Training Day #11 & #12

Let's get to some updates shall we. I haven't been slacking in my running, just blogging. All I can say, is I've been a little beyond the city limits of crazy town, and what few minutes I have had, I've been dedicated to doing as little as possible.

So rewind back to Wednesday and training day #11. The weather was forecasted to be sunny and warm at 50 degrees. Instead of my usual treadmill run, I decided to run right after work to take advantage of the weather and daylight. Unfortunately for me, the weather didn't hit 50, but I swear the wind did. It was so cold and windy, but I covered my 4 miles.

My crazy shins started giving me some issues about 1/2 way through so I look it easy. But with 3 weeks to go until the Hot Chocolate 15K, I don't want to risk injuring my shins or legs.

My training schedule has me doing a cross-training day on Fridays, but our schedules have just not cooperated lately. After an emotionally draining week, I just couldn't muster up the energy to do much yesterday. But today - today I was ready. Sort of.

The husband is away at a middle school youth conference, which means no outdoor run for me. So I knew I would have to do my run on the treadmill. I debated whether to knock out my run during nap time or wait and do my run after the kids went to bed, and reluctantly decided trying to get it out of the way during nap time was probably my best bet. The first two miles had me thinking I would have to cut it short. My calves were tight and my shins were starting to feel it. But I kept pushing. At 2.8 miles I had to take a brief break to calm a toddler down and get him back to sleep. Just that couple of minutes, plus a GU pack, gave me the boost I needed to finish the remaining 2.2 miles fairly strong. I was actually surprised at how great I felt finishing up. Pace is still below my target, but I'm really trying to just focus on the distances and avoid pain. I know the pace will come with time. Some good stretching and heel raises helped with any lingering soreness and tightness.

I'm really hoping that things are *actually* starting to work and my training continues strong. 4 miles are coming up on Monday!

Have a great weekend!

Training Day #10

Tonight was a scheduled cross-train day. If you saw yesterday post, you'll remember I was pretty upset. No, not just upset, pissed off. Really PISSED OFF. So tonight I had planned a relatively boring 40 minutes on the treadmill walking. Not really even noteworthy.

As I was preparing to get changed, my husband encouraged me to layer up and head outside. Now granted, it was 8:20 PM and completely dark, but for January it was 40-some degrees, so I caved and said why not. And seriously, I'm so glad I did. I started off at a brisk pace, wanting to make the most of my walk, and at a few points even jogged! It felt great. The cool temps were perfect, and I came home refreshed. Even more exciting, was the fact that my pace was on point to what I've been posting - BUT I WAS WALKING! Crazy. I'm always amazed at the difference being outside does for me. And while I love my treadmill, it's a total mind game. Being able to SEE how fast (or not so fast) I'm running syncs me out. 

Parting thought for the day - leave the excuses and just get going. Not every run (or walk) is going to be awesome and outstanding, but you never know when it will be either!

Training Day #9

Let's just say tonight didn't go as plan. After a long day on my feet, my shins were killing me before I even started. My scheduled work out was a 4 mile run, but 2 miles in I knew it wasn't happening. So I pounded out 3 (which is on the schedule for Wednesday) and spent a solid 30 minutes stretching, massaging, and attempting to work out the pain. Hopefully come Wednesday I can eek out 4 miles.

So tonight, I'm really frustrated. I would like to say I'm irritated about my pace, but honestly, I'm so ticked off that I don't even care. And I'm really starting to feeling anxious about how this whole race is going to go down. I'll save you the ranting and just call it a night.  Here's my stats.

Training Day #8

Saturdays are my designated long run days and since this week has been a step-down week for my training program, my long run today was only 2 miles. It was great timing considering my troubling shins, and the lessened mileage certainly has helped with recovery. After a quick stretch I was prepared to take off. I intentionally tried to start out slow and gradually fell into my rhythm. I hit the 1/2 mile mark on my run much quicker than I imagined I would, but much to my surprise felt good. I managed to run a little over a mile with only about a 30 second breather around 3/4 of a mile.

I intentionally pick my routes to ensure I'm getting to hills later in my run. Why torture myself you might ask? Firstly, who wants to start off a run feeling like they're not doing great?! So the flat beginnings help give me a mental boost. Secondly, I want to make my muscles work, and so I let them get good and warmed up (and tired) before tackling hills. When I look at my splits, it definitely shows. I managed a 10:56 min/mi pace during the first mile and a 13:10 min/mi pace on mile 2. I finished strong and genuinely enjoyed my run - which is is honestly a first for me. But one I hope continues. On the down side, my shins were killing me, so I spent quite a bit of time stretching down and doing some of my PT exercises throughout the day. Here's the stats from today.

Recently, I've discovered how much I really enjoy listening to podcast during my runs. While I don't get the benefit of having a beat (which for me is actually proving a positive thing, because I'm running at my natural pace, as opposed to the beat of music) my mind is completely engaged in the story, and less focused on the running. Today, I started on the wildly successful Serial podcast series. And let me just say, I'm hooked! If you like detective type stories, then you'll love it.

While a lot of runners prefer to just run, the nerd in me really likes being able to analyze how I'm doing in terms of pace and how I respond to elevation changes. Below is today's graph and below that is last week's graph. I was most excited to see my pace line look a little flatters, which indicate more consistent pacing and less switching between walking and running. So I'm celebrating the little victories. Each day it seems that I'm making baby steps.  This coming week my milage steps back up, so I'm praying my exercises with continue to help my shin splints stay at bay. Just 4 weeks to go!

Last week's graphic (4 miles)

Until Monday - have a great weekend!

Training Days 6 & 7

No...I didn't skip out on yesterdays workout, but it was a cross-train day and after the horribly painful run on Monday, I decided to walk for my allotted cross fit time. I had read on several blog that walking hills or inclines was helpful for shin splints, so I gave it a shot. Surprisingly, I do think that the walk, combined with the physical therapy exercises I've been doing, helped. I kept my pace comfortable and pushed the incline as much as I could.

Today, however was a run day. A short one at only 2 miles, but a run none the less. I was a little nervous about how the legs would hold up, so I made sure to stretch out well, and did a round of 20 heel raises before I started. I took is slow to start, but managed to run a full 10 minutes without stopping. (Woo Hoo! I will celebrate the tiny accomplishments - because I didn't know if I could even  get back there.) I did some walking but tried to keep my breaks limited to 1-2 minutes. Each time I went back to running my speed increased, but the time I could run decreased, which I suppose is normal. I felt pretty good about tonight's run. No real pain and only a little bit of tightness in my calves, which if I'm being honest, means I probably should have spent a little more time post-run stretching and rolling things out. As a preventive measure, I did ice afterwards though.

My pace still isn't great, and I was a little disappointed that it wasn't better given how much I actually ran, but I have to focus on the little wins. Running for 10 minutes. Keeping going when I wanted to stop. Not experiencing shards of glass ripping through my shins - Big win! So for tonight I will be satisfied and look forward to my run on Saturday.

Training Day #5

Tonight...it's hard to even gather my thoughts. Yesterday's run was tough, and as the night moved on I realized my shins were starting to take on that faint pain that comes with the dreaded shin splints. Having already been side-lined for a couple of weeks back in December, I stubbornly thought that I needed to keep on my training schedule, even if it was super slow. So I did, despite my husband's warning and encouraging me not to, I tackled my scheduled 2 mile run. And for a while I thought it'd be ok.

I made it a 1/2 mile in before I even needed to stop (which seems like nothing to seasoned runners, but for me, it's a HUGE thing to run more than 2 minutes at a time). I caught my breath and took off again, a little quicker but still slow. Unfortunately by around 1.3 miles the pain really started to crank up. Now, at this point, any good runner would have likely walked a couple cool down minutes and called it quits. But NOOOO, not me. I kept going.

I got my measly 2 miles in, and honestly not much else to show for it. After a solid 30 minutes of stretching down and attempting to roll it all out, the pain and my tears were simply too much. For those who have escaped the horrors of shin splints, count your blessing and give thanks. Those unlucky enough to have experienced them know it's not laughing matter. Frankly, it hurts like hell. And I've given birth to 2 kids.

I'm almost too embarrassed to even post tonights stats. Almost. This blog is about accountability and to help others on this running journey not get down because they don't run fast enough or far enough compared to the mass of runners on Instagram or Facebook (speaking from personal experience here). So here's my stats, promise you won't laugh.

Right now, that pace, oh it hurts. But not as bad as my stupid shins. So for now, I'm going to continue to keep my feet propped up and iced. Tomorrow is a cross train day, so I'm hoping I can at least walk. I have to keep going. I don't want to hurt myself, but I also don't want to quit. 34 days to go.

Training Day #4

I know...I had promised to talked about gear on Thursday (a rest day), but after a long week, I was so exhausted I simply went to bed. Friday, a cross-train day was derailed when one of my little guys came home screaming with an ear ache. We spent the evening at urgent treatment and thankfully were able to get some medicine to ease his pain and deal with the infection. But after several hours of caring for a little one, and not getting to settle down until well after 10 PM cross training was out of the question.

Saturday, my scheduled long run day turned out to be a bitterly cold day. I drug my feet getting out of bed, and eventually the day passed by me before I knew it. I desperately wanted to get outside and do my long run, so we choose to attend church Saturday evening, allowing me this morning to run.

The good news: It was warmer that Saturday and my new Garmin watch worked perfectly!

The bad news: No, you didn't miss anything in the good news. Today's run was hard. While the temperature was not as bitterly cold as Saturday, it was still a balmy 32. I was dress correctly, but the cold really hit me hard and as a result I struggled with my breathing. My other challenge, I started out fast. Much faster than I normally run. I even covered the first mile in 11:54. I also failed to plan to bring some water. Being that I usually drink something every mile, I was struggling. Thankfully, my husband came out looking for me and brought me water. It was just what I needed to push through the last mile.

So the details of my run.

My pace wasn't horrible when I consider that I'm only 4 actual training sessions back and how much I actually walked. I purposefully picked a course that had lots of hills to help get me used to race conditions.

One of the neat features my watch gave me was a graph of the elevation along with my pace. My goal as time progresses is for there to be less peaks and more consistent pacing. But I'm reminding myself, one day at a time. One day at a time.

And finally, for those interested in my splits. It's obvious that my overly energetic start caught up with me. I struggle with pacing myself because it always feels like I'm going too slow, but I'm learning that most likely, I need to be going slower to help build up my stamina.

The Hot Chocolate Run is just 35 days away. I'm struggling with the feelings that I'm never going to be able to get there. That I'm never going to make the progress I need to. But I'm also determined to finish, so I'm working on setting realistic expectations.

Until tomorrow!

  

Training Day #3

When I started the planning for this race, I decided, I might as well give the half marathon distance a try since you know 9.3 is close to 13.1. Crazy I know. But really though, my logic was that if I can survive 9.3 then surely I can make it another 4ish miles and complete a half. And what better place to do it than my hometown and the annual Kentucky Derby Half Marathon. (I still haven't actually signed up for it. I'm sort of waiting to make sure this 15K doesn't kill me.) I searched high and low and finally found a training plan that sounded reasonable, easy (enough at least), and still gave me at least 2 days off each week. I finally landed on Hal Higdon's Half Marathon Novice 1 training program.  (Half Marathon Novice 1 Training Program) My plan was in place, but after the hiccups I dealt with in December, I ended up a few weeks behind.

All week I've been debating do I start with week 1, knowing that I only had 6 weeks to go, and that as of week 6 my longest run would have only been 6 miles.  So after feeling as good as I did post-run last night I decided tonight I would step it up a little more and try to at least cover my miles for the week.  At this point in weeks 1 and 2, I would have covered 8 miles (I've bumped the schedule up a day so that my long runs fall on Saturday). And guess what - I did it with 3/10 extra! So my plan is to skip weeks 1 and 3, and continue to increase my long runs by 1 mile each week, which will put me at having covered 8 miles the weekend before the race. 

Now this could totally backfire. We shall see, but I'm feeling good, and tonight's run just further proved that I'm getting back quicker than I ever expected. 

By the way - did you see that?! 3.7 miles and a whole minute faster than last night! That includes my 10 minute warm up and cool down too, so taking those out of the mix brings my pace down to 12:11/mi. And that my friends is something I'm pretty excited about. I'm still slow and don't really anticipate my pace improving drastically beyond this, but that's ok! I'm good with being slow. I'm racing the me that would rather be laying on the couch like a sloth with a good book in my hands. So I have to keep my competitive nature in check and remind myself that any speed is a good speed.

In other news, I so thankful that my coughing is slowly going away. This flu is a nasty bug. I discovered that a combination of taking sips of water every few minutes, along with sucking on some candy helped tremendously. Even more ironic though, the coughing seems to be worse when I'm walking as opposed to running. Guess that's a sign I need to just keep running?!

I did switch it up tonight and ran 2:1 intervals, which definitely matched my fitness level a little more. Regardless of how much I train, running for long periods of time is a big struggle. I'm hoping that eventually I'll get there, but for now, I've been focused on just covering distances and experimenting with intervals that feel good and give me the appropriate number of breaks so that I can catch my breath and stay strong. Last night I felt like the 3 minutes were a tad too long and I had to walk through the last minute of a few of them. Tonight, it was hard, but completely manageable. So much so, I'm actually a little sad tomorrow is my rest day. 

Hope you're training is going well! 

Until tomorrow - it's a rest day, but I'll be talking about my experience with shoes!

Training Day #2

After yesterday's run, I wasn't sure how tonight's run would go. My training scheduled called for 2 miles. I decided to go back to my trusty interval timer to help pace me through tonight's run. Given my incredibly slow pace, I picked a program that I had labeled "3:1 - 3 miles" thinking I probably would be lucky to cover my 2 miles.

Surprisingly, unlike last night, the first mile went by fairly painlessly. Minimal coughing and strong legs helped. Then around 2 miles in, the fatigue of the last few weeks started to set in. I could feel my body's reaction to having not done anything besides sleep over the last two weeks. But something in me said "keep going" so I did. And surprise!

I finished 3.02 miles! I was honestly a little shocked when I lifted the towel (side note: I have to cover the panel of the treadmill or else I obsess over my distance, time and speed, making the run that much longer and painful). I was super pleased to see my pace had dropped almost a full minute from last night. And when I factor out the 10 minutes of warm up and cool down, my "running" pace was just a few seconds over 13 minutes a mile. Overall tonight's run was better. I still coughed. I still walked more than I wanted to. But at the end of the run, I felt like I could have kept going. Part of me wants to continue to dwell in the "I can't do this" arena, but of all things, I realized my body (even in it's weaken state) is strong and CAN do this. My muscles are remembering what we've done for months now. So maybe, maybe, this running 9 miles things is actually possible. 39 days to go!

Training Day #1

Tonight I jumped back in the saddle - err...treadmill - and ran for the first time in several weeks due to injury and illness. I expected little for the first time out and knew going in that I had to be easy on myself. My training plan was suppose to be 3 miles. I decided to ease in and do half, which turned out to be a good call. Although I would say tonight was really more walk than run.  Within a minute of getting going my lingering cough from my bout with the flu flared up, and I spent much of my run/walk coughing in the most violent way possible. Makes running a tad bit difficult.

So here's the summary of my run tonight.

Now let's be real - a 15:09/mi pace is frankly a disappointment. I ran for portions and my time includes close to 10 minutes of warm up and cool down at relatively slow paces but honestly, I could have walked the whole time and still hit this pace.  These are the moments that make me feel a little down. Makes me question why I'm evening bothering. But I've never been, and really, most likely never will be a fast runner. At my best I managed an 11:30/mi pace in December, but that was pushing myself and in a race. I know I have to (re)start somewhere, but I struggle with not focusing on my pace. I can't help but think of it in terms of the race and at this pace it will take me 2 hours and 21 minutes to complete the race. My goal is to do it in under 2 hours or close to a 12:55/mi so I have some room to go.

But tonight is night 1. I have 40 days to go. Every little bit counts.

How's your training going? What challenges are you facing and how do you keep going despite it?

Until tomorrow!

Catching Up

When I started this running journey back in July, I had no idea where it would lead me. I had hoped to blog through the process, but honestly, those first few months were hard. Dealing with the emotions and disappointment were hard enough to process myself - let alone share with the world. Yet, as I've walked this path, I've realized how much I've search for others who have walked this journey and felt the same way I do. So, I'm making a point to get back. To share honestly and openly about me and my runs. Let me first catch you up....

Last July I started running. I had new shoes (which were pretty) and an unrealistic view of what it would be like. I ran my first 5K race in September. I trained hard, but was no where ready for the challenge. I walked a lot, and finished in 41 minutes. But I was surprised at how much I actually enjoyed it. So I went on to run 3 more 5K's and an 8K through the end of 2014. My training was sporadic, and despite adding distance, I struggled with never being able to run for any notable distance without having to walk. And here's where I'll be honest, for a while, I felt like a failure. I cried and stomped around, thinking I should just give up. Why bother!

Thankfully, I had banded together with a couple of gals from work who helped keep me going and encouraged me. If it weren't for them, I surely would have long quit. Instead, in early December, I made a big leap and signed up to run a 15K in February - that's 9.3 miles! Crazy! I had a training program ready, made my hotel arrangements, even purchased some snazzy new shoes. Then I was struck with the most awful shin splints. I'd never experienced such a thing, but oh my word, the pain brought tears to my eyes and made me stop in my tracks. So I reluctantly spent two weeks off resting and icing.

Ready to run again, I managed a single run before falling ill with the flu and then a stomach virus. It's now 6 weeks out from my big run and I'm nervous. I'm also committed and I've come to terms with the fact that at this point, I'm neither fast nor able to run without walking. So tomorrow begins training day 1 in preparation for a 15K. I hope you'll join me for the process.