Let the training begin!

Marathon training, that is. Monday, December 27 marked day 1 of 12 weeks of marathon training! And - funny enough - my schedule did NOT call for running! I did Yoga on Monday! :) My heel got another couple days of rest because Tuesday was a rest day – and I was told to ‘enjoy every minute of it’ – which I mostly did because I swam in the morning. Today I *finally* get to run! My schedule calls for 8 miles (gulp-it’s been a while):

4 miles @ 10:35 / Long Run Pace, last 4 miles at 8:50 / Half Marathon Pace

Well, I’m certain the first 4 miles will be no problem, based on the fact that I did manage a 5K on 12/4. At least I hope they are not! I will then take the next 4 miles one mile at a time. I plan to do this run on the treadmill so I can control the speed. That is, keep myself on target! Thursday calls for an interval run of 8 x 1/2 mile with 2 minutes rest at 8:33 pace... Then thankfully Friday is a day off with some core thrown in. I can certainly use some core work!

Then...THIS weekend I am actually doing back to back races. Not saying I will actually ‘race’ them though! Saturday I have 12 miles (yikes) scheduled. I am entered in a 10K with Carol. We are doing 2 miles for a warm-up at long run pace, then the 10K at marathon pace, then 4 miles broken up by 2 at threshold pace and 2 at marathon pace. I will take it one section at a time... Sunday calls for a 35 minute skill run (this will be my easy 5K) plus 8 x 20 second strides. Hopefully I can do the strides after my run right at the race site. Should be a FUN weekend!

Speaking of FUN... My friend Carol is loaning me P90X. I am going to try to do a P90X challenge starting on 1/3. I have no idea how this will all fit in with my marathon training, but I will do the best I can. Maybe I will do the P90X-ish Challenge!

Happy and Healthy Training!

Of course it snowed...

Yesterday, there was snow in the forecast. They were calling from anywhere from a dusting to 3 inches...

Yesterday I was getting up early to swim. Yay! And I got up extra early so I could actually pack my bike, trainer, and bike stuff in the car. All this so I could go to the Team Z spin at Bonzai after work! I was prepared to stay late and read a book that I've been reading for about 2 months now. I had not yet been to a spin, even though I've wanted to go. Honestly, I always found it too stressful to have all that stuff ready each time. But I really wanted to try to get there this season. Really! After all, Ironman Arizona is only 337 days and some odd hours away!

So...OF COURSE IT SNOWED!!

Schools got out 2 hours early.

Coach Ed said they'd decide by 2PM.

And wouldn't you know it...spin was cancelled.

The snow was my fault.

Haha - not really, I know, but...really!?!

So last night I went home and out of retalitation I did NOT spin. Just kidding. Well, kidding about retaliating! I did shovel the snow AND unload all of my bike stuff. Besides, I am still on 'training vacation' until Monday, December 27. Then there are no excuses! That is the first day of my 12 week marathon training program. Shamrock Whale Challenge, here I come! I am really very excited to start running again! So much so that I've been a race registering fool! This week alone I've signed up for a 10K on 1/1, a 5K on 1/2 (back to back, I know - I'm crazy, but it is New Year's weekend and I have no time goals), a maraton relay for 2/20, and just today I registered for the Team Z summer "A" race weekend. I will be doing the Musselman half on July 17, 2011! Jeff is doing it too and we are both very excited. It will be our first tri together!

My foot/heel is still feeling amazingly well. Like nothing was ever wrong, in fact. I'm still icing a bit and stretching a bit, and not walking barefoot. Aside from two short times in dress shoes and boots I have only been wearing my running shoes with the custom orthotics. Both of my feet should be happy!

Only ten more days of no running - yay!

Happy and Healthy Training!

Shuffle Success!

Last Saturday was the Santa Shuffle, a Team Z race! I decided a couple of weeks before that this would be...fun. And a good way to test my foot.

I'm happy - thrilled is more like it - that the Santa Shuffle, and the test of my foot, was a success! My foot did not hurt at all! Outside of the fact that both feet were freezing due to the cool temps. OK, it was below freezing I think, who are we kidding! We got to the race site quite early – but we got in and out of packet pickup without having to wait in the line outside in the cold! Back to the car for some heat. I stepped out to use the port o potty - no lines and it was actually warmer in the john than outside! Then I got a cup of coffee from the Z tent and headed back to the car for a bit. It was finally time to get outside and sort of get ready to race. By then more Z'ers were showing up.

The race started at 8:30 and at around 8:15, as promised, they walked us over to the start. I had worn a couple of jingle bells with my 'costume' picture above. Someone in the race was handing out more - so I took two to add to my collection. You would be able to hear me coming, that's for sure! I was hanging out with Jeff, Marlene, Harriet, and Jason before the start. The race started in a kind of quiet manner. Oh well, it was a small event. The course was out-and-back in a neighborhood and at times it was a bit narrow - especially with the piles of leaves and the parked cars. Fortunately I did not trip!

I started out slow and comfortable and decided I would try to pick it up at the turn around. During the out part there is a nice hill that you go down and I hit the 1 mile point along here. Needless to say my mile 2 split was much better than the first! I was feeling good as well and as I approached the turn around saw lots of teammates. Around the turn around and saw more z'mates! I did my best to push up that hill and while I think I slowed some I did pass some people. As I got close to the turn to the finish I got a shout out for my jingle bells, too! At the finish I stopped my watch and discovered I'd managed to break 30 minutes. Just barely, but I was pretty happy since I'd not run in 34 days!

After a quick post race snack Jeff and I met Marlene, Harriet, and Jason (is there a pattern here?) at the Starbucks. I had a delicious and somewhat earned Peppermint Mocha Soy Latte! It was delicious!
Later on at home I checked the results and my official time was 29:51.3 and I was 6 of 18 women in my age group. I was really happy with that! Out of women I was 97 of 327. And strange enough, there were more female finishers than male, which I think is unusual.

Anyway, I saw the foot doc this week and while he made a face over my race he was very pleased with my progress. And my foot still feels good! I'm going to take it easy till just after Christmas. On Monday, December 27 I am good to go to start marathon training. Shamrock weekend here I come!

Happy and Healthy Training!

Shuffle time...

It’s almost time to shuffle...but before the shuffle I have a heel update. I got the awesome cortisone shot on Tuesday after work – one week ago. It was pretty painful. After the shot they surprised me with a wonderful little foot whirlpool bath followed by ultra sound. It was pretty tender for a few days but on Sunday morning I woke up with NO pain. I got out of bed and stepped and nothing. It was amazing!! Tonight I go back for more therapy on my heel. Yay! Hopefully in another week or so my orthotics should be ready, too!

This coming weekend – Saturday that is – I am going to try to run, most likely easy, at the Santa Shuffle! This is a 5K that Team Z has on the calendar and there is a team brunch after. It should all be fun. Worst case scenario – if the running hurts, I will walk. Besides, I have some fun, new head-boppers to wear! Priscilla, a Z'er, is my inspiration! And if we were not doing the brunch after I would bring Riley. She needs to go to another Z event! I swear she is twice as big as she was at the Doggie Run.

Speaking of Riley, we have had her for 1 month and 20 days now. She has grown a LOT, but...her baby teeth are still there. I know they will soon be leaving us... But regardless of the really annoying teeth, she is really a cutie and we still love having her. One of the cats is somewhat playing with her, too. >^..^< So funny. The other cat – meh. So not going to happen!

I cannot believe that tomorrow is December 1! I have not put up a tree – and will likely save that till the weekend before the actual day, just for Riley’s sake. Or is that for mine? I did put a few general decorations up though. I might do some things this weekend, if there is time...but it will probably have to wait to the weekend after because this weekend is slammed with stuff.

Anyway, the Monday after Christmas marks my official start of marathon training! I’m so excited to be doing the Shamrock down in Virginia Beach. I did the half there last year and so I at least know half the course! One thing I do know about the entire course...is that it is flat! Except for that one little spot... Since I'm signed up for the 'Whale Challenge' I'm pretty sure the marathon training will get me ready for the 8K the day before! And I hopefully will be doing some training with Carol, who inspired me by doing hte Dolphin Challenge (8K and Half) last year, and it will be fun to have company on some of the long runs! And Jeff is venturing into the scene and will be doing the half. Great fun!

Now it is almost time for my heel therapy!

Happy and Healthy Training!

On November 20, 2011...

...I'll be toeing the line at Ironman Arizona along with a bunch of my friends from Team Z! Who needs Cozumel anyway? (Read Es's Thursday 13 and you'll know what I mean...)

So, I must get this heel fixed, pronto! And speaking of my heel, today I go back to the podiatrist for the highly anticipated (ha-ha) cortisone shot! Yesterday, in addition to signing up for IM AZ I signed up for the Santa Shuffle, a 5K race the team is doing on December 4. Jeff is doing it as well. I'm thinking positively here! And I'm also getting those custom orthotics, hopefully they'll be ready in another couple weeks! *fingers crossed*

Since, according to my newest countdown timer, the aforementioned IM AZ is only 361 days away, I'd better get back on my bike/trainer and get back into the water. I will ease back into run training next month...

Here's to Happy and Very Healthy Training!!

Oh heel...

Well, yesterday was two weeks since I saw the podiatrist. And yesterday after work I went back to see him again. I've been icing and stretching pretty consistently since my first visit. And to my surprise, I have made a small amount of progress. That is, the inside/side of my right heel does not seem to hurt any longer. But the bottom of it - ouch. It still really hurts. I had mentioned to him that when it had been taped it felt pretty good. So last night they made impressions of both of my feet for custom orthotics! I guess I'm excited - it seems every one I know that runs has them. And some people seem surprised that I don't have them. Lucky me - I never needed them before. Before now that is.

Before I left their office last night the assistant taped my foot again. And of course, my foot feels better. Again. The doctor made one other suggestion - a cortisone shot. Right in my heel. Yikes! I did not want to do it last night though as I had a very important date at 12:01AM this morning. Yes, I met two of my friends (Marlene and Chris) at the theater at about 10:00PM last night for the 12:01AM premiere of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1! I loved it and can't wait for Part 2. But apparently I have to wait till July. Hmm... Anyway, I did not want or need anything distracting me from the show!

But back to my foot... I am happy that part of it is feeling better. I'm hoping that the cortisone shot next week will speed things up and that I'll be able to run a 5K on December 4 with Team Z - the Santa Shuffle! Now, I've definitely decided against the Blue & Gray Half Marathon on December 12. But I just might consider the 5K - like last year. I will see how the shuffle goes first...

This weekend I'm off to Philadelphia with my younger son to visit Temple University, my son's second choice. We may visit his first choice in January... First though we are possibly visiting Elite Cycles in town, then meeting and staying with my cousin who lives close by and having Philly Cheesesteaks! My older son gets a weekend with Riley!

Speaking of Riley...she is now three months old. And while we thought she was all Lab, the more we look at her the more it seems her ears want to stand up! There was a possibility that the 'father' was a German Shepard...and since her mom is a Chocolate Lab that could make her a German Chocolate Retriever! I'll have to get a good picture of her and her ears soon!

A new venture...?

Now you can find me here!

This is new and as I really get started - likely next week - I'll probably start blogging more about it.

So...yesterday was one week after having seen the runner podiatrist. I must say, I left the tape on for just over 3 days. My foot felt so much better with the tape on. However, aside from one day, I've done a really good job of icing the bad spots 3x a day and stretching it 2x a day. My fot was a bit sore yesterday - but I did spend a lot of time on my feet, at home, going through various boxes and cleaning. Thursday next week (November 18) I go back for a follow-up. I am keeping my fingers crossed! I have decided I probably will not do the turkey trot - unless by a couple days before it is feeling really good. But...there is a 5K that my team is doing on December 4 - followed by a team brunch/holiday party. I think I would be better off waiting another week and a half after Thanksgiving to do the 5k. Then I can hopefully have been training a bit qand do it for time so I can get my baseline for my upcoming marathon training.

Happy and Healthy Training!

“Race” Report: The Dash Doggie Run

NOTE: The Dash 5K and 1 Mile Doggie Run Benefitted the Washington Animal Rescue League!

Team Z recently added a 5K and fun doggie run to the 2010 fall/winter team calendar. The doggie run was to be a whole mile long, and even though Riley and I don’t go for walks more than quarter mile I signed us up!

Fast Forward to race morning! Luckily it was even time for the clocks to “fall back” on Saturday night. However, Riley was still up and at em quite early! I think she was excited about her first race!! I fed her on schedule, hoping she would take care of any ‘pre-race’ business in our yard, before we left the house. We were in the car by 6:35 for an 8:00 start! Of course, packet pick-up/check-in started at 7:30. And I wanted to stop by Starbucks for a much needed soy latte. Then we were really off!

Riley sat/lay in Jeff’s lap for the ride. She does pretty well in a lap, as opposed to the cat crate.

>^..^<

We made really good time and only made one wrong turn – and THAT was at a traffic circle. Fortunately the Garmin got us back on course. Oh, then I missed the turn to the park, too, but I fixed that on my own. We saw signs for the The Dash 5K and knew we were in the right place. We parked and quickly found Ed, Zoe, and the rest of Team Z that was there. Ed was awesome – he even provided coffee and bagels! Oh, and there was DIET COKE (Carol and Priscilla)!

I thought Riley might have to do some ‘business’ once we got out of the car on to the grass, but she was too busy checking out all the people and dogs! She met Zoe, and cool spaniel named Booker, and a lot of other dogs – like George and Nala! And a lot of people, too! I got us checked in and picked up a poo bag, just in case. Riley also got a really cute bandana. I picked out one that had cats on it.

The race was starting at 8:00 as mentioned and they played the Star Spangled Banner before the start. Riley tried to sing along. (She needs to work on this.) I seeded us at the back of the pack because (1) she was not the best at walking on the leash – hey, she’s not even 3 months old and still learning; and (2) we’d never walked more than about a quarter mile (if that) at a time. I figured worst case scenario I’d carry her. She only weighs 23.3 pounds (as of the day before at the vet) and I could handle that.

The gun fired and we were off! Riley walked and whimpered, but kept on going in a mostly forward motion at my urging. At times we even mixed in a little bit of running! It was awesome! It was also awesome that the first half of the out and back course was a downhill! But you know what that means – the return would be UPHILL! Riley ‘met’ a lot of dogs along the way – my favorite was a male Westie named Jackson (and his canine friend Harper the Carin) – and made it to the turn around. She did stop for a pee part way through the first half and lost some time. (I wish it was that easy for us humans!)

Time to go around the turn around sign and back up that hill! Things were going real well and she really was getting the hang of things. Then... she stopped to do more ‘business’. The kind that required cleaning up after! No problem – I had that poo bag and was able to clean up after her. Then we were back on our way! Turns out Riley wasn’t the only one to stop to doo-doo the same thing! I think on our way back up we managed to pass a few pups that passed us on the way down! As we approached the finish line the announced noted that I was there with “Young Riley”! She got all excited!!

We made it back to the Z area and Riley promptly plopped down for a short snooze while watched the 5K get started. It was time for my Diet Coke – then Riley got a homemade dog treat made by “The Dog Chef”! Team Z really cleaned up at this race! And they had the same fun hill to run up at the end, too! Thanks, Ed, for adding it to the calendar! Finally, it was time to head out...

Riley was one tired pup when we got home!

Race Report: MCM...

The 35th Marine Corps Marathon was on Sunday, October 31st. Halloween! So before the race there was packet pickup and Halloween fesitivites!

Packet Pick-Up opened at 9:00AM and my plan was to get there when it opened. Despite the throngs of people heading downtown for the crazy rally, travel by Metro was not too bad. For us. We were waiting in line to get in by 8:45AM. Packet Pick-Up was pretty cool. I'm a goober and I loved the M*A*S*H themed Brooks Running Athlete Support Hospital, or B*R*A*S*H. There wasn't a line so we both did a gait analysis and ended up with a B*R*A*S*H t-shirt and Brooks bandana.

I got the t-shirt and Jeff gave the bandana to Riley. Maybe she can wear it on Sunday to the doggie run! :) At the expo I did buy an awesome MCM 2010 fleece and some Brooks shoes and a cool aluminum water bottle. Then visited a few other booths - Flying Pig and Chica Bands in particular. I got two cute Flying Pig stickers and a pig Chica Band. I'm set for the Flying Pig now!
So after the expo we headed back home to get ready for the 'carbo loading Halloween themed party' at Carol and Tim's. Carol rocked her Abba outfit and Tim’s pimp outfit was just awesome. Marlene had some cool black wings with black lips and nails. Priscilla’s candy ransom t-shirt was pretty cute. Jeff and I had fun with our costumes. He was a CSI-ish officer while I was NCIS's Abby-twin. At least that is what we were going for!

Now on to the the 35th Marine Corps Marathon! First off, so far this week my left quad is sore. Very sore, actually, compared to my right one, which is not sore at all. It was overcompensating for my right heel, I think! Funny, my heel feels back to normal today. Well what is normal for it. Of course.

On race morning, I got to the Metro around 5:30 where I ate my English muffin with peanut butter. Got on a train and to the Pentagon without any mishaps. The walk to the Runners Village was longer than I'd have liked but...I just took it slow. I ate my banana here and started on my bottle of Gatorade. It was still pretty dark but they did have Jumbo Trons out there to help guide us where we needed to go! And even though I'd managed to get a Brooks VIP Pass I made a quick stop at a clean portapotty (very well stocked with TP by the way) before heading over to take off my warm clothes and do the bag drop. At this point it was 6:55 and I slowly started walking towards the starting area, dropping the empty Gatorade bottle along the way.

On the way to the start I did go to the Brooks VIP Bathrooms. The heat felt nice, the cramped quarters, not so much. But the Brooks imprinted toilet paper was pretty funny! "Run Happy" I slowly continued on my way to the start area and now ate my Lemon Sublime Gu and started in on the water. Still walking I came upon more portapotties with no line. I opted to stop as at least now it was light out. Again, very clean and well stocked! So...I got into my corral and continued to sip on the water. And of course, I needed to take yet another potty break. I walked back towards the potties and found some with no lines. Again - clean and well stocked. I think some of the triathlon races could learn something from this (Eagleman)...

Back to my corral where I waited and the festitivites were starting. I missed the F-18 flyover. I'm not sure WHY I did not look up. I did hear them though! However I did see the Helicopters. CH-somethings. Maybe 53? (I had to Google it.) Very cool.

I really love the Patriotic nature of this event - just like the Army 10 Miler. It makes me proud and happy to be here, in America. Often makes me wish I never left the Air Force Reserves. Better yet, that I was career Air Force. Oh well...

Anyway, I finally got to start! I had a pace plan around my arm. Had I not had bronchitis and missed a key long run and other training runs (two weeks worth!), nor had a sore heel, I think this would have been totally doable, as my training had gone fantastically. Until I got sick. There is always the next one! Anyway, pretty much the first half went almost exactly how my pace plan was written. The article Carol sent me on pacing that particular race really helped! Of course, not long after my foot started hurting. I stopped at the halfway point to use another well stocked and clean portapotty. I continued on my way and dropped the pace a bit. I decided I did not want to worry about a finish time anyway because I was happy to be out there. I think I managed to run till mile 15 or 16 without really walking. I did start taking walk breaks, but funny, things (except my heel) felt better when I was running.

Well it was finally time to cross over that darned bridge! I saw Seb there!! On into Crystal City I saw Holly and Janet and Rich. A little further along was Marlene and Carol on the other side of the street - I hit them on the way back. In the final stretch I saw Priscilla and Tracey then a little further along Es and some others (sorry everyone else, but Es and her IM Switzerland shirt stood out!!). Finally I went up the hill to the finish and there I saw Jeff, Lisa and her son Tyler. I got my lovely space blanket then my medal. Now...this part was brutal. After getting the medal we were herded towards the Finisher's Festival. This in itself is just great. But we were moving so slowly I was feeling sick. I really needed to move! I was going from hot to cold and back. On and off went the space blanket. Finally things opened up and I headed towards the "W" section to 'link up' with Jeff, Lisa, and Tyler. I stopped at another clean and well stocked portapotty once finally in the link up area. Then I sat on a curb and waited for them. I waited about 5-10 mintues when Lisa and Tyler appeared. Turns out they had been waiting for me at the UPS trucks thinking I would stop there for my bag. Um, I had arranged with JEFF to meet at the "W" so...I was in the right spot.

So I did see a few other Z peeps both on the course and cheering. I was only wearing a Z cap - no other Z stuff. And cat ears of course for my costume. Seeing ALL the Z peeps out there was awesome, as always!

Here I am in the last mile. Thanks, Tracey!

So my finish time was 5:15:15! Isn't that a pretty cool time? I think it is kind of fun!! Not sure why I didn't take a picture of the medal...

On a positive note, I'm seeing my primary care doctor today and I have an appointment with a runner podiatrist on Thursday afternoon. Hopefully my foot will be truly happy again very soon. And like Brooks says, I can Run Happy. Maybe in time so that I can still run the Virginia Run Turkey Trot and Blue & Gray Half Marathon this year! But more importantly, to get in shape for all the fun stuff getting lined up for 2011!

Happy and Healthy Training!

Week 15 – MCM Training...

This is the 16th and FINAL week of Marine Corps Marathon training. And today is T-4 days to the big event! Yikes! So far I have not run this week but plan to do yesterday's run today after work. I skipped yesterday's because (1) I worked later than normal; and (2) I had a very important Girls' Night Out with some Team Z Ironman ladies! It was fun and worth it. Besides, my heel needs all the 'rest' it can get before Sunday. So, tonight should be a very easy 3 mile run.

So, back to week 15... Well, I skipped one run last week - the tempo run - as I just did not want to chance hurting my heel any more than necessary. But I did add some sprinting during a run though the neighborhood. Saturday during the run it felt good, especially after the first 10 minutes of running. Saturday afternoon, however, my heel hurt. Sunday my heel hurt and both feet were tired. But I also spent a lot of the day walking around. Walking around Kings Dominion! The park was not crowded at all then starting at 6PM they have their “Halloween Haunt” attractions open. I am such a wimp! I don’t like scary movies and I really don’t like haunted houses. But it was fun and I would do it again – and likely will. Next year! As we bought season passes for 2011, so that will be included.

So here is last week's training:

10/19/10 Run - easy spiral loop in the hood, 4.08 miles
10/21/10 Swim - JCC Masters, PM, 1.62 miles
10/22/10 Run - neighborhood loop with some sprints, 3.43 miles
10/23/10 Run - easy out and back-ish, 7.82 miles
10/24/10 Swim - JCC Masters, 1.55 miles

So far this week my heel feels fine. I'm trying to be nice to it. And since this week's training calls for a tempo run, I probably will not do it so I can continue to be 'nice' to my heel. Hopefully an easy run tonight, easy run Friday, Expo and Halloween party on Saturday afternoon - with time off my feet as much as possible, then Sunday = race day! Yikes!!

Speaking of the Halloween party...Fellow Z'er Christy gave me a great idea for a costume - an Ironman finisher! (Thanks, Christy!!) She said he did that at work last year. And since I have all the gear...

Happy and Healthy Training!

Week 14 – MCM Training...

Well, today is T-10 days till the BIG day – the Marine Corps Marathon. Yikes! I’ve been ‘trying’ to following my training plan this week and so far, ‘eh’. Let’s go back to Saturday.

So, the ‘plan’ called for a 12 mile run at 10:38. I did 12 miles at 11:07. Given my 2 week unscheduled break AND my sore heel this is what I ended up with – and I’ll take it. However, Sunday I managed to go out and run another 3.5 miles at 10:48 with NO heel pain then I swam 3000 meters in a little over an hour. I skipped the Monday run as my heel was again sore (I think it was my work shoes) and went on Tuesday instead and all things felt ‘ok’. I had also worn different shoes to work that day. I skipped my tempo run last night – 5 miles total with 3 at tempo of 9:06 in favor of resting. I was tired and my heel hurt again which was weird because yesterday I stayed home from work – because the plumber was there doing important stuff! Anyway, today the heel feels OK, but I may hold off till tomorrow morning, when I will be home till about 10:15AM at which time I will take my son to a follow-up doctor appointment.

OK --> I was bummed the other week because I had bronchitis. Well...my high school senior son has pneumonia. Bummer. Major bummer. Next week is the last week of the grading period, plus this week - tonight in fact - is the last 'tune-up' race for cross country. Next week is the District Tournement and he is supposed to go as an alternate...

Anyway, regarding my heel: my running shoes now feel great – new shoes, new inserts! I’m really having problems with my work shoes. I’m not wearing heels (Carol!), just regular-type shoes I wear with pants. I’m not sure WHAT about them is bugging it. Oh well, I will get this figured out!

All in all I’ve felt ok with my workouts since Saturday. I can’t believe that as of tomorrow I’ll be in single digit days left till race day! I’m actually excited! I mean I’m nervous about my heel, but still excited about the race. And I’m looking forward to the expo! I’m just trying to stay very positive in general. If my heel is bad after the race, and even if it is not, I will most likely see about getting it looked out. I have so much I want to do and it will certainly be ‘easier’ (which is relative) if the heel feels better! I’m trying to figure out my 2011 race calendar! So far this is what I’ve got:

03/19/2011 – Shamrock ‘Whale Challenge' – 8K on Saturday
03/20/2011 – Shamrock ‘Whale Challenge' –Marathon on Sunday
05/01/2011 – Flying Pig HALF Marathon

Hopefully some Team Z races!

Then, if I get in:

11/20/2011 – Ironman Arizona

I also plan to take a road trip to Lake Placid in July with Carol and who knows who else. I want to volunteer (and cheer) and sign up for Ironman Lake Placid for 2012. And looking further at 2012, I want to become Goofy in 2012! But...I just found out it is still open for 2011...

Happy and Healthy Training!

MCM Training – or lack there of...

I have not blogged in weeks! Lately, things have not been going all that well...

After a successful Wilson Bridge Half Marathon on September 19 I rested a couple of days, then did an easy run, then did my regularly scheduled weekend long run, on September 25. My plan called for 16 miles. My plan was to do three loops x 5.5 miles from Wakefield Park around Lake Accotink and back, for a total of 16.5 miles. Well, I felt pretty good going into it. The first loop was fantastic and the second not too bad. I met up with Jeff at the start of the second – he was mountain biking around and would catch up with me here and there. The third loop was just miserable however! My legs were a little sore but my right heel was killing me. Seriously KILLING me. I had stupidly(!) worn an older pair of shoes that day. What was I thinking? Oh, wait...apparently I wasn’t! Anyway, I took a few stop/walk breaks during the third and final loop, once to talk to Leanne and another to talk to Jill both Team Z-mates who were out there training, plus I just walked up a couple of hills. I really struggled to finish that last loop. But finish I did.

That night I went to a concert and everything seemed just fine. I can’t remember if I swam on Tuesday morning, but on Wednesday I volunteered at back to school night (my final one!) selling spirit wear then I visited each of my son’s classes. The next day I was feeling pretty bad. I skipped swim and went home from work early. I did stay the entire day on Friday, but Friday we close early. Anyway, I was supposed to do the Maryland Komen Race for the Cure on Sunday (10/3) but was just plain miserable. So I skipped it. Bummer.

Then I went back to work Monday and again left early. Tuesday I called in sick and made a doctor’s appointment. I’d been running a fever of 101* but my lungs were clear. I continued with the fever which was now 102* and aches and pains and by Thursday I’d developed bronchitis, as I went back to the doctor that afternoon. At this point I got an antibiotic and continued to rest. A lot.

The following week, last week, I went back to work but worked shortened days each day. This past Saturday (10/9) I finally went out for a test run. I did about 7.5 miles (not the 20 that I was supposed to). It had been 2 full weeks since I’d run. My right heel was still hurting. I did wear my ‘normal’ running shoes, this time. At that point the Marine Corps Marathon was 22 days away!! OMG. Saturday afternoon I went out and got some new/different shoe inserts and purchased ‘The Strassburg Sock’ to see if wearing it at night helped my heel pain. (The guy at =PR= also recommended new shoes, but I already had a brand spanking new pair at home that I'd planned to start using after the MCM.) Then Saturday late afternoon we (me, Jeff, the boys) drove to Pennsylvania for our NEW PUPPY, Riley!

Riley the Puppy, from Acme, PA!

Up in Pennsylvania the guys all went out ‘spotting’ (they saw about 107 deer and other various critters) while the girls stayed in with the puppies. Sunday was a good day – we went to a bingo tournament to benefit the Kerri Welc Memorial Scholarship Fund. Kerri was my cousin who in 1994 was sadly killed by a drunk driver about 2 weeks before her 19th birthday. She was a college freshman attending on a basketball scholarship. So very sad. But it is wonderful that my aunt and uncle started this scholarship fund. They award the scholarship to two local female students each year to help with college. One of the girls who had received this year’s award was there playing bingo, too. I played about 30 rounds of bingo, 25 of the rounds were 12 cards each!! I did not win a single game! I did win a door prize though – I got a pretty orange mum! Hopefully I can get it in the ground before I kill it. Then maybe it will come back next year! After bingo we brought Riley home. She did wonderfully in the car for nearly 4 hours!

So this week I FINALLY feel ‘normal’. My energy level is much better, though I’m pretty tired at night. And wearing the sock has helped my heel a bit. However...Sunday morning (10/10), I had woken up with a funny knee pain, kind of under the knee cap. Like it needed to pop. I don’t recall doing anything to it...other than I tripped going down the stairs Saturday morning. Then I ran *only* 7.5 miles. Then drove about 4 hours in the car. Who knows? It really bugged me! By Monday after work it was really hurting! But, yesterday and last night it was better and I did manage a 3 mile run, using the brand spanking new shoes and inserts. Today my schedule calls for 8 miles including speed work of 4x1600 with 800 jogs along with a warm-up and cool down. So...I will again strap on my brand new running shoes with the new inserts, hop on the treadmill, and do the best I can.

So now, the MCM is just 17 days and X hours away now. I feel like my fitness level has really dropped. But I know I have a good base (thanks for the reminder, Carol). So I will go out there and just do the best I can. At this point I don’t know if I will plan for the Richmond Half or not, which I had been thinking about, as opposed to the local Veteran’s Day 10K. I will see how I feel the week after MCM. I do however still want to do the Blue & Gray Half with Carol. Only this year it won’t be on her birthday. I did the 5K last year while Carol did the half. In the rain. My runner son may do the 5K this year!

Of course, just a little over a month away is the Virginia Run Turkey Trot. Hard to believe Thanksgiving is that close! And this year I hope to do a New Year’s Eve or Day race. Have to see what is on the calendar. I’m keeping positive about my heel and my knee.

Happy and Healthy Training!!

Week 10 + Race Report: Wilson Bridge Half Marathon...

First week 9 ended with me opting to not do the Reston Oly. Race morning I awoke to rain. I’d already raced (Columbia Oly) in the rain this season. And now I was a lot closer to my true “A” race, the Marine Corps Marathon. I really did not want to chance anything bad happening out there. So since my bike was not racked ahead of time, I talked myself out of going. Looking at the results later in the week it looked like others did the same as there were not the usual amount of finishers. Stupid rain.

So, last week was a ‘new’ week – meaning I was trying to get ‘back on track’ with marathon training! All in all I had a pretty good week. I did not do things exactly as scheduled, but it was a fairly solid training week, ending with a half marathon race – the inaugural Wilson Bridge Half! This was actually my third inaugural race of the year. Funny! You can read about my first and second inaugural races in case you are curious... Anyway, back to week 10.

Monday – 5.02 mile run
Tuesday – 1.34 mile swim, 4.02 mile run
Wednesday – 5.12 mile run, with some speed work
Thursday – 3 mile run
Friday – rest
Saturday – rest/packet pick-up
Sunday – Wilson Bridge Half Marathon 13.1 miles; 3.5 mile run (3)/walk (.5)

Total Run Miles – 33.76

Now on to the half marathon... I decided to run this race because (1) it sounded kind of cool, running over the bridge AND being an inaugural event; (2) because the company* I work for has had folks assigned to the bridge renovation project since it started way back in 1997, which is also pretty cool; and finally (3) as an employee of this company I was able to attend both of the opening ceremonies in 2006 and 2008 of each span. So I'd actually walked upon each span before they were opened to general traffic.

My friend Marlene from Team Z also signed up and another old childhood friend did as well. On race morning we ran into a few other Z-mates, too! Race morning was cool-ish out and a perfect morning for a run! Now, I've never run the GW Parkway Classic (or whatever it is) but I'd heard the course was friendly and this course was a net downhill. My goal for the race was 2:15, slightly faster than my Shamrock Half time from March.

The course immediately started on a little down hill and I think the bulk of the first 8 miles was mostly in the shade. There were small groups of people cheering along the parkway, too, which was nice and while I did not need to stop at the water stops (I carried my own), they all seemed pretty friendly as well. The biggest 'hill' on the course was of course the bridge itself. And actually, that was not too bad. After crossing and coming back down you did have to go up and over the pedestrian walkway but again, not too bad. Finally you got on to the property at National Harbor and again a little 'uphill' but not too bad. The last mile-ish of the course switched from pavement to gravel and dirt! Kind of unexpected but not too awful. Glad I've continued to do my ankle strengthening exercises! Finally the last 1/10-ish switched back to the waterfront walkway at the harbor to the finish line. And it was a pretty cool finish! There were lots of folks lining the finish area.

So I took advantage of the net downhill and managed to run my second fastest (2:07:23) half marathon time ever. I was pretty psyched! And the very best thing was that I ran the entire 13.1 miles. Yes, I did not walk one step until after I'd crossed the finish line. I was very stoked about that! After I got through the finisher's area I found my childhood friend and found a place to get a latte. Then I hung out to see Marlene come through the finish. Despite her serious lack of training(!) she pulled off a great race! Yay Marlene!!

This week is so far so good. I did take Monday off as my legs were feeling the effects of a hard effort at the half marathon. Tuesday morning I swam 1.34 miles and rested in the evening. I started today (Wednesday) with a 5.02 mile treadmill run. Yay!

Week 11 training is supposed to look like this:

Monday – 8 easy miles (I took off)
Tuesday – rest! (I swam)
Wednesday – 7 miles, tempo of 5 (I did 5 easy miles)
---------------------
Thursday – 7 easy miles (I expect to swim as well)
Friday – rest!
Saturday – 16 miles – long run
Sunday – rest (I hope to get in a very easy run <5>

Week 12 training looks like this:

Monday - 8 easy miles
Tuesday - rest
Wednesday - 8 easy miles
Thursday - 7 easy miles
Friday - rest
Saturday - 7 easy miles
Sunday - rest (This is the Race for the Cure day!)

Yay for a recovery week!

So, I'm very excited about the upcoming Maryland Komen Race for the Cure. Two old friends of mine have signed up for it as well, and one is bringing two of her daughters! We are planing to have a slumber party the night before at the one's house and hopefully race morning I will be able to meet up with my family doing the walk portion (which starts at 8:30) afterwards as the run starts at 8:00 and I am of course planning to push and see what kind of 5K time I can get. If I remember correctly from last year it is not a particularly hilly course! Of course, I don't want to go and jinx myself, but...there's nothing wrong with hoping!

If you would like to support Komen and this amazing cause, please consider signing up to run or walk or just make a donation. No amount is too small. Click here to go to my personal donation page.

Happy and Healthy Training!

*Note: My company's website is currently moving from one host to another and sort of 'down'...it should be back up soon-ish. I hope!

Racing for...

...the Cure. I signed up to do the Maryland Komen Race for the Cure on Sunday, October 3. I walked this last year (the 8:30 AM start) with various family, including my Aunt Shirley, who is a survivor! I plan to run it this year. My aunt and cousins will be out there walking. Hopefully there won't be snowy/slushy stuff the night before, like last year!

Please consider joining me that day! Or if you cannot run or walk, please consider making a donation. I know these are tough times - no donation is too small. You will find my personal donation page here.

Thank you!

Happy and Healthy Training!

Week 8 & 9 MCM Training...

The long overdue summary of the past couple of MCM training weeks...

And so now this is the second of two weeks (in a row) that have not been 'good' training weeks! Argh... On a positive note, I do have another tri this weekend - the Reston Oly - so at least I'm not 'overtrained' for that.

First things first: Last Sunday I completed the 2010 South Riding Triathlon! This was a sprint distance with a 400 meter pool swim, a 12 mile bike ride, and a 5K run. I was 6 out of 16 in my age group with fairly consistent results across the board (4th in swim, 5th in T1, 6th in the bike, 7th in T2 and the run). And the very best part? My run split of 26:39 was probably my 5th fastest 5K. Ever! It was also my second fast Sprint Tri 5K split ever. I am so very excited about that! And I pulled that off after swimming and biking. I'm pretty excited about my average pace on the bike, too - 18.1! My splits are below:

Swim - 4 - 7:17
T1 - 5 - 1:42
Bike - 6 - 39:46(18.1)
T2 - 7 - 1:08
Run - 7 - 26:39(8:41)
Total - 6 - 1:16:30.8

So, to back up a bit, last week was my recovery week, and I was recovering all right. I ran 7 Monday night instead of 4 (?-not sure how I mis-read that!), and 5 on Wednesday morning instead of 7. I did another 5-ish on Thursday. The rest of what I planned flew out the window. Oh well - on Friday I moved! The movers (Two Guys and a Truck [4 guys actually]) arrived on schedule at 8:00 AM and were working by 8:15. They were done unloading at the house by 1:15! The cable guy was there too, working around them. He was there all day - he totally rocked! Last Saturday morning I had packet pick-up and did that first thing so I could do more unpacking and such. On Sunday - after the race - I had a cookout! My first stab at entertaining! Some old high school friends who were recently married were in town for various reasons so I hosted them and a few others. It was just really nice! Here's a picture of the group:














Now wer are into the current week... And week 9 is unfolding like this:

Monday – long run, 20 miles – FAIL 1.54 miles on tired race legs!
Tuesday – rest/xt
Wednesday – easy run, 3 miles at 31:40
Thursday – rest/xt
Friday – remains to be seen...
Saturday – remains to be seen...but I will attend the following: packet pick-up for the Reston Oly; my son Patrick's first Cross Country meet (don't know which will happen first); and the Toby Keith/Trace Adkins concert. I also WILL take a real good nap on Saturday
Sunday – Reston Oly (1 mile swim/22.3 mile bike/6.2 mile run)

I have not swam since Sunday, and that was all of 400 meters! Not the best swim shape I'd like going into the race, but oh well. I am staying positive in that I will be able to get into my sleeveless wetsuit since I've lost a few pounds. Looking at the things though it does not appear possible!!! But there is just too much going on! I just want to keep unpacking stuff. Next week I really need to get back on track though, because as of THIS Sunday there are only have 7 weeks till race day! Race being the Marine Corps Marathon!

So...Happy and Healthy Training!!

Week 7 – MCM Training...

OK, this was not the ‘best’ training week, and it became somewhat of a ‘recovery’ week – but I had good intentions! And it is only one week out of my 16 week plan.

Week 7 – Scheduled:

Monday – 4 miles easy
Tuesday – rest/xt
Wednesday – 6 miles tempo run with 4 at 9:35
Thursday – 4 miles easy
Friday – rest/xt
Saturday – 20 miles
Sunday – rest/xt

Week 7 – Actual:

Thursday – swim 2.02 miles; run – modified tempo 5.33 miles
Friday - easy run 5.01
Saturday - easy run 5.99; 6.08 mile very easy bike ride with some of my girl friends

Here was the bike ride route:

(And at the moment, I cannot remember why I missed workouts earlier in the week...I think because my sinus infection? But I thought that was the week before...?)

Needless to say, it was not the week of workouts originally scheduled! Going into the weekend I had already modified it because I knew I did not want to do 20 on the treadmill. I’ve already got plans to do my 20 miles at Prince William Forest Park on Labor Day – how appropriate! (And Carol said it was a nice place to run, too!) I was heading out of town for the weekend, starting at 2PM on Friday and I ended up running Thursday night, Friday morning, and Saturday morning. Was supposed to run Sunday morning, but as you can see, that did NOT happen. But the missed run was totally worth it...

And as just mentioned, I was out of town. It was another girls’ weekend away – the MOTRs Rock St. Michaels. And we did!! We stayed in the cutest little cottage! This was a ‘planning’ weekend to plan our 2011 trip to Boston ("The MOTRs are Coming... Boston or Bust"), which had been previously decided upon. In between visits to the spa, and delicious meals, and the above mentioned bike ride, we agreed to the third weekend in May and discovered we need to think more about lodging as our connection became ‘unconnected’. I have family up that way, so who knows; maybe I can figure something out. Or not! Another MOTR also has connections in New England...

So, this week IS my recovery week, and I’m recovering all right. I ran 7 Monday night instead of 4(?-not sure how I mis-read that!), and 5 this morning instead of 7. I have 7 again tomorrow and maybe 3 on Friday morning and a super short pre-race brick (bike 15 minutes/run 10 minutes) on Saturday morning as I have the South Riding Sprint Tri on Sunday morning! Team Z is a sponsor of this race, too, which will be a big boost to the fairly new “Team Z West” group, which is sort of based out in the area that the race is in.

Looking ahead, Week 9 looks like this:

Monday – long run, 20 miles
Tuesday – rest/xt
Wednesday – tempo run, 7 miles including 5 at 9:28
Thursday – easy run, 6 miles (may switch Wednesday for Thursday though for more rest after the long run)
Friday – rest/xt
Saturday – easy run 4-6 (or maybe another short brick); because
Sunday – Reston Oly (1 mile swim/22.3 mile bike/6.2 mile run)

Oh, and I'm moving this weekend! Friday actually, from the townhouse I'm in now to my childhood home! My kids and I are quite excited!! And still to come there will be more fun and exciting news related to the move...

Happy and Healthy Training!

Week 6 – MCM Training…

Whew, what a week. My workouts did not quite go as scheduled…

I was coming off a weekend away and was sick, or something on top of it. Turned out I was having allergy issues and a little sinus infection. I decided to take Monday off then shift everything by a day. Here are my actual workouts:

• Monday – rest


• Tuesday – swim 1.94 in the morning; run 4 in the evening


• Wednesday – swim .4 in the evening. I had a 400 meter time trial for the upcoming South Riding Tri on 9/5, I did a 200 meter warm-up the waited to get in line for the timing. I was 5th to go based on times we supplied at registration (mine was 7 minutes). Surprise! We were started 20 seconds apart and I ended catching up and passing the guy in front of me. If he’d worn jammers instead of baggy trunks that might not have happened! I saw a few other Z peeps there, too. My final time was 6:57.50 – not too bad!


• Thursday – swim 2.06 in the morning; run 7.01 in the evening – this was speed work with 3x1 mile at 8:10s


• Friday – rest


• Saturday – long run 14.09 miles on hills, followed by a 1.01 open water swim (map of swim below), followed by lunch and rest, then a 4 mile treadmill run


• Sunday – bike 23.46 on the Reston Oly course followed by 1.75 miles on the trails the Reston Oly is on.

All in all a pretty good week of training. I got almost all of the run miles in, too. Just 1.15 short.

Week 7 training looks like this:

Monday – 4 miles easy
Tuesday – rest/xt
Wednesday – 6 miles tempo run with 4 at 9:35
Thursday – 4 miles easy
Friday – rest/xt
Saturday – 20 miles
Sunday – rest/xt

Now, I am going out of town with my Moms on the Run (MOTRs) Friday afternoon through Sunday afternoon/evening. It will be next to impossible to get 20 miles in while away. I’m again thinking of hitting the treadmill for my 20. Eek. We’ll see… And if I do, I will make sure my 4 miles easy happens on Saturday. Again, we’ll see…

Happy and Healthy Training!

Week 5 - MCM Training...

This past weekend I was up visiting family in Derry, NH. It was FUN, as always! My cousin and her husband are just hilarious! Saturday we went down to Salisbury Beach, MA so I could get a couple of slices of my most favorite pizza at Tripoli and we did a little walking on the beach. And per my mom's wishes spread some of her ashes there. We also did this in Ocean City, MD last year. It was nice to be able to do that. Afterwards we headed to Portsmouth, NH to walk around that town and do a little shopping. Portsmouth reminds me of Old Town Alexandria. We had a delicious late dinner that night then watched an old 80's movie. On Sunday their daughter was doing a sprint-ish tri (the run was 4.4 miles long) and I got to go cheer her on! She had a pretty good race...except for a minor detour she ended up taking on the bike course (course marshall sent her and another rider the wrong way actually) and the extra bit of running she did (out the wrong way) out of T2. All in all she said she felt good and had FUN! It was a great race and a very nice venue. The race results are not yet up. After the race we headed into Boston for lunch. We found food at Quincy Market at Fanueil Hall. I had a very yummy prime rib cheesesteak from The Prime Shoppe!

So since week 5 was going to be a weird week, because I was going to be out of town over the weekend when I would normally do the long run, I opted to move that up a couple days and do it after work/dinner on Thursday. On the treadmill no less. OMG...

Week 5 actual workouts:

Day 29 – 5 miles at 10:39
Day 30 – swim 1.92 with Team Z in the morning; bike – spin 10.25 miles after work
Day 31 – tempo run, 6 miles, with 4 at 9:16; mile 1 was at 10:02, mile 6 was at 10:22
Day 32 – long run (done early) 16.02 miles at 10:54 (treadmill)
Day 33 – rest/xt – travel (walked around airports)
Day 34 – rest/xt – walked a lot - Salisbury Beach, MA and Portsmouth, NH
Day 35 – rest/xt – walked a lot - Sharon's Back Tri, Sharon, MA and Boston, MA (walked around airports some more)

Actual run miles: 27.02 (4 short)

Week 6 preview:

So, tonight and/or tomorrow night I may add a couple of miles to make up for the 4 I missed last week. But we'll see. I did get the long run in and that is more important. Tonight I have a meeting at the school at 7PM plus an errand - two actually - to do after. So I may not worry about those 4 miles. I will have a similar problem in week 7 as I am supposed to be out of town again that weekend...I have my first of three 20-milers scheduled for that Saturday!

Day 36 – easy 4 at 11:05
Day 37 – rest/xt
Day 38 – speedwork 7 including 3x1600 at 8:57 with 800 jogs in between
Day 39 – easy 3 at 11:05
Day 40 – rest/xt
Day 41 – long 18 at 11:05
Day 42 – rest/xt

Happy and Healthy Training!

Weeks 3 & 4 – MCM Training…

Well, despite being on vacation last week and trying to get ready for vacation leading up to it, I had two fairly successful weeks of training!

Week 3 actual workouts:

Day 15 – 6 miles at 10:35
Day 16 – swim 2350 yards
Day 17 – Tempo, 5 miles – average pace 9:46
Day 18 – 4 miles at 10:07 (Elvis!)
Day 19 – rested
Day 20 – Long Run – 14 miles at 10:28
Day 21 – rested

Actual run miles: 29.02

I was very happy that I rocked my long run while on vacation. I was kind of nervous about it. I did 8 miles (4 out and back) alone, then 6 miles (3 out and back) with Jeff.

Week 4 – recovery week – actual workouts:

Day 22 – 6.08 miles at 10:31
Day 23 – 3.06 miles at 10:15
Day 24 – rested AND got a massage!
Day 25 – 6.04 miles at 10:06
Day 26 – rested
Day 27 – rested
Day 28 – 9.2 miles at 10:12, swim 1400 meters

Actual run miles: 24.38

So…my recovery week was not exactly what it was scheduled at. But I did get the miles in. I also got the rest in! I will say that it was really hard to swim after a 9 mile run; my feet were cramping like crazy. If I do that again I must remember to bring a banana for after the run!

Week 5 preview: This week will be challenging in that I’m going out of town Friday night and will not be able to do the long run on Saturday. I’m thinking of running long on Thursday night and either doing 4 Friday morning or trying to go 4 on Saturday morning while away. We will see… Another thing about week 5 is that I am moving into the second 4-week block (of four) and my paces are going down. Based on my first 4-week block I should be able to do this - as long as the heat does not get to me. If it does, I can always move inside for speed/tempo work!

Day 29 – 5 miles at 11:05
Day 30 – rest/xt
Day 31 – Tempo, 6 miles, 4 at 9:35
Day 32 – 4 miles at 11:05
Day 33 – rest/xt
Day 34 – long run, 16 at 11:05
Day 35 – rest/xt

Happy and Healthy Training!

Week 2 - MCM Training...

I've successfully completed week 2 of Marine Corps Marathon training! I talked about week 2 tentative after my week 1 summary, here. Below is my actual week 2 training:

• Day 8 – 6 miles at 11:18 – check (PM – should have gone in AM; it was hot as blazes out and I had a sore left calf)
• Day 9 – Rest/XT – rested my calf
• Day 10 – Speed work, 5 miles with 2x1mile in 9:08 w/.5 mile jogs – check (PM)
• Day 11 – 45 minute spin - check (AM), 5 miles at 11:18 - check (PM), then a massage - check, check (PM)
• Day 12 – Rest/XT – I rested! – check, check
  Day 13 – Biked at Prince William Forest Park with Carol and Jeff, 4 loops; plus 1.04 mile run post-ride
• Day 14 – Long run, 12 miles at 11:18 – did 5.7 miles solo, then 5.46 with group (.84 short for day but did do 1.04 yesterday); outdoor swim practice with JCC Masters – 2250 meters

Run miles for the week = 28.2

This weekend I also packed and moved boxes in the heat. I guess that does not count for anything though…but I’m sure I burned some calories at least!

Also, my shoulder seems to be fairly well back to normal. I completed a swim practice yesterday after my run and had no pain during or after. Well, I had a little bit of pain after, but truly very little. It was nothing like before, and it is still doing OK this morning. My plan is to try a Team Z swim tomorrow/Tuesday morning - a distance/zone 2 day and take Thursday/speed day off. I will not be swimming at all next week, then I'll come back after that probably ready to go back at it full force! (At least I hope!)

Week 3 Preview:

• Day 15 – 5 miles at 11:18
• Day 16 – rest/xt
• Day 17 – Tempo, 5 miles with 3 at 9:41
• Day 18 – 5 miles – Special Screening of Elvis in the evening!! Going with my friends
• Day 19 – rest/xt
• Day 20 – Long Run – 14 miles at 11:18
• Day 21 – rest/xt

Total scheduled miles: 29

Week 4 Preview – recovery week:

• Day 22 – 6 miles at 11:18
• Day 23 – rest/xt
• Day 24 – 6 miles at 11:18
• Day 25 – 6 miles at 11:18
• Day 26 – rest/xt
• Day 27 – 6 miles at 11:18
• Day 28 – rest/xt

Total scheduled miles: 24

Happy and Healthy Training!

The countdown is on...

My cool, new countdown timer came from here!

Happy and Healthy Training!

Week 1 – MCM Training...

Well, week one of Marine Corps Marathon training is in the books! I think it went pretty well, all things considered. That is, my sore shoulder which fortunately is not bothering me too much. I saw my regular doctor on Wednesday and if I'm not doing better in 2 weeks (from the date it happened) I will get an x-ray. Not to jinx myself, but I will say though that it is doing better as it is not waking me up at night. And that is a good thing. Yay! Summary of my workouts:

• Day 1 – 6 miles at 11:18 – check (PM)
• Day 2 – rest/XT – did a 45 minute / 11.4 mile spin at zone 2 – check (PM)
• Day 3 – Tempo, 5 miles with 3 miles at 9:41 – check (AM)
• Day 4 – 5 miles at 11:18 – check (PM)
• Day 5 – REST/XT – I rested – check
• Day 6 – 10.2 miles at 11:18 – check (AM)
• Day 7 – rest/XT – 2 hour / 29.5 mile spin at mostly zone 2 – check (AM)

Total run miles = 26.2 (Oh cool - I ran a marathon in distance this week because my long run was 10.2 miles!)

So, one more week of no swimming and IF my shoulder is feeling better I will try to swim part if not all of the JCC Masters practice on Sunday, July 25. I’m keeping my fingers crossed! And luckily, this week on Thursday, I have a massage scheduled with Robin! It is for 60 minutes but I’m going to see if I can get 90 minutes. I am her last appointment for the day, so maybe it will work out. I will e-mail her today and find out.

Week 2’s training is below:

• Monday – 6 miles at 11:18
• Tuesday – Rest/XT – 45-60 minute spin
• Wednesday – Speedwork, 5 miles with 2x1600 in 9:08 w/800 jogs (If I do this at home on the treadmill I may swap bike zone 4 spins in place of the 800 jogs, which will be good practice for my upcoming races in September...)
• Thursday – 5 miles at 11:18
• Friday – Rest /XT – I will REST!
• Saturday – 12 miles at 11:18 – May do a ride at Prince William Forest Park if Carol and Pam are going there
• Sunday – Rest /XT – May switch run to this day and start at 5:45 AM and do 6.5 miles then meet up with Master swimmers that run at 7:00 for the remaining 5.5; then I hope to swim.

Total scheduled run miles: 28

Happy and Healthy Training!

And I almost forgot...

Yesterday/last night was the first day of MCM training. I had an easy 6 mile run at 11:18 pace scheduled. I programmed the workout (thanks Carol) into my Garmin and took some plain water and one Gu (Lemon Sublime flavor) from my cool sample pack out with me. It was the first item I tried from it, too! Then I headed out for my run. A night of firsts!

I decided I'd run the same lollipop loop of 5.25 from Sunday's run but add three laps around the track, which I pass on the stick part on my way out and back - to make 6 miles. I had a hard time going slow enough to maintain 11:18, actually. Based on my success with my half marathon at Shamrock this past March, to prepare for the marathon I am following a plan from RunnersWorld.com based on my 5K time from the Independence 5000. It 'says' if I follow the plan my time goal is 4:20. However, my actual goal is 4:40, which happens to my goal from my first two marathons. That I am still striving for. Anyway...I guess the watch got tired of beeping at my and my average pace for the run ended up being 10:40. I ate the Gu at mile 4 as I'm practicing for race day with any run that lasts an hour or more. The verdict on Lemon Sublime Gu - very good and I will likely buy this flavor! So, an interim goal is to try harder to go slower on my next easy run which is on Thursday. Tomorrow is a 5 mile tempo run with three miles at 9:41. I will not run the hilly course, but more of a flat-ish one so I can hopefully hold the 9:41 pace. I'll see how many times Garmin beeps at me for going too slow.

The shoulder is still sore and burning (as is the arm {burning} and hand {tingling}) but I took 4 Advil and I'm hoping that takes the edge off for now. Tomorrow when I see the doctor I do not want to take anything so I can be in pain when he evaluates me.

Happy and Healthy Training!