Re-scheduling again

I don't think I've done a single week of my new plan exactly as scheduled. Life just keeps getting in the way. I inevitably have to rearrange my runs around the other stuff. Tomorrow I have an all-day seminar (not looking forward to it), which will require me to leave the house at 6 a.m. I probably won't get back (pooped) until well after 6 p.m. So no run tomorrow. I did Saturday's run today and moved Sunday's run to Saturday. Whew. Today was supposed to be an easy 3 miler, but I did 5. That average pace is definitely going down! Slowly but surely...

Run time: 00:47:06

Distance: 5.05 mi

Avg. Pace: 09:20 / mi

Best Pace: 05:45 / mi

Week #4 of the New Plan

I'm half way through my 9-week Runner's World 1/2 marathon training plan! Actually, whether I actually run the 1/2 or not, I really like this plan. I think I'll stick with it even after the 9 weeks are up, and just juggle the workouts around. Or just start all over again, so that I don't get caught up in building mileage every week (and then hurting myself). It'll give me a chance to slow down, only run 10 or 15 miles a week, before building back up to 30. So far so good.

Today's scheduled run was 3 miles, 3x[2:00, 2:30] AI, 2 miles. I HATE those last 2 miles after a quad-burning interval workout, so I've been doing one of those miles at the start. That way I only have a 1 mile cool down at the end. The 2 minute intervals were fine, much better than last week. I was dreading the 2:30's, but I actually ran them faster!!! What's really weird is that I never, not even once, hit the 10-min-mile mark today! Even my "cool down" mile, which felt like I was straggling along, was sub-10. I finally feel like I'm getting faster, but nowhere near as fast as I'd like to be. Patience.

I had to do the 2:00 intervals and 2:30's separately, because that was the only way I could program the Garmin. It worked out okay, though. Overall, I did 6.73 miles.

-------------------------
1st 4 miles:

Run time: 00:38:30

Distance: 4.06 mi

Avg. Pace: 09:29 / mi
-------------------------
3 x [2:00] AI

Run time: 00:06:00

Distance: 0.73 mi

Avg. Pace: 08:12 / mi
-------------------------
3 x [2:30] AI

Run time: 00:07:30

Distance: 0.94 mi

Avg. Pace: 07:57 / mi
-------------------------
Last mile

Run time: 00:09:50

Distance: 1.00 mi

Avg. Pace: 09:49 / mi

TOTAL: 6.73 MILES

It's too hard to run on vacation!

Lately my entries have been sounding like complaints! Oh well, here's another one. It's so hard to get up and run while on vacation. But I managed to do just that this morning. It's definitely a lot nicer running up here than at home. The golf cart path is a little dangerous...kind of like a mini-road. I was almost hit by a cart with a driver who didn't see me because the sun was in his eyes! All that in the name of getting my miles in.

Run time: 01:17:52

Distance: 8.04 mi

Avg. pace: 9:41 / mi

Best pace: 7:17 / mi

I hate layering

I hate the cold! I hate bundling up. I hate layering!!! I felt like I weighed 200 lbs out there today, chugging along in the headwinds with my base layer on and my warmups and my gloves. Fifty eight degrees is COLD for a transplanted Canuck. I do have to admit, though, that all this speedwork is really paying off. My lungs felt awesome (I did feel the burn after the fact, though), and after the first 1/2 mile, I forgot about the cold.

Today's scheduled run was 2 miles, 2x[1:00, 1:30, 2:00] AI, 2 miles. One minute intervals are a piece of cake, and the minute and a half ones were fine, too. But that first 2 minute interval kicked my butt! I was huffing and puffing like I had just run the mile in gym class weighing 190 lbs. After that, the next set was fine and I actually enjoyed it! Even more than fartleks. Six miles done. I have to run another 13 miles this week to get to my 20-mile mark. With Thanksgiving on the horizon, and 30 degrees weather expected, I don't know if it'll happen.

Stats from the Garmin later...

Run time: 00:59:07

Distance: 6.12 mi

Avg. pace: 09:39 / mi

Best pace: 07:01 / mi

Holidays make for rough running

After doing so good last week, Turkey Day is going to mess up my entire schedule this week! Maybe. I won't be able to run Thurs because we'll be on the road. And now the weather is getting nippy again and I don't know if I'll have the guts to go out there in 30-40 degrees weather. It was so windy today that I couldn't go out at 6 a.m. I did manage to do tomorrow's weight workout and then run outside like a maniac for some quick intervals. Well, maybe not so quick with that wind resistance.

Here's what I managed today:

4x1:00 AI

Run time: 00:04:00

Distance: 0.54 mi

Avg. Pace: 07:25 / mi
--------------------------------------------
6 GP (1 + 5, fiddling with my GPS)

Run time: 00:05:48

Distance: 0.74 mi

Avg. Pace: 8:22 / mi (1st), 7:38 / mi (2-5)
---------------------------------------------
TOTAL DISTANCE: 1.28 miles

Running longer again

I finally managed to get up out of bed on a Sunday morning for a long run. My goal today was to run 8 miles, to cover my mileage for this week, but I felt good and it's been so long since I did a long run, that I figured I'd go for the whole 10. It felt great, but I forget how those long runs wipe you out for the rest of the day. I took my nap and now I need to ice my calves. Definitely an extended legs-up-the-wall pose today!

I did good yesterday, too, doing 6 miles instead of the scheduled 3. I didn't, however, get in my four 100 m gentle pickups this week. I did do one yesterday, untimed, but mostly because it started to rain and I wanted to get home! ;)

My weekly total for this week: 21 miles! (Yeah!)

Sunday, November 20, 2005

Run time: 01:30:40

Distance: 10.00 mi

Avg. pace: 09:52 / mi (awesome for me for a long run!)

Best pace: 06:16 / mi
-----------------------------

Saturday, November 19, 2005

Run time: 00:57:39

Distance: 6.00 mi

Avg. pace: 09:36 / mi

Buddy's Thanksgiving

Here's Buddy, enjoying some early Thanksgiving treats.






"This pumpkin bread is yummy!"

Getting better

It never fails to amaze even me that I can get up in the morning and run when I'm so freaking tired. Tweaked today's scheduled run just a bit. I was supposed to do 2 miles, 5x1:00 AI (Aerobic intervals), and another 2 miles. Instead I did 3 miles, then the AI, then another mile, which was sooo much easier.

I used my Garmin to time my intervals today. I can't believe I've had this awesome tool for almost a year and have only now started to take advantage of it. I set my watch for 1 min intervals and 30 sec breaks. It was great not have to look down at my watch repeatedly to see the time, or to remember which lap I was on. I did realize, however, that 30 secs is not enough time for me to recover. Either I'm running my AI's too fast, or I just need more time to fully recover! Next time I'll set it for 45 secs.

Total run time: 00:42:31

Total run distance: 4.75 mi

3 mile run
Run time: 00:27:53

Distance: 3.01 mi

Avg. pace: 09:17 / mi (getting better!)

Aerobic Intervals
Run time: 00:05:00

Distance: 0.64 mi

Avg. pace: 07:47 / mi

1 mile run
Run time: 00:10:38

Distance: 1.10 mi

Avg. pac: 09:41 / mi

Trying to stay on track

I've been trying to keep on my training plain...it hasn't been easy to get up every morning. I did good yesterday...I did 4 miles instead of 3. But today wasn't exactly according to plan. I was supposed to run 6 miles, but instead of getting up at 6:10 a.m. like my alarm told me to, I got up at 7:15 when the sun was out in full force. I still managed to drag my butt out the door for a 3 miler, thinking (beyond reason) that I would run other 3 miles later in the day. Besides, running twice a day is supposed to be good for you! The problem is having the energy and motivation to do it. I obviously didn't. To make matters worse, it was raining after dinner when I planned to go out. Blah.

My Runner's World half marathon training plan follows a Mon-Sun week, which is weird for me. So this week I managed 16.5 miles. I would have hit the 20 mile mark had I done my scheduled run for today. I have to get over my laziness!


Sunday, November 13, 2005

Run time: 00:30:03

Distance: 3.20 mi

Avg. pace: 09:24 / mi



Saturday, November 12, 2005

Run time: 00:37:42

Distance: 4.00 mi

Avg. pace: 09:25 / mi

Best pace: 06:51 / mi

Buddy wuddy

Here's my baby...because it was time for some more pics of the Buddy!








Buddy looking cute, as usual...

...and enjoying one of his favorite snacks, almonds.

Going metric

I've forgotten the metric system! After fiddling with my Garmin for 2+ minutes after a 4-mile run, I couldn't remember how many meters in a km. Duh! So, I estimated (wrongly, of course) and punched in 0.12 miles for my interval timer. Turns out I did 200 m intervals instead of 100 m! No wonder it felt too hard!!!

Anyway, I almost talked myself out of doing my scheduled run for today, especially because I was rather sore after yesterday's workout. But after doing 4 miles, doing another four 100 m repeats seemed easy enough. I love this plan!

Run time: 00:37:17

Distance: 4.00 miles

Avg. pace: 09:19 / mi
------------------------
Intervals:

Run time: 00:03:58

Distance: 0.51 miles

Avg. pace: 07:43 / mi

Best pace: 05:35 / mi

Rest time: 00:01:30
------------------------
TOTAL: 4.51 miles

Training Day #1

Today I started my new half marathon training plan. It felt great to run only 5 miles and not feel guilty about it, knowing that they weren't just "junk" miles. I did 2 miles easy, then 5 x 1:00 AI (Aerobic Intervals, about 30 secs faster than my 5k pace), then another 2 miles. I definitely didn't dread getting out there, thinking I'd have to put in 8 or 9 miles. And it didn't take 2 hours to get a good workout.

Tomorrow I'll be doing 4 miles + 4 GP (Gentle Pickups, of about 100 m each). So far so good. The speed breaks inbetween the runs are a sneaky way of getting extra miles in without realizing it!

Stats from the Garmin later...I have to figure out how to program the distance alerts...after 9 years of living in the U.S., I have no concept of a meter!!!

Run time: 00:47:25

Distance: 5.00 miles

Avg. pace: 09:29 / mi

Starting anew...

After hitting my lowest mileage in a year last week (9 miles!), I realized that I need to rethink my training and dig deep for some serious motivation. Seeing the 2006 Miami Marathon highlighted on my calendar has been freaking me out. After recovering from hurting my ankle, my weekly mileage has been slowly but steadily declining. Now, January is right around the corner and I don't feel that I have it in me to train for and complete my first marathon.

I took the next best step to dropping out completely and switched over to the half marathon. Both 1/2's I was planning to run this year were disappointments. The Howie-in-the-Hills half was out of the question because of the hurricane and gas shortage. The A1A marathon has been postponed because of the hurricane until next February! There is one in December in Palm Beach that might be a possibility. But instead, I'm going to try to actually train for a half all over again, with my goal being to finish in under 2 hours.

I found a good half marathon training plan on www.runnersworld.com. I'm sticking with the beginner plan, even though I can easily run the 10 miles this plan leads up to. It emphasizes a variety of speed workouts, which I desperately need to fit in every week. And the mileage is low enough, for now, for me to not (1) feel overwhelmed, and (2) hurt myself again.

I start my new plan tomorrow!

Trying to get back to normal...

Things still aren't normal after Wilma. There is so much debris lying around, running has become like an obstacle course. The weather is cooling down considerably, too, and my body is struggling to adjust. I managed a decent 5.5 miler yesterday. Still waaaaay below my weekly average. I'm hoping to do a long run this weekend. The realization of a marathon (Miami) looming in the not-so-distant future scared me a little this week. I have to get those long runs in!

Stats from the Garmin later...

11/3/05

Run time: 00:52:34

Distance: 5.56 miles

Avg. pace: 09:27 / mi

My first post-Wilma post

Last week is still a blur. I remember running -- once. Four miles in very cold (for Florida!) weather. I think my lungs collapsed. I was gasping for breath and barely made it through. So pathetic. I was confined to running laps around my parents' neighborhood because of the hurricane debris littered everywhere else, making it impossible to run on most sidewalks or streets. I also managed a couple of weight sessions, despite the surrounding craziness. All other physical activity last week was by way of moving and lifting of heavy furniture.

A couple of days ago I did a very short incline run...only 1 mile on the treadmill. I'm committed to making the machine my new best friend. (It used to be, for 2 years, before I discovered outdoor road running.) My Achilles tendons are still a little sore. I did another mile today, no incline, after my weight workout. Slowly, I'll be able to do my entire workout on the treadmill without being bored to tears. Which, in the long run, will keep me on track with my training as the weather gets nippy.

I ran yesterday, another pathetic four miler. Right now, until life gets back to normal, it's all about maintenance. And four miles is plenty for that. I just hope things get back to normal soon.