Routine...what's that?!

The word routine is NOT in my vocabulary.  I can't think of a single thing that I do every day AT the same time.  Every day is different.  Some mornings I brush my teeth first, and others it's the last thing I do.  So how is someone like me supposed to get into the routine of running every day????

Last night was supposed to be cross training or 4 miles since I can't do tomorrow's 4 due to work.  I didn't do either.  I must say, I don't feel motivated to run EVERY day.  I miss it when I haven't gone in a few days...but running 5 days a week just seems like a lot.  I know that we're in training...but MAN...how am I supposed to motivate myself to get out there and do it?  Especially when my partner is out of town! 


I'm thinking part of it may be because we do our long runs on Sunday, so then it feels like we are in the clear and shouldn't have to do much more than that.  The only thing is, we're in the part of our training where we are going 2-3 hours for our long runs.  Sunday seems like the best day to do that and get it out of the way.  So my problem is, the rest of the week I'm in a rut....a LAZY rut.  :(

Suggestions?

Going the distance...

Before I do a little report on our 9 miles (furthest we have gone!), I have to talk about our 4 miles we did the day before.

We woke up Saturday morning around 7.  We stretched (no breakfast...slept in) and headed off.  For the first time in our training, we decided to bump up our jogging interval.  We've tried decreasing our walking time from 3 to 2 minutes, but we've never done more than a minute of jogging interval.  So today we did a 1min.30 jogging and 3 min. walking.  My lungs felt great, my stride felt great...it was truly MY first GREAT RUN.  I haven't exactly figured out why it was great...or what made it feel so great.  We kept our pace and we knocked out our four miles in a little over an hour.  By the end of our run, I was dancing in the street singing "I feel good..na na na na na...Like I knew that I would!" (I'm know...I'm goofy)  :)  It just felt so wonderful to have a truly great run!!!  It gives me hope that things are only getting easier and funner!!  10 weeks ago, 4 miles would have sounded so daunting and miserable.  Now...it's just a little jog in the park before breakfast (granted, not the best idea to jog on an empty stomach)

9 Miles......Going the distance!!!

Since we bumped up the jogging interval the night before, I didn't want to completely back it off to a minute again, so we did 1:10/3.  And surprisingly, we noticed the extra 10 seconds of jogging...lol.  Just goes to show how used to that one minute of jogging we were.

Not feeling exactly enthusiastic for our 9 miles, I ate 3 Clif Bloks before we left hoping the extra fuel would make the beginning a little easier (seemed to have worked).  First couple of miles were a little hard, as always.  Our legs hurt as they warmed up.  We stretched several times through out the trip.  I wore my new shin/calf compression wrap....helped a TON.

For the first time, we took my husbands Iphone with us for some music.  It helped the time go by.  Conversation is usually our thing on long runs, but when we're jogging, the conversation usually comes to a halt; so a little tunes came in handy to keep us going when that minute and 10 seconds got painful and tiring.  The heat and wind really took a lot out of us.  We both went through almost twice the water that we usually do.  (Note to self:  Take gum for dry mouth!!!)  We both had more Bloks half way into our run.

The cool part about running to a familiar destination (a relatives home), they act as your watering stations!  3 miles away from our "finish line" T's parents were parked along side of the road with pop sickles and more water.  BLESS THEM!!!  We seriously needed the water and the cold pop sickles really help rejuvenate us.  After my third bottle of water, I seriously needed to make a pit stop.  Luckily it was T's old neighbor hood and she knew every house we passed!!!  So that made it apparent to me that the port-a-potty will get used on the day of our mini.  Good to know!

We finished up the last 3 miles like pros.  We jogged like we were just starting out...but I eventually had to back off the heavy stride due to immense shooting pain in my right leg.  We stuck it out and jogged 99% of intervals.  Something that I've noticed is that walking through an interval when you have tuckered out can really help.  Silly to think an extra minute or so can give you an extra boost.  T's parents had smoothies ready for us when we got to their house...AWESOME!!!  Our total time was 2:23.34  Freakin' awesome if you ask me!!  It didn't feel like we had been out there that long.  And I should probably mention that we stopped the timer when we stopped to stretch or had to shake some rocks out of the ol' shoes.  Over all, not that bad.

Planned Races

Okay, I'm still trying to figure out how to use this blog.  I want to have clickable tabs at the top, but I'm not smart enough to figure it out...so I'll just post some info for now.

The one and only race that I have under my belt thus far is the Full Moon 5K on 6/17.
(Okay experience, not much fun.)
I am pre-registered for the Runners on Parade 5K on 7/9, 4-H Fun Run/Walk on 7/16, and the Fort 4 Fitness mini-marathon on 9/24.

I'd love to hear of other races that other blogger/runners out there have enjoyed doing that would be something my running partner and I could do!
I don't want to over-crowd my schedule with 5K's...so anything going on in August?!
September is the month of our mini...so we'll be focusing on that.
After that...what's the rule on running if you're pregnant?  Might be in my future once the mini is over!!

My hope is that the 5K's will give my partner and I a taste for what the mini will be like.  I don't think our first 5K was a very good example, so we're excited to see what the others will be like.

1. As of now, I think we have the hydration under control.  We 
    both have a hydration/fuel belt, and we drink as much as possible
    during the day.
2. The food part is a work in progress.  I am keeping a personal
    Weight Watchers journal to help.  My focus is to eat nutritionally
    and to hopefully lose some weight. I'm also trying to figure out
    what meals work best for race days.
3. I'm still working with the pain in my legs. 

     Yes, after a week of rest, they felt better.  But the first TRUE run of the week, last night, my calf muscles and shins hurt like CRAZY!  We stretched several times...and all I could do was baby jogs with walking and nothing more. I think the key to this one is to find the stretches and warm up that works best for/with my legs.

Even with the slow pace and baby jogs, we finished our 6 miles in an hour and 39 minutes. 

Not bad for us.



I have to admit, we are really enjoying our new entry into the jogging world.  :o)  A 6 mile jog is no longer daunting to us...it's just another walk in the park with an extra hour to talk.  It's crazy to find just how addicting it can be!  So glad we're finally addicted to something healthy...and proud of it!!!

The 5K report!

SIDE NOTE:  Thanks for the suggestions.  I'm new to blogging...so I'm learning how to do it from reading other blogs. Sorry! 

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My new Curves moisture wicking tank!



A week later, and here it is...

  *It's kinda lengthy...sorry!  But tons of fun pictures!*

 

I woke up Friday really stoked for the race.

That night, after work, I totally had the tummy butterflies.  I couldn't sit still, so I just kept stretching and pacing. 

I had a small meal that filled me.  I couldn't eat all of what you see, so my hubz helped me out ;).  I was told to find foods that don't aggravate your system, find what works and stick to it...nothing new on a running day.  So I had a few chicken nuggets, fried rice, and some corn.  Water, water, water...all day long.  As far as food goes, this meal settled well for the race...no problems....so this meal is going in the "race day" prep book!

We arrived at the golf course to find that there were only 20 participants.  Not what I was expecting, but it was an added bonus that we knew so many of the people!  Wells L and her spring into training group was there.  We were adopted into their group photos....  :D

 

Awesome group!



So many smiles!  Guess NONE of us had a clue as to what was coming!!!  :p



T and I before our FIRST RACE EVER!!!! 



Me and the hubs.  He's an awesome supporter!  He walked the entire course to take pics of us and cheer us on!!



 So that's the pre-race stuff.  Since this race was age and gender based, we didn't leave the starting line until 6 and a 1/2 minutes into the race.  We started off strong (I have decided this was not our best decision, we tired out faster).  Which, by the way, we usually don't start off that strong...did I mention that you're NOT supposed to do something new on race day?!  We eventually got back into our intervals of 2:1.  The hills weren't the problem, the worst part was the grass trails.  They KILLED my ankles and I just couldn't bring myself to jog in it.  T went ahead of me, jogging with the intervals.  I tried to make up time every time we hit pavement again.  Cross county style races are just not our thing.  It's something T and I have agreed we NEVER care to do gain.  Sucks that it had to be our first race and that it was such a difficult course.  I actually reached a point where I told the hubs that I was re-thinking the mini we have planned to run(and is the basis for of our training we've been doing) since I was struggling so much with just these 3 miles!!!  He encouraged me to just finish this race first.  The route was pretty well marked, but we managed to get off course at one point and it ticked us off a bit....because that meant we had to leave the pavement and head back to the grass....boo!  :(



Did I mention the mud?...yea...that made it interesting!



Still going strong.

It was a very humid day, but we toughed it through.  The end of the race came, and I simply couldn't jog anymore.  This is when I saw Wells L.  She picked up with me and told me to jog.  I'd try to walk and she'd tell me to keep going, that we were almost there, and that I had to finish hard.  Boy, when I saw that time clock, my chin quivered and the tears were welling in my eyes.  That was the hardest thing that I had ever done.  Having completed this race, I am truly praying that God will just carry me through the mini!!!  I think with a 5K, it's fine to push yourself the way that we did, but my guess would be that you should stick to your intervals for the half marathon.  It was definitely a learning experience for us.  I'm just praying that we never have to do a course that difficult again! 



This is a pre-race picture with T and her little girl A. 
Our after pics weren't this good looking!  :)



So here's the question for all of you that have experience with mini marathons....what's your pace plan?  What happens when you feel like you absolutely can't jog anymore?  What helps motivate you when you "hit the wall" during a race?

Busy Week

So I did the 5K on Friday and have not been able to blog about it because......drum roll please.....

MY FIRST NEPHEW WAS BORN!!!


The very morning after our 5K, I was headed 2 and a half hours away to meet my precious little nephew.

I promise to post pics of the race and details later....or you can check some of it out at my girl "L's" blog HERE.

I haven't ran, walked, or jogged since Friday, so there is a TON of catching up to do.  I hope you all will check me out later this week to view the details.

Thanks for reading!!!

June 19, 2011 RACE DAY, RACE DAY, RACE DAY!!!!

OK ladies and gentlemen.....this is my FIRST race ever!  This is HUGE for me...and for T as well.  We seriously had a fire lit under our butts, got off the couch and started running.  We are finishing up week 8 of our training.  Tonight, we will be "running" or jiggle jogging as I like to call it, in the Full Moon 5K at Timber Ridge. 

We tried jogging in the grass and on gravel on Wednesday's run (per Holly and Wells L's instructions :) )  It was definitely harder to run, but the impact on the shins was lesser.  Today my shin is wrapped up...and hopefully won't hurt that bad for tonight's race.

             Sexy, Right?!   Wow those puppies need some sun!!!

I'm so totally stoked for this!!!  It's gonna be so much FUN!!!
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So question, how early should you arrive for a 5K?  I have pre-registered...but we need to pick up our chip, bib, and T-shirt.

Also, I was planning on T and I going for a 1/2 mile walk about an hour before the race...just to warm up the muscles....DO YOU THINK THAT'S TOO EARLY?  WILL IT HELP??

June 16, 2011 Shine Splints

Here's one for all of you pro runners out there.

So last night I had my small group bible study.  But before everyone came over, my partner and I did our 4 miles (details to follow).  So I asked my husband if he could run to the local pharmacy for me and ask the pharmacist which tape he recommended for taping shin splints.  Around 9PM he came walking through the door practically empty handed.  He said that he tried 2 pharmacies and they both told him that he was crazy...that there isn't anything you can do for shin splints.  WELL, I'm hear to tell you, that's not what my friend Wells L says...and what she says GOES!  :)  He bought me some wrapping gauze, like the kind that you would use if you had fractured your arm.  I wrapped my left leg before going to bed, it feels some what better this morning...but this can't be what I'm supposed to be using.

Sooooo...my question to my runner friends is:  WHAT KIND OF TAPE DO YOU USE FOR TAPING SHIN SPLINTS AND WHERE CAN I BUY SOME?! 



Our 4 mile run...

I was so excited to be out running again.  We hadn't been our running since Sunday.  We set our interval timer to 1:2 and set off.  As soon as it beeped the first time, we were off....but OH, OH, OH, did my legs hurt!!  It took a little while for them to warm up. YES, I know we should have done a 1/2 mile warm up. I stretched at the 1/2 mile mark.

The first and second mile were a little rough.  But by the 3rd mile, I got into my rhythm and found myself running through my walking time!  For the first IN MY LIFE I jogged for 4 minutes straight.  It might have been a baby jog...but I did it!!!  My lungs felt good, my legs didn't hurt, I was comfortable with my stride, so I just kept on truckin'.  It felt great!!!

Tonight we are resting.  And then FRIDAY we have our first race EVER!  We will be at the Full Moon 5K at Timber Ridge...runnin' our little hearts out.

WISH  US  LUCK!!!!!

June 15, 2011 Disappointed...

I must admit that I am a little disappointed with my weight loss during these past 8 weeks of training.  At first, I realize that we were probably building muscle, but at what point can I start losing some serious poundage?!  This isn't the reason that I decided to enter the mini marathon, but it would be nice to see some results from all of our awesome efforts along the way. 

Sooo...the big DUH.  To loose weight, I realize that I would have to decrease my calorie intake. (Wells L helped remind me of this :) )I'm putting myself back on the weight watchers diet(doing it myself).  This morning I have yogurt, a banana, grapes, and a cereal bar with me.  Granted, I won't eat it all for breakfast...but I have it if I get peckish. 

Do any of you out there in blogging land ever get frustrated with the lack of results from all of your hard work?!
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P.S.

Thanks Wells L for giving me a shout out on your blog!  I love to read the other girls' stories, so now I have some to follow!

June 14, 2011 Our first 8 Miler!!!

Sunday, 6/12/11.  T and I's first 8 miler EVER.
 (Happy Birthday T!)

Let me just say that the most miles we had gone prior to this was 5 consecutive miles.  That's a HUGE leap!  And believe you and me, my lungs noticed!! 

If you have ever wondered what someone smells like after running 8 miles, here's a clue.  The next time you are in your car driving at in the country, roll your window down and inhale deaply as you pass the road kill.

Anyway, here it layed out mile by mile....

 Miles 1-3:  Okay, starting out our shins hurt really bad.  We stopped to stretch before we had a full mile in.  That seemed to help us both.  By the third mile, we were both in a good strong stride and feeling good. I tried to decrease my water intake to avoid water logging.  We both matched, wearing our new moisture wicking tanks and bottoms.  We both had our fuel/water lumbar bags on us.  We are officially training with everything that we plan to have on us the day of our mini marathon!!!  Let the pain begin!

Miles 4&5:  DOGS.   The cutest dogs that you ever seen were "attacking" us as T put it.

T started to speed up so quickly that I had to jog to catch up with her!  Guess she doesn't care for dogs.
The sun was on our backs and there was a nice cool breeze.  The running was starting to get a bit difficult, making me slow down to what I call "baby jogs".  You know, where your feet move up and down but your not really moving any faster than a walk.  lol  Thus, I call us the JIGGLE JOGGERS.  :D  I love to refer to this term when people ask if we "run" the entire thing.  I simply respond, "Oh no, fat girls don't run...we jiggle jog!".  I truely ran out of steam around mile 4.5.  I ate one blok to mentally trick me into thinking I had enough fuel to keep going.  It seemed to help.

Mile 6:   I truely wanted to cry.  I couldn't believe how much stamina T still had to walk fast AND jog fast.  For me, you have to slow down on one of the two to catch your breath.  She quickly put distance between us and then would patiently wait for me to catch up.  T and I have been training side by side for 8 solid weeks now.  I was so aggrivated that she was able to do these miles with more ease than I was.  I really had lost my rhythm for my breathing.  It became more difficult to concentrate on keeping a steady breathing rhythm.  I had an uncontrolable desire to just SIT DOWN!!!!!  My body kept telling, "are you freakin' crazy?!  What are you thinking?!"

Mile 7:  Holy goodness!  We could see the end in site!  My "emerald city" was in clear view. 


But as the mile progressed, I realized how far away it really was. It felt like this mile took us forever!  I had dried salt marks on my pants from all of the sweat.

Mile 8:  We decided to push it just to get it over with.  Oh good gracious!!!  Everything hurt.  I undoubtably had a blister on my middle toe.  I could feel the rashes that had formed from my new tank and 2 sports bras that I have to wear.  I had absolutely NO desire to run anymore.  T thought I had found some motivation to keep going, because I was actually keeping up with her.  I told her, "no, I just got tired of you having to wait on me".  Right there, ladies and gentlemen, is why EVERYONE needs a partner.  She motivated me the entire 8 miles.  I felt so bad since I didn't have the breath to motivate her at all during our entire 8 mile treck.  We completed our 8 miles in 2 hours and 5 minutes.  Not bad if you ask me!!! 

It's now Tuesday, 2 days after and T and I are still completely soar.  We have iced our legs and shins to the point of numbness.  We have both taken tylenol to help relieve the pain.  We did a 1 mile recovery walk yesterday since neither of us were up for doing the entire 3 miles our training schedule had planned for us.  So, since we must muster on with our schedule....I am taking some advice that a friend gave me and I am going to tape my shins.  I'm really crossing my fingers that this will help. 

Friday night is our 5K at Timber Ridge.  I'm really hoping that we can do a 13 minute mile.  More pictures and details to follow....

What is your trick for shin splints???

June 10, 2011 Bike Ride

So yesterday T, her little girl, my husband and myself went for a small bike ride.  It was our day for cross-training, so it was AWESOME to fly by all of the joggers and walkers for once.  :) 

As I was riding behind T, I realized something....just how incredibly difficult it must be to have a nearly 4 year old child lean over the side to see the on coming cyclists.  That shift in weight would throw me!  But T just kept peddling her heart out.  :)


We decided to go down the river green way, (Saw L and her group of gals from Spring Into Training) and headed down the bike path to the park entrance.  The speed was awesome and the scenery was beautiful....until we REALLY got into the woods.  Oh for the love of Pete!!!  The bugs had swarmed my head like a swarm of peeved bees!!!  When I stopped to turn around and head back, I was attacked! 
My husband said that he'd never seen me peddle so fast!  lol 

So later that night, being the typical girl that I am, (since he was behind me) I asked my husband what my butt looked like on a bike.  (you know you've wondered too)  He said he didn't know, he was watch how fast the sweat was accumulating on my shirt!!! lol  NICE!!!
 

Tonight T and I are to do 3 more miles to wrap up the week.  I got some new insoles for my kickers, so I'm ready to hit the road!  This means that we are about to enter week 8 of 22 of training!  So proud of us!!!

June 8, 2011

So yesterday T and I completed our 7 miles, and I think it's fair to say that it nearly killed us.  It wasn't the work out (did 1:2) or the distance, it was the muggy heat!  We did 3 miles first thing in the morning.  Despite the early hour, we had both sweat enough to need an shower.  We walked a mile at lunch, so glad I had a different shirt to walk in!!  And then we wrapped the day up with a slow 1:3 pace at the end of the day.  We were pooped by the end and switched from jogging our minute to speed walking. 

On our travels, we have seen many skinny ladies or gentlemen that are full out jogging/running and without any kind of water!  My goodness, just to watch them made ME thirsty and tired! 

This morning T and I did a 2 mile recovery.  The heat index is on the rise this week, so morning walks and jogs are probably going to become our new routine.  P.S.  Just as a side note....I am NOT a morning person!  We both over slept this morning, which is why our 3 miles turned into 2. 

Tomorrow we are doing cross training, and we have decided to go for a bike ride together.  I even talked my husband into joining us!  I'm not sure how far we will go, but it will be a nice, easy bike ride....I hope. :)

June 7, 2011

Hello!  This is my first day of blogging EVER!  I have a friend, "L" that has a blog and I actively read hers.  It is because of "L" that my cousin, "T"  and I have signed up to do our first ever mini marathon and 5K "for the health of it"!!  We're both excited to be doing something about our weight and loving the conversation time as well.  We are interested in meeting other ladies out there that are also walkers/joggers in training.  Conversation makes those long walks fly by sometimes, which can be an answer to prayers!  Yesterday we did 3 miles and it was a killer.  The heat and humidity was almost unbearable.  I just pray that it won't be that hot and humid the day of our race!!  Wouldn't it be nice if they just stood to the side with a garden hose streaming with ice cold water and just hosed everyone down as they race by?!  I was sweating like a hog and I drank an entire bottle of water!  This is why I have bought the double shot lumbar support fanny pack.  I tend to drink a lot when running, and there is no way that I'm going to be caught dead at a mini marathon without enough water.  Today we're("T" and I) are doing 7 miles....yikes!  That's the most we've done in a single day so far.  Since the temp. is on the rise, we did 3 miles this morning before work.  We plan to walk a mile at lunch and then finish the last 3 miles after work.  With this schedule, I will be taking yet another shower today.  :)