June Summary

June 2009
19 runs
87.3 miles

January 1 - June 30, 2009
82 runs
315.1 miles
12:06 average pace

So, my goal for the year was 200 runs, 800 miles, less than 12 min/mile average pace. Looks like I'm behind schedule, but I know that the miles are going to increase drastically during the next few months of marathon training so I'm not too worried.

Week 2 of 17 - Chicago Intermediate Plan

I did great this week following the training plan. I didn't do the Monday strength training and I swapped the Saturday/Sunday schedule, but otherwise, I did all that was called for in the plan!

Monday: 5 miles on the treadmill feeling sluggish. Walked a good bit during the last half. Didn't do the strength training session because I had limited time with my daughter and wanted to have quality time with her.

Tuesday: 6 miles on treadmill. Walked during commercials. Started 5x200m pick-ups at 4.75 miles. Tired. Will I ever get used to early morning runs?

Wednesday: Group Power strength training class at the gym. Did the same weights as last week but it felt easier. Wonder why?

Thursday: Ran around the blook with the dogs (1 mile) at 7 a.m. and then dropped them off at home before running 4 more miles. I walked some of the hills. Total = 5.04 miles. Tonight was my daughter's last swim meet of the season. The team has one more meet but she'll be away at camp during that one. Her specialty is the Butterfly. Part of the fun of swim meets is being written on with Sharpies. Parents typically write the child's name on one shoulder so the timer will know the right kid is in their lane. Parents and/or friends write other oddities on their backs. Early in the season I started writing "Fly Girl" on her other shoulder and now that's what all the kids call her. She's earned that nickname! She's ranked 23rd in our county (and we live in a large county) in the butterfly. You go Fly Girl! The second photo in this blog post is of our 11-month old destructive golden retriever puppy. Yes, he's proud that he chewed a hole in the couch and pulled out some of the foam stuffing. And of course, I was ANGRY!!! BAD DOG!!!

Friday: Ran the 3 miles prescribed by the training plan. My shins are sore. Is it because of the shoes, too much concrete, or increasing mileage more than 10% last week? Kept eye on pace to push each mile.

Saturday: Was supposed to run 8 miles this morning but I was totally exhausted! I slept until 11:30 a.m. instead. My shins are still sore and it was HOT when I woke up so decided to do my long run tomorrow and call this my "rest" day.

Sunday: Was supposed to by my rest day, but is now my long run day. Got up early and went to the local high school track. My shins are still a little sore so I thought it would be better to run on the more cushioned track surface rather than pounding the concrete. Honestly thought I'd get totally bored doing 32+ laps around the track, but it wasn't too bad. I listened to a couple of podcasts and took regular hydration breaks (every 1.5-2 miles). It felt great! I concentrated on making my last few miles faster than the earlier ones and I had the energy to accomplish that goal. Started drinking Heed at about the 4-5 mile mark and it made a dramatic difference in my energy levels. Temperature was 74 (start) - 79 (finish). Ran with my heart rate monitor for the first time in months, if not years. Average heart rate was 145, which I think is about where it should be for a long run. But then again, I'm new to this heart rate monitoring bit...

Days run this week: 5
Miles run this week: 27.04
Highlight of the week: Highest weekly mileage this year! Ran all the miles the plan called for and did strength training once!
Goal for next week: follow Week 3 of Intermediate Plan, but may alter it if shins continue to hurt

Week 1 of 17 - Chicago Intermediate Plan

Monday: Today is the 1st day of my 17-week Chicago marathon training plan (Level 2 - Intermediate Runner). The plan calls for a 5-mile run today plus strength training. I got up early and did 5 miles on the treadmill while Kyra (my daughter) was still asleep. I feel highly motivated to follow this training plan. I used the Hal Higdon beginner plan last year for the Spinxfest Marathon in Greenville, SC. I liked that training plan, although I didn't do all the runs, but since I'm running Chicago with my friends Tonya and Lisa, and Tonya wants to follow the Chicago Intermediate plan, I'll do the same. If I follow that plan, I think I'll be better prepared for Chicago than I was for the Spinxfest. I had planned to do the strength training tonight while Kyra was at swim team practice but Tonya and her daughters came to visit. I'll definitely go to the gym Group Power class on Wednesday. Pace = 11:26 minutes/mile

Tuesday: Got up even earlier this morning (thanks Riley! (Kyra's puppy)) and ran 6 miles with 4x200 meter pickups on the treadmill while Kyra slept. Didn't feel into it but pushed through slowly then did the pickups in the last mile. Total pace = 12:44

Wednesday: Went to Gold's Gym and participated in the Group Power class. One of my neighbors was walking in at the same time and she helped me get set up since we were a couple of minutes late. I used light weights and really enjoyed the class! Thanks, Cathy, for helping get set up! I talked to the instructor after class. She's training for the Dublin, Ireland marathon in late October. Wow, that sounds like an awesome vacation!

Thursday: Went for a 5 mile run from home to Mountain Park plus one loop around the park this morning. My legs felt like lead and are sore from last nights strength training class. On my way back home I saw Kyra's future 5th grade teacher turning into the school parking lot. We waved to each other but I don't know if she recognized me in my running clothes and hat. This photo is of my daughter, Kyra, at her swim meet tonight. She's an awesome "Fly Girl". Currently ranked #23 in Gwinnett County for girls age 9-10 in the Butterfly event. Go Kyra!

Friday: Did 3 easy, slow miles on the treadmill this morning. My legs are sore from the strength training class plus 5 miles yesterday. It's muscle soreness, not injury. Hope the soreness decreases before tomorrow's long run. Pace = 12:55

Saturday: The schedule calls for 7 miles today and a rest day tomorrow. I haven't gotten enough sleep this week and my legs are still sore so I opted to sleep late this morning. I woke up at 11:30 a.m. WOW. I feel so much better now after getting much needed rest! I thought about going for an afternoon run, but when I looked at the weather and realized it was 93 degrees, I decided it would be better to just wait until tomorrow morning. The forecast for early morning is 74 degrees.

Sunday: Riley woke me at 5:50 a.m. (alarm clock was set for 6). I ate half a bagel with cream cheese and drank a coke. I packed two Clif Shots into my water bottle pouch and dressed for my run. The dogs were very excited at seeing me carrying my shoes and since I haven't taken them out for a run in a while, I decided to take them out for my first mile. I put them in their harnesses and we did one loop around the neighborhood. Of course, Tasha pooped once and stopped at least 5 times to pee. Why does she feel the need to pee so much when we run? She can lie around the house for hours without having to go... They were still going strong at the end of the mile loop, but I don't want to overdo it. At 6:40 a.m., it was 74 degrees and 85% humidity. I stopped my watch and took them inside, disconnected their leashes/harnesses, made sure they had plenty of water, and then headed back out for the rest of my long run. I headed towards Camp Creek Greenway Trail and went down it. It used to dead-end, but they've extended it. Now there's a ramp that leads up to a road. I wasn't sure which road it was at first, so I turned right and ran on the sidewalk until I saw a familiar shopping center and at the same time a road sign. It was Rockbridge Road. By this point I was at 4.12 miles so I turned around and headed back home. I walked parts of a few up hills going back home, but finished strong. I ran a total of 7.26 miles. Pace = 11:52

Days run this week: 5

Miles run this week: 26.36

Highlight of the week: Highest weekly mileage this year! Ran all the miles the plan called for and did strength training for the first time in months!

Goal for next week: follow Week 2 of Intermediate Plan

highest weekly miles since January

Monday: Nothin... Goal was 4 miles. Drove back home from visiting my dad in Valdosta. My left foot/ankle has been swollen yesterday and today. I'm guessing it's from too much sodium and traveling. Propped it up while lying on the coach watching a movie (Bride Wars) with K this afternoon helped. I planned to run during K's swim practice this evening, but she was complaining of not feeling well just prior to practice so I thought I should hang out at the pool instead in case she needed to leave early.

Tuesday: 5 miles on the treadmill with 4 x 200 meter pick-ups during the last mile. The power went off for a second shortly after I glanced down to see that I had gone 3.0xx miles. It reset the treadmill to 0, so I had to guess at total time/distance. It was an easy run. I had an upset stomach during the night and this morning and finally started feeling better this afternoon.

Wednesday: scheduled rest day

Thursday: Goal was 3.5 miles, but did 5 instead to try to make up for skipping Monday's run.

Friday: 3 miles on the treadmill in the early morning. Saw Lisa tonight at Karolin's birthday party. She said she ran 36 miles last week. WOW! I better get my butt in gear. She said they've been slow runs, but still... 36 miles!?!

Saturday: 6.05 mile long run while listening to The Extra Mile podcast. Made sure I watched the sidewalk more closely than I did two weeks ago to avoid another trip/fall. Ran from home to Mountain Park, 2 loops, then return. 83 degrees HOT! Should have gotten up earlier for a cooler run, but needed the sleep.

Days run this week: 4
Miles run this week: 19.05
Highlight of the week: Although hot, long run was good! Highest weekly mileage since January.
Goal for next week: follow Week 1 of Chicago marathon Intermediate Plan (run 26 miles)

Mother-daughter clumsiness

Monday: felt awful today, but managed 3 slow, painful miles on the treadmill. The large abrasion on my left shin, small one on my right hand, and both knees HURT from my fall on Sunday morning!

Tuesday: Plan was for 4 miles and rest tomorrow, but I'm going to make a swap. I'm still in PAIN. Didn't sleep much at all last night because I couldn't get comfortable. The sheet against the abrasions HURT! And bruises are starting to appear on my palms from the fall on Sunday. Will try to run tomorrow morning for National Running Day, June 3rd.

Wednesday: National Running Day. Did 4 miles on the treadmill since I wasn't sure how scraped leg and knees would feel. It hurt a little, but not nearly as bad as it did on Sunday and Monday. My daughter has spent the weekend and last few days with her dad. When I picked her up from Day Care this afternoon, the first thing she did was said, "Look at my leg!". I had a surprised look on my face and then said, "Look at mine". We have matching scrapes! She said she twisted her ankle and fell while running at Day Care on Monday and scraped her leg. I was amazed and told her my story. I'm just in awe about the coincidence and appologized profusely for passing on to her my "clumsy genes".

Thursday: 3 miles on the treadmill; mostly at 5.5 mph after warm-up. Increased speed by 0.1 mph every 0.1 mile during last mile.

Friday: 2.3 miles on the treadmill. Goal was 3 miles but just couldn't get into it. Boo-boos HURT, felt yucky. My cousin is hilarious! He started text-messaging me tonight and asked if I was going to run to Fitzgerald tomorrow. HA HA HA!!! I'm not a 200-miler yet...

Saturday: Nothin... Goal was 6 miles but felt even yuckier this morning. Took K to horse riding lessons, then to a birthday party and then we headed south for the weekend to visit my brother and his family. Packed my running clothes/shoes thinking I would run there Sunday morning, but dirt/clay roads are way too muddy. We almost got stuck in the mud trying to drive to my brother's house. Scary!

Sunday: Nothin... Like I said, roads were too muddy and I just wasn't up to driving somewhere to go run when I should be visiting with relatives. Enjoyed the day hanging out with relatives, relaxing on the deck and in the pool.

Days run this week: 4
Miles run this week: 12.3
Highlight of the week: mother-daughter clumsiness
Goal for next week: run 20 miles