I'm committed

I decided to take a plunge and hire a running coach. I've heard great things about Coach Josh, aka Speedy Sasquatch, so I decided to give him a try. I committed on Monday. He asked me what my running plan was for the week and I sent it to him. He made just a few minor changes and entered the week's plan into Buckeye Outdoors. He said normally he provides paces for the runs, but since we're just getting started, he'll evaluate my running this week and provide pace guidelines for next week. Sounds good to me!

Monday: rest day

Tuesday: 5 mile intervals in 1:00:55. Treadmill: 1 mile warm-up, 6 x (3 minutes at 6 mph + 2 minutes walking recovery at 3 mph), 1.6 mile cool down at 5.2 mph.

Wednesday: 2.03 miles in 25:32, around the neighborhood with Riley (golden retriever). Now I remember why I should only take him on morning runs. Too many distractions! He tried to chase after squirrels, cats, dart away from the big-brown-truck-man, etc. It was like running an obstacle course trying not to trip over him.

Thursday: Rest day. I was supposed to run 4 miles today, but I was sick (and so was my daughter). Decided it would be best to rest today (which was planned for tomorrow), and run tomorrow to maximize my running efforts.

Friday: 4 mile progression run in 47:11. Each mile was a little faster than the one before. Mile splits = 13:00, 11:45, 11:27, 10:59. Kyra woke this morning to find the elves using my sweaty headphones to jam out to her iPod. Silly elves!

Saturday: 10 mile long run in 2 hours, 3 minutes, 6 seconds. Since Kyra is with me this weekend (and she's too young to be left home alone for this long of a run), I opted to run on the treadmill. I listened to Gordon's Running to Disney podcast episodes 39 and 40, which were about his taper and Rocket City marathon race report. Awesome episodes! I started my run slow and pushed harder at the end. During my prior marathon training I would take walk breaks every 2-3 miles, and more frequently at the end. This time, I only took one walk break, at mile 5, to consume an energy gel and water. I sipped on water while running throughout the run rather than slowing to a walk to drink. The run felt good, and I sure was glad to finish.

Sunday: 2.05 miles in 23:49. My legs are still sore from yesterday's long run. If I weren't committed to a coach, I probably would have skipped the run today. But since I'm accountable to someone else, I went outside and jogged 2 miles around the neighborhood. I had a sneak peak at the training Coach Josh has planned for me for next week. I noticed that he has my 2-mile runs at an "easy" pace of 12 minutes per mile. That would be an easy pace on a flat route or treadmill, but not extremely easy in my hilly neighborhood. When I ran that route on Wednesday with Riley, the average pace was 12:34. I decided to try to do a 12 minute pace today. The first mile in my neighborhood 2-mile route is very hilly. I normally walk up some of the steep hills. I walked up those same hills, but started walking a little farther up the hill rather than at the base. I managed to complete the first mile in 11:54, but I wouldn't call it "easy". The next mile was easier and I couldn't resist running a little faster at the end for an 11:27.

My sister called me this morning. She asked if I had registered for the ING Georgia marathon. I told her no, that I had decided to run the Wrightsville Beach marathon instead. She said that she wants to run it with me. It will be her first marathon. I told her that I had planned to register for it today and she asked me to sign her up too. I registered us for the marathon this evening! Now I wonder if she'll pick up her running and be prepared for it? She hasn't run much lately and wonders when she'll find the time. I told her that I make it a priority. Of course, work and my daughter come first, but I schedule in time for me as well. I hope she makes the time to run! I'd love to run it with her. But if not, I know that my friend, Kim, will be running the half-marathon so there will at least be someone else that I know there. Currently there are only 130 people registered for the marathon; hope I don't finish last.

* Days run this week: 5
* Miles run this week: 23.08
* Highlight of the week: hiring a running coach, registering for Wrightsville Beach marathon
* Goal for next week: follow Coach Josh's plan

Oh what a week!

Oh what a week! I met my 5 times a week goal, my mileage goal, received a free entry into a Spring 2010 marathon, and seeked out a running coach!

Monday: Rest Day

Tuesday: 4.04 miles total, speedwork = 1.04 mile around the block with Riley (golden retriever) warm-up. Then 0.25 mile on the treadmill, warm-up. Four times 0.5-mile at 6 mph with 0.25-mile walk/jog recovery between. Felt good!

Wednesday: 2.28 miles. 1.04 miles with Tasha (husky), then the rest with Riley. Easy run.

Thursday: Rest Day. Was offered free entry to inaugural Blue Ridge Marathon in Roanoke, VA. Who me? Yes! Was giddy about it all afternoon. This is a hilly course. Not sure if I should accept since it will be hard. But maybe I should, since it will be hard. Just go into it with the expectation of simply finishing within the 7 hour cut-off time, rather than a PR.

Friday: 3 mile progression run. 13:10 warm-up mile, 11:32 marathon pace mile, 11:00 faster paced mile. Sent in my completed entry form for the Blue Ridge Marathon. I accept the challenge. For several months, if not longer, I've had a goal of running the Pine Mountain 40-mile trail ultramarathon in December 2010. The Blue Ridge Marathon will be great preparation for that event. Plus... did I mention free entry?

So now that I've decided to take on this challenge, I thought I should probably get a running coach. Especially because I'd really like to run the Wrightsville Beach marathon too, which is 5 weeks before the Blue Ridge Marathon. I'd like to run the Wrightsville Beach marathon faster than my previous marathons. I can follow a cookie-cutter training plan (i.e. Hal Higdon), but want to improve my pace and have no clue how to properly train for two marathons within 5 weeks of each other. Hiring a running coach is something I've been thinking about and researching for months. I listen to a variety of running podcasts and have heard about Coach Speedy Sasquatch in several of them. I thought of him at first, but then thought it may be better to find someone local. I searched for local coaches and found very few. And those few didn't have impressive websites. There is a blogger that I follow in North Carolina that has exceptional blogs; he hopes to coach soon, but isn't coaching yet. I considered another North Carolina coach, but he's in charge of an inaugural marathon and his program seems to focus on the local athlete, so I ruled him out as probably being to busy. My thought kept turning back to Speedy Sasquatch so I contacted him about coaching. He coaches people around the country, the podcaster seems obsessed with him, so I decided to give him a try. Sent him an inquiry and then responded by filling out a form for him. Hoping he can help me reach my goals!

Saturday: 8 mile long run. It was 32 degrees when I got up this morning. Thought I would run on the treadmill. But then looked at Twitter and saw that Dirtdawg50k ran outside in 18 degrees with a windchill. Threw out the question of indoor vs outside and he responded with get your butt out the door (or something like that). So I put on tights, thermal top, long-sleeved cotton shirt, hat and gloves and began my run. I left home, turned left on Cole, left on Five Forks, left on Lake Lucerne to almost Hwy 78, then turned around when my Garmin 405 said I had gone 4 miles. I've run this route before, when the weather was much warmer (80s). It was much easier today in the low 30s. I really enjoyed the run until about 7 miles, when I tripped over thin air. Why am I so clumsy? I can't even blame the sidewalk. Thankfully, my gloves and tights covered any damage, so I took a few seconds, dusted myself off, thought that I've done this before, and kept running home. At home I realized that my right knee was scraped through my thights, I have a small scratch on my left hand, and my right elbow is probably going to bruise from landing on it as well. Was surprised at how well I felt (energy wise) after the run, but the shower STUNG.

Sunday: Easy 2-mile run on the treadmill just to get a few more miles in. My right arm/shoulder hurts. Guess it took most of the impact from my fall yesterday.

* Days run this week: 5

* Miles run this week: 19.32

* Highlight of the week: Receiving free entry into Blue Ridge Marathon!

* Goal for next week: Keep on running... 5 times a week, 22-ish miles.

Blue Ridge marathon? I think so...

I normally only post on this blog once a week, but felt compelled to do a special edition today. During my lunch break, I looked at Twitter and saw a re-tweet about free Head Sweat hats to early registrants of the Blue Ridge marathon. I wasn't considering running that marathon, had actually never heard of it, but clicked on the sender to follow their tweets. Next thing I know, I get a message from BRM26pt2 asking if a "free entry" would sway my decision for a spring marathon. I've had a poll on this blog trying to decide which of four marathons I should run this spring, none of which included the Blue Ridge marathon since today was the first time I'd even heard of it. I looked at the marathon's website, checked out the distance from home in mapquest (7.5 hours), and replied that free entry would definitely sway my decision. A few minutes later I was sent a comped entry form to the race. WOW! What started out as a simple new person/group to follow on Twitter in hopes of learning more about running, turned into a free spring marathon! The downside? The race is hilly/mountainous. The upside? It's free and scenic. I wrestled with the ups and downs the rest of the afternoon. But then came home to find that Riley (golden retriever) chewed the buttons and part of the collar off Kyra's GAP sweater as well as shredded a re-useable shopping bag. He also pulled off a seat cushion, but no damage was done to it. I was furious! Now I'm thinking that free and hard (which means harder training/more stress reduction) may be just what I need. The other good thing is that it is 5 weeks after the Wrightsville Beach marathon, which means I have more time to train and/or I may be able to do both marathons if I get serious about running and treat Wrightsville Beach as a long training run. I'd also like to run the Pine Mountain 40-mile trail ultra marathon in December 2010. Training for/completing a hilly marathon in April will certainly help in preparation for that race. Thanks for helping me decide on at least one spring marathon!

five out of seven days, YAY!

OMG! I jogged 5 days this week! Most days were short/slow jogs, but 5 outings none-the-less.

Monday: Started out the week with 2.04 easy jog/walk miles in the neighborhood. My back HURT with every foot fall. (In case you didn't know, I was bucked off a horse during a canter on Thanksgiving and landed on my head/back. VERY PAINFUL.) My goal for this week is to just get in the habit of getting up and out the door most mornings. I'm going to take it slow/easy/day-by-day based on how my back recovery goes. I hurt, but am proud of myself for getting out the door!

Tuesday: Two days in a row! Jogged an easy 2 miles on the treadmill this morning. My back still HURTS. Stretched afterwards, which felt great!

Wednesday: Can you say... 3 days in a row? Did an easy 2.13 miles on the treadmill. My original plan was 2, but decided to go a little bit farther. Back still hurts, but is feeling a little better. Yay! But so much for these socks... Riley (golden retriever puppy), managed to snag a sock from the bathroom floor and took a bite out of it. Luckily I caught him before he ate the entire sock! Obviously need to take him out for a run, but am waiting for my back to improve. He's such a strong puller at the beginning of a run, or when startled, that I don't want to take any chances of hurting my back worse.

Thursday: REST DAY

Friday: 3 easy miles on the treadmill. Back is slowly improving.

Saturday: REST DAY or CROSS-TRAINING? Had planned to do an easy long run today, but decided to shift it to tomorrow when the weather is supposed to be better. Went Christmas shopping this afternoon, which meant walking around for hours. Does that count for cross training?

Sunday: 6.89-mile long, easy, jog/walk at Suwanee Greenway Trail after daughter's very close basketball game. They lost by one point and were ecstatic! This is the closest they've come to winning this year. The trail is adjacent to the parking lot of Suwanee Sports Academy where my daughter's basketball games are held. My back still hurts, but it's feeling a little better each day. I took it easy. It felt great to do a long jog/walk again, even though it was very slow. I mostly enjoyed the 2/3 mile soft surface trail through the woods, which I ran twice. Ate at my favorite mexican restaurant afterwards. YUM.

* Days run this week: 5

* Miles run this week: 16.06

* Highlight of the week: Getting out five days; trail running at Suwanee Greenway Trail

* Goal for next week: Keep up the momentum. Run most days of the week, even if for only a few miles. Try to add a speedwork session.

November 2009 Summary

November 2009: 13 runs, 38.6 miles

January 1 through November 30, 2009: 150 runs, 649.9 miles, 12:30 average pace.

Am not going to achieve the goals that I set for 2009. If I had been healthy/injury-free, it could have been accomplished. But since that wasn't my luck, there is no way that I can run 50 times in December, or 150.1 miles, so I'm going to consider myself happy if I come close to what I completed in 2008. Here's hoping for a better running year in 2010!

Just call me a klutz...

So... last week I fell short of my goals for running. I reset my goals to short, but frequent runs this week. And guess what... that plan failed too... It started out great, but then I was bucked by a horse during a canter on Thanksgiving day, which HURT my head and back and gave me a good excuse not to run...

Monday: I ran 2.04 in the early morning. Easy warm-up mile followed by a faster paced one. Still sore from Saturday's fall.

Tuesday: Speedwork on the treadmill: 3 Yasso 800s. 1-mile warm-up; 2x0.5-mile at 6 mph with 0.25-mile recovery, then last 0.5-mile started at 6 mph and bumped up the pace. Felt easier than last week.

Wednesday: rest day/drove to Southern Cross Guest Ranch for Thanksgiving weekend.

Thursday: Had a great trail horse ride this morning with my daughter! Then an amazing lunch at Southern Cross Guest Ranch. Then participated in the afternoon trail horse ride. Was daydreaming about going for a run on the trails after the ride was finished, but my horse had other plans. The Guide suggested we canter... My horse bucked as we started but I held on. She bucked again, and again during the canter, but I still held on. But her 4th buck was more than I could handle and I went flying off of her into the woods. As I flew through the air I prayed that the other horses would not trample me. I flipped in the air and landed on my back/head and quickly rolled over since I landed on an incline. My head throbbed and my back hurt. The guide came up to me and said not to move, then asked if I could wiggle my fingers and toes. YES! It took me a few minutes to get up since I was in so much pain. My daughter, in the meantime, had dismounted her horse and went to get mine. The Guide, after assessing that my back wasn't broken, helped me get up. My head was pounding and my back hurt! I eventually got back on the horse and we walked back to the stables. The entire horse walk/ride back, my daughter kept turning around and talking to me about things we were grateful for: that I had a helmet on, that I wasn't trampled by other horses, that I wasn't paralyzed, that I got to fly, that the magical elves were in the Camelbak which cushioned part of my back, etc. This helped keep my mind off the pain. Needless to say, this incident was a very good excuse to not run this evening, but I was SO BUMMED that I couldn't.

Friday: I was still quite sore today from my fall from the horse yesterday, but decided to go for a short run anyway. Kyra was going to play games with her new friend, Madi. Madi's mom said she'd be in their room if needed. My back screamed at me immediately, but I pushed through it. I ran to the horse trails and did a loop. Then I got a text message from Kyra that a guy was freaking her out in the gameroom. I sent her a text back telling her to go with Madi to Madi's mom, IMMEDIATELY, and that I was running back. As soon as I hit send, she replied not to worry, that they were already in Madi's room with her mom. Nothing like a good adrenaline rush to speed up a run... I didn't go as far as I had wanted, but oh well... At least my daughter is safe.

Saturday: Today was our last day at the ranch. I had originally hoped to run after our last ride, but didn't want to leave Kyra with that freaky guy still around. I played monopoly with Kyra and Madi instead. My daughter's safety is totally worth a missed run. (Plus, my back still HURTS! and I have a huge bruise on my thigh and knee from the fall.)

Sunday: Still quite sore so took another day off of running. Hope to get back into it tomorrow.

Days run this week: 3

Miles run this week: 7.07

Highlight of the week: Didn't break any bones/spine during fall from horse. Had an awesome Thanksgiving at horse ranch and met new friends.

Goal for next week: Run most days of the week, even if just for a few miles.

Pitiful week of running

So I laid out a grand plan for slowly increasing mileage over the next few weeks to set me up for beginning a marathon training plan. It was totally realistic! I followed it perfectly last week, but fell apart this week. I should have run 15 miles, but did 5.6 instead. Excuse after excuse... I did my 3.5-mile speedwork on Tuesday as planned, but didn't follow through with the remainder of the runs planned for the rest of the week. I slept too late on Thursday and Friday. I thought I could make up the mileage over the weekend. My dog tripped me on Saturday which cut my 4-miler down to 2. Then it was rainy and cold all day Sunday; I dressed to run after Kyra's basketball game, but had chills and ached from my fall yesterday so went grocery shopping instead. Hopefully I can get back on track next week (no pun intended). I had planned for three easy 6-mile runs next week to equal 18 miles, but think I'll decrease the miles and increase the days to 2-3 miles every day to get back into the habit. I bought a Brooks nightlife yellow vest and hat for night-time running safety, so hopefully that will be motivation! Wish me luch!

Days run this week: 2
Miles run this week: 5.6
Highlight of the week: Pushed through 3 Yasso 800s on the treadmill even though it was hard!
Goal for next week: Run regularly; no excuses! 18 miles, mostly on trails at horse ranch (and have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday)

Spring marathon here I come..

Monday: rest

Tuesday: 4.03 easy miles in 51:03 minutes. Average heart rate 140. 57 degrees and raining. Felt good!

Wednesday: rest

Thursday: Tempo run; treadmill. 2-mile warm-up (13:45; 12:15), then 2 miles at faster pace (11:32, 11:29). Thanks to Running Stupid podcast for inspiration to keep pushing. The episode that I listened to talked about there should only be a few reasons for not perservering (broken bone, fever, other severe illness/injury). It was hard to run 2 miles that fast, but since I wasn't in major pain nor had broken bones, etc., I pushed it to the end. Yay!

Friday: rest

Saturday: Original plan was to run 5K race with friends, but my daughter is sick. With her permission, I ran 5 miles around the neighborhood instead. 5 miles in 59:57 minutes. Set up Garmin for 70-80% heart rate program. Felt good. Harder effort than my typical "long run", but do-able. Was surprised at pace since I didn't look at pace during run (11:59). Yay!

Sunday: rest

Weekly summary:
Days run this week: 3
Miles run this week: 13.03
Highlight of the week: (1) Recovered from Chicago marathon injury. (2) Running faster than I planned/hoped. (3) updating my hand-written running log and gaining insight into my Chicago injury. I think I tapered too much. (4) Making positive progress... feeling good about picking a spring marathon... but which one?

4 weeks after Chicago marathon

Monday: Today was the last Field Day that my daughter will experience in elementary school (since she'll be in middle school next year). This photo is of her in the lead in the 4x100 relay (and yes, her team won!). After Field Day, I went to Physical Therapy. After warming up with light exercises, my therapist had me try slow/easy jogging on the mini-trampoline. All went well. Then he had me do a series of lunges with slow/easy jogging (30 steps). That went well. So.... he said I should try a slow/easy jog of a few miles (or less) tomorrow. If it goes okay, then I can end therapy, but should continue doing strengthening exercises. Yay!

Tuesday: 5:27 a.m. mixed slow jog with walking. Hamstring started tightening at about 1 mile so I added more walking. Stretched afterwards. Total 2.05 miles in 29:35 minutes. Average heart rate = 129.

Wednesday: rest day

Thursday: 3.11 miles in 37:04, negative split. Jogged first 1.5 miles in 18:06, second 1.5 miles in 17:58; and last 0.11 miles in 58 seconds. Accomplished goal of negative split with no pain!

Friday: rest day

Saturday: 4.07 miles in 50:02 minutes. Easy run keeping heart rate between 70-75%. Average heart rate = 150. Felt good, no pain. Easy run in beautiful weather! Could have gone longer...

Sunday: 1.67 miles in 21:10 minutes. Average heart rate = 132. Easy jog with Riley. Too gorgeous of an afternoon to resit outside exercise!

Weekly summary:

Days run this week: 4

Miles run this week: 10.9

Highlight of the week: Kyra winning 1st place ribbons at Field Day + me being able to run again!!!!!

3 weeks after Chicago marathon

Monday: My first physical therapy appointment. The PT suspects hamstring tendonitis. It's too tender to do any stretches or exercises yet so he applied electrical stimulation and ice and said to come back later in the week. He'll add stretches and exercises once the tenderness decreases. He said I could swim or bike or walk if it didn't hurt.

Tuesday: My daughter is 11 today! She's happy she's finally a palindromic number! I took the afternoon off of work and took donughts for her class today at lunch to celebrate. Afterwards, I went to the aquatic center and swam 20 laps. The knee pain was minor, so I just did easy laps. Felt good to swim for 40 minutes!

Thursday: Both me and the dog are going crazy from not running! Riley's been destructive lately and has gotten thicker around the middle. He woke me early this morning so I decided to talk him for a walk, since I'm not supposed to run. We walked 1.42 miles in the neighborhood. It wasn't as rewarding as a run, but better than nothing. Had my second physical therapy appointment this afternoon. He had me do almost horizontal squats on the Total Gym and then bike for 12 minutes with no resistance. I could feel the tightness half-way up my leg. So this was followed by e-stim and ice. Maybe next time... Scheduled my next appointment for Monday.

Friday: Riley woke me even earlier this morning so we had time to walk for a little longer. We walked 2.29 miles in the neighborhood. He's not used to walking and pulled most of the way, wanting to run.

Saturday: Went to Fleet Feet in Lawrenceville today to use my $15 voucher before it expires. Turns out I had two! I bought a reflective vest, ear warmer headband, and balega socks. Decided that if I'm going to be outside in the dark, I should probably wear something more reflective than the tiny reflective details on my shoes. And as winter approaches, the ear covering headband will be sweet! After shopping, I came home, changed clothes, loaded Riley into the car and we went to Stone Mountain. We walked the muddy trails for a total of 3.98 miles. It was awesome!!! At least here I don't feel so bad about walking instead of running because the trails are so full of rocks and roots. It's rained a lot lately so by the time we finished, we were both muddy. Fun times!

Sunday: No exercise today... but did get an awesome new hair color and cut!

Weekly summary:

Days/Miles run this week: 0

Days exercised this week (swim/walk): 4

Highlight of the week: Walk/hike on muddy trails at Stone Mountain with Riley. Amazing views of autumn leaves! Wish I had taken the camera.