 miles
Week 7	10/12/2013	8 miles
Week 8	10/19/2013	3 miles	Ventura Color Run
Week 9	10/26/2013	10 miles
Week 10	11/2/2013	4 miles
Week 11	11/9/2013	12 miles	Calabasas 5K/10K
Week 12	11/16/2013	4 miles
Week 13	11/23/2013	14 miles
Week 14	11/30/2013	4 miles
Week 15	12/8/2013	SANTA TO THE SEA - 13.1
Week 16	12/14/2013	4 miles	4 miles
Week 17	12/21/2013	5 miles	14 miles
Week 18	12/28/2013	5 miles	5 miles
Week 19	1/4/2014	15 miles	17 miles/Camarillo Half
Week 20	1/11/2014	5 miles	5 miles
Week 21	1/18/2014	6 miles	6 miles
Week 22	1/25/2014	17 miles	20 miles
Week 23	2/1/2014	6 miles	6 miles
Week 24	2/8/2014	6 miles	6 miles
Week 25	2/15/2014	13 miles	23 miles
Week 26	2/22/2014	6 miles	6 miles/Seaside Half
Week 27	3/1/2014	7 miles	7 miles
Week 28	3/9/2014	SAN DIEGO HALF	LA MARATHON
Week 29	3/15/2014	5 miles
Week 30	3/22/2014	8 miles
Week 31	3/29/2014	5 miles
Week 32	4/5/2014	HOLLYWOOD HALF MARATHON
Week 33	4/12/2014	17 miles
Week 34	4/19/2014	6 miles
Week 35	4/26/2014	20 miles
Week 36	5/3/2014	6 miles
Week 37	5/10/2014	23 miles
Week 38	5/17/2014	7 miles
Week 39	5/25/2014	MOUNTAINS 2 BEACH MARATHON
Week 40	5/31/2014	13 miles
Week 41	6/7/2014	6 miles
Week 42	6/14/2014	7 miles
Week 43	6/22/2014	MAMMOTH HALF MARATHON

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.

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

I've been waiting and waiting for the registration to open for the Mammoth Mountain Half. I finally received notice of when the race will be, which helped because now I can plan my trip. Not two weeks later I received the date registration opens. 9/9/13.

But then I started thinking about The Challenge. I found out about The Challenge for the first time last year at the LA Marathon expo. It was the first year and I was very interested in it. Unfortunately, the race in San Diego was the same month as the LA Marathon. I forgot about taking the challenge in 2013 and for 2014 and just focused on signing up for the Mammoth half in 2014.

I didn't even think about it. I just decided that I would be running the LA Marathon again in March and then running the Mammoth half for my June race. No question. I went with what I knew.

But then I started thinking about it a little more.

And I talked to Lorien and Patrick about it.

And I thought some more.

It didn't take long to decided that I will be taking The Challenge in 2014. I decided on this because it is new and it is exciting and there is an extra medal that I will receive for completing it when I cross the finish line in June in Mammoth.

I made this decision on Friday and immediately purchased the package for both races. And then I had a slight panic filled, anxiety driven few minutes where I called Patrick to calm me down. I needed him to tell me that I made the right decision.

He did what he does best and listened to me while I had my irrational breakdown and came to my own conclusions on how I felt about it.

I pretty much feel guilty because Rachel might be running the marathon in March. She hadn't decided one way or the other, but we had a training plan and if I did The Challenge then she may have to do the marathon by herself. I told her I would still train with her for the marathon, so we'll see what she decides to do.

I am starting to get out of the nervous phase and head into the excited phase. I mean, I don't just get bling bling for these two races, I'll be getting some bling bling bling!

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.