Game on

So after a couple weeks break, I am back in training mode...and it's about time, with Wasatch Back only 11 days from now.

Last week I ran over 20 miles. It felt really good. My longest run, on Friday, was 7 miles and it was nice to not even be sore after a run that long. I took Kate in the stroller and she did great, but I just keep telling myself I've GOT to get up in the morning for my runs!

Tonight I did 6 miles, and since my final leg of Wasatch Back is downhill to begin with then goes back up halfway through, I drove my car to the top of the hill and ran 3 miles down and turned around and ran 3 miles back up. Usually when I do this route I go up first and down second. Anyway, the first half was a total breeze!! But man, I didn't think I was going to make it back up that hill. But I did. Here I sit, having lived to type about it.

Feels good to be training again. My whole life gets in better balance when I exercise regularly.

Mission accomplished

Woo-freakin-HOO!!! What a great experience. And a great leap pad for my next feat....the Top of Utah marathon in four months. My training continues....

For more on Saturday's half marathon, see my other blog lydiametcalf.blogspot.com.

Still going....

Sorry I have been so lame on updating my running blog. I decided sometime last week that I would just post after my long runs on Saturdays. The problem with that was that I didn't run last Saturday. :( I just couldn't get myself to go out and do it! But for the record I have done two 3 milers, two 4 milers, and one 5 miler since my last post.

I had a funky week last week. After my first run of the week my ankle was sore and I was kinda paranoid of getting an injury, so I took a couple days off until it felt better. It was hard to get the drive back. But I got it eventually.

The race is a week from Saturday and I am trying to decide if I should do 10 miles this weekend or cut back to avoid injury. I really want to have that 10 miles in my mental backpack as a tool before I start the race. Not sure yet what I'm going to do.

Thanks again for all of your encouragement! It's really helpful!

Run #15

Eight miles today. EIGHT!!!!!

I really like the ipod pedometer thing that Jenny gave me. THANKS JEN! But I think I calibrated it wrong or something so I'll have to fix that. I did it in 79 minutes exactly; just under a 10 minute mile. I feel so amazing, like if I can run eight miles I can do ANYTHING!!

The book said to start telling people that I am a marathoner. Today I feel like it. I can't believe that I have only been training for four weeks and I can already run 8 miles. That just goes to show how our potential is so much greater than we realize. Seriously. We are more amazing than we give ourselves credit for.

If anyone reading this is thinking that I am something special, you're wrong. I am TOTALLY convinced that anyone can run a marathon. I would 100% recommend the book I am reading though, The Nonrunner's Marathon trainer. I can honestly say that there is no way I would have even attempted eight miles by this point if that wasn't what was on the schedule for today. A training schedule is a MUST.

17 miles this week, and I missed a run. Go get 'em, tiger!

Run #12

Six miles+Pushing Kate in the stroller+Uphill halfway=Hardest run yet. But guess what...I did it. And that's what matters.

Run #9 and #10

Scheduled Miles 3, 4
Actual Miles 3, 4

Comments: Feeling good. I have had a little bit of knee pain. Mostly when I first get going and then it subsides. The scale is NOT my friend (this morning I weighed the most I have since starting training!) but believe it or not I'm not just running to lose weight, so it didn't deter me. And besides that, I feel great, and I think I look thinner. So take that scale!

But the biggest accomplishment? I actually WOKE UP EARLY and went for my run! It was great to not have to worry about Kate AT ALL. I have her to thank actually, as she woke up at 5:15 and didn't go back to sleep until I fed her a bottle. That got me wide awake, and I knew she would stay asleep the whole time I was gone. So thanks Kate!

I am really liking the exercise ticker. I added it to my other blog, too. It's fun to see those miles just keep on going up, uP, UP!

OH! I FINALLY got us registered for the marathon yesterday! We'll be doing the two man relay (the half marathon was full, so that made the decision easy). One month from tomorrow!

Run #8 04.12.08

Scheduled Miles: 5
Actual Miles: 5(!!)
RPE:7

Comments: I DID IT!!!! WoooHOOO! My first five mile run is under my belt.

I mapped out the course on mapquest before I left, and it took me on a road I have never been on before that didn't really have a shoulder or a sidewalk. I don't think I'll run that course again. That part was right in the middle too, making it even tougher.

By far the best/most empowering part of the run was passing the gym: 1.3 miles to my house from there, but because I added in some warm up/cool down walking distance, that meant I only had ONE MORE MILE! When you've done 4 already, what's one more? It felt so great! 52 minutes, in spite of a couple short walking stretches in the middle.

The outsides of my ankles got a little sore for a while. It feels like maybe I am running more on the inside of my feet. Maybe I'll try some insoles with a little more support.

I forgot my ipod. I think I need to find a way to stay hydrated--so thirsty!

Yay ME!! :D

Day 6&7 April 9th & 10th

Scheduled Miles: (4, 3)
Actual Miles: (4, 3)
RPE:6

Comments: I ran 4 miles on the treadmill at the gym last night. About 3 miles on the road today, with Kate in stroller. Feeling very sore. Today's run was the first time I really felt like my legs were giving out before my lungs/heart. I walked a bit in the middle.

Looking forward to Saturday's run. My mom is going to watch Kate so that Mike and I can finally run together. Something funny...I think in a way we are competing against each other. Hehehe! It will be interesting to see how it goes running together for both of our longest runs yet. We're both competitive but Mike is a sore winner and I am a sore loser. Best case scenario is for me to win every time, right? We'll see.

Day 5 extended :-)

So because I only ran 2 miles yesterday, and I only ran 3 miles today (instead of 4) due to another time crunch I decided to delete yesterday's run....not really. I am just counting today as my 3 mile run, and I will still do a 4, 3, 5 for the rest of the week. Don't you love how I bend the rules to work for me??? I think it's quite clever. :)

Scheduled Miles: 3
Actual Miles: 3
RPE: 5

Comments: Had another good run today. Got side cramps in the first 10th of a mile that came out to run with me. They were gone by the end of the first mile. That used to deter me, or make me walk. Not anymore. I tried not to focus on time, just how I felt. I felt good. Great way to start the day. (Well, sort of. I would like to get my run in first thing in the morning, but I can't manage to pull my butt out of bed no matter how much sleep I've had. But today was relatively early...10 am.)

Day 5 04.07.08

Scheduled Miles: 3
Actual Miles:2
RPE:4

Comments: Wow! I can't believe what a breeze it was to run two miles. I only did two because I didn't make it to the gym until 8:40, so I only had 20 minutes. Kate was really sick today, so I didn't want to take her out....especially to a day care, which is where she probably caught the bug in the first place. I'm not sure if I should try to make up miles I miss. I could do an extra run this week, even if it is a short 2 or 3 miler. Hmmm, I wonder what is the best thing to do in this scenario. Any suggestions?

Running is already making a difference in my life. I feel more in control. More powerful. Healthier. The psychological benefits are enough to keep me going, but I know the physical benefits will start showing soon too! :D

Day 3&4 April 3&5th

Scheduled Miles: 8 (3, 5)
Actual Miles: 3 (3, 0)
RPE: 7, 0

Comments: Thursday's 3 miler was the hardest run yet. I can only gather that is because I had pushed myself for three days straight. I was glad for the rest day on Friday before the 5 miler on Saturday.

Mike and I were irresponsible Friday night and stayed up late (til 2 am) with friends. Plus Kate (and therefore we) had a hard night sleeping at someone else's house. We didn't do our five mile run on Saturday. On the one hand I feel bad about that, but I'm not going to let it discourage me. On the other hand, it might be a good thing to have a few more shorter runs to train my cardiovascular and muscular systems for the distance runs to come. I am repeating week one (3,4,3,5) instead of moving on to week two.

Day 2 04.02.08

Scheduled Distance: 4 miles
Actual Distance: 4 miles
RPE: 6
Comments: I went to the gym and ran on the treadmill to avoid the stroller. This definitely has it's pros and cons. I really liked knowing my exact pace, but this is also a con because the canyon won't keep my pace for me, I need to! ;) I warmed up speed walking for 2 minutes and then went to 5 mph (12 min mile) as I had done yesterday.

I wasn't really feeling all that challenged so I upped the pace. I ran most of the 4 miles at 6 mph (10 min mile) but towards the end I still felt I had some juice so for the last mile I gradually got up to 8 mph. I finished in 40:39! The book keeps telling me not to worry about time, and not to push myself too hard in the beginning, but it feels SOOO good to accomplish something I haven't done for 8 years!

Because I was at the gym and Kate was doing well in the daycare, I decided to work my upper body on the machines. I used to be so impressed by my back and shoulder muscles that I would flex in the mirror in disbelief that that was MY body. I want to get that back again.

The third mile was toughest on the treadmill. I was already feeling tired and I was only half way. Before when I would run just for weight loss, I probably would have gotten off at that point. Something about having the training laid out for me kept me going and I have felt more motivated than ever. I know I am only on day two, and therefore still pretty fresh, but I can already tell that this is going to be a monumental event in my life.

Day 1 04.01.08

Scheduled Distance: 3 miles
Actual Distance: 3.6 miles
RPE: 4
Comments: Today my goal was to keep a slower steady pace so that I wouldn't have to walk at all. I took Kate with me in the stroller, which I am going to try to avoid from now on whenever possible. I didn't have a car to map out a three-mile course, but I knew it was about a mile to the gym, so I ran to the gym, did a mile on the treadmill and ran back. When I got home I mapquested the distance and found out it is 1.3 miles to the gym.

I need to buy a stopwatch. Even though my only goal is to finish the marathon, I would like to know how my pace is increasing.

I read something I really liked in the book today. It was discussing the difference between internal and external locus of control, and creating reality in your mind. Positive thoughts must rule the day. One thing some of the previous training students said was when they met a challenge, be it pain or a hill or whatever, they would say, "Ah, there you are knee pain. Come. Run with me." I LOVED this perspective! Instead of saying, "Oh, I couldn't finish my run because my knees hurt," they welcomed it. It didn't stop the pain, but it didn't stop them from running either.

"Come stroller. Come crying baby. Run with me." Although it took me longer than necessary, I didn't have to walk. And I went farther than I needed to, which gave me a lot of confidence for the 4 and 5 milers this week. For Kate's sake, however, I don't think I'll invite these particular set backs again. :)

Welcome

Welcome to my Running Blog!

A few things of note:

1) The exercise ticker to the right. While blogstalking I saw this on another blog and decided to incorporate it. You'll notice the total # of miles is 134.1. I got this number from the book, "The Non-Runner's Marathon Trainer." The book is actually a 16 week full marathon training course, but seeing as I only have 7 weeks I have simply added up all the miles up to week seven. The book lays out how many miles to run each week which includes two "short" runs, one "medium" run, and one "long" run per week. They have found that running just these four times per week is just as effective in training as running six times per week, which is GREAT news if you ask me.

This week I will run two 3 mile runs, one 4 miler, and one 5 miler. The week of the marathon it will be two 4 milers, one 6 miler, and the half marathon (13.1 miles). So the midweek runs don't get too much longer, but the weekend run increases by at least a mile each week. Make sense?

2) My posts will mostly look the same, as this blog is mostly just a log of my runs. Just how many miles I ran that day, how hard I felt I had to work for them (RPE), and anything I feel like I want to share/remember about the run that day.

3) If anyone is interested in joining in, I think it would be a blast to do the long runs together on Saturdays. I was even thinking of going up to Eden and starting at the startline for the half and then running the route for the allotted miles.

4) I welcome all comments, suggestions, and encouragement!