that's no good...

Well Thursday was the last run I got in...and it wasn't good....I ran 1.25 miles.
I was supposed to do four miles but I didn't. I was having wardrobe malfunctions (shorts riding up) and I was getting very crabby and whinny. So I gave up...no sense in beating a dead horse it was obviously going to be a crappy run for me.
After my crabby run I got in the sprinkler with my daughter we ran around and played, no big deal. Well Friday morning my ankle starts hurting, for apparently no reason. The longer the day goes the worse it gets. I decided not to run. By Saturday, It was to the point where I could hardly put any weight on it at all. The only thing I can come up with is I must have twisted it when I was outside running around with my daughter. I'm gonna give it the weekend and if it isn't feeling any better I'm gonna go into the doctor. I really hope it gets better on it's own. I'm missing a lot of training runs.

Shoulda but didn't...

I ran Tuesday like a champ. Did my 4 miles in 53:55 it's an improvement. But I'm still not running the whole thing. I do a combo of running and power-walking. I'd like to be running the whole thing so I'll keep working at it.

Tuesday's 4 Mile sweat-extravaganza went like this:
Start time: 8:00 AM
End time: 8:55 AM
Time: 00:53:55
Distance: 4.00 miles


As for today, I was scheduled to run. But I didn't. I have some not really good reasons why too.

1. It got up to 95 degrees today.

2. I didn't run right when I got outta work.

3. Minor aches and pains.


In short I'm a slacker...lol. Instead, I slept and then played in the sprinkler with my daughter. I plan on running right when I get outta work in the morning. It'll be cooler then so that way I won't give myself a chance to slack out of it...lol.

I lived to blog about it...

Well, I doubted me...and hubby, I think did to. I ran 4 miles on the treadmill. Hubby left the room he said he just couldn't watch me put myself through all that...lol. There was pain, and stiffness, there was whinny thoughts and Sweat...so MUCH sweat. But I did it! I made it 4 miles and I survived!! I completed my 4 miles and stretched my legs out...I was sweating so much it was running into my eyes and burning. I don't think I've ever sweat that much. Course the 80 degree temps and humidity didn't help much. After running and stretching I took and icy cold shower...that felt real nice on my burning flesh...I swear when the water hit me it made a steaming sound...lol. Now I have Monday off to rest. Much needed rest. I'm glad that I ran.... I needed to prove to myself that I could do it.

Today's 4 Mile sweat-fest went like this:

Start time: 1:00 PM

End time: 1:56 PM

Time: 00:55:10

Distance: 4.00 miles

Confidence Shaken....

I did my larger 3 mile run Saturday. BRUTAL. Wow, it didn't go well. I dunno, after about 1.5 miles my body just gave out....I still kept going...but the battle was on. It was not fun. I can't even say why it was so hard...it felt like I had my breathing under control though...I did lose control of it several times and had to walk several times. I walked very fast and only for a few minutes but still. So Sunday morning (when I get outta work) is supposed to be 4 miles. I can't even process that with my brain right now. I felt like a barely lived through 3 miles....now I'm gonna do 4 miles? I must be insane. Not only that but then next week's training is 4 miles a day for 3 days and then a 3 miler and a 6 miler......YOWSERS! I AM INSANE. But, i can do this...right? Yes Yes I can...and will! If Oprah Winfrey can run a full marathon then I think I have what it takes run the half.

I go over and over it in my head... it's not about skill...the skill is "one foot in front of the other...repeat...quickly" I have that skill. Then it's just a matter of endurance...mind over matter... drive and confidence. If I dedicate myself to this training and follow it like I should...I'll get there. I will. But, some how when I'm running and it's hard, and I'm sweating and breathing hard, and I feel like I can't take anymore... I doubt.
I'm reminded of a really good quote from Joyce Meyer...
"I'm not where I need to be, but thank God, I'm not where I used to be. I'm okay & I'm on my way!
I need to remember this with my training... I'm okay & I'm on my way!
Maybe it's just some child like mentality of mine that dictates that if It's possible for me to do this...then it shouldn't be hard? Consciously I know this isn't true...practice makes perfect. But, now I start to wonder how many things in my life I avoided because I couldn't do it perfectly the first time I tried. Hmmm...
but anyway...

Today's Run went like this:
Start time: 10:00 AM
End time: 10:41 AM
Time: 00:41:00
Distance: 3.00 miles

The next step...

With today's 2 mile run I have completed the days of running 2 miles. Now the bar is going to be raised. I have a rest day on Friday and then..... (dun....dun.....daaaaahhh) 3 miles on Saturday, and 4 on Sunday. Scary. I know those won't be easy. I had a difficult time doing the 2 miles. But, I am determined to try to follow this training schedule to the letter...so we'll see how it goes. Right now I'm not going to worry about it. I'm just gonna enjoy my rest day.

First Training Day...

Two miles on Tuesday. That's the start of half marathon training for me. When I get out of work (aka wednesday...lol.) I'll be doing another 2 miles. It takes me about 26 minutes to do to miles. So, a 13 minute mile average. The two miles is do-able but when I'm done I feel spent so it's hard for me to imagine 3 or 4 or MORE miles. But, it will come in time I'm sure.

Be Back Later to blog about today's run...since I don't work tonight.

2 miles done. Took me 25:50. I shave a little time off there...lol. I had to work really hard for the 10 seconds too...lol. But it feels good to see progress. I'm feeling pretty empowered by these 2 miles runs. I hope I can keep it up.

The beginning....

Agggggghh....
Here we go.

Monday was the official start of the half marathon training. Monday is a rest day. Any program that starts out with resting is A.OK in my book...lol. This week will go something like this:

Monday - Rest
Tuesday - Fartlek (2 Miles)
Wednesday - 2 miles
Thursday - 2 miles
Friday - Rest
Saturday - 3 miles
Sunday - 4 miles

This is actually my own creation, I call it week zero of the Beginner Half Marathon Program. It's my way of easing myself into the program so I don't get overwhelmed right away.

In the coming weeks I'll be expending alot of nutrients as I run and sweat. So my current plan is to supplement my diet with lots of good nutrient filled foods. One of the healthy thing that I really enjoy is something called a green smoothie....called that because you add a leafy green to the fruit smoothie mix. Don't worry it's not gross...you don't even notice it's there. I have a green smoothie recipe for anyone who might be interested. I like to make these now and then. So now that I'm doing the half-marathon training I'll be making these everyday (hopefully) as part of my healthy approach to training.

Black Berry Green Smoothie Recipe

Makes 1 serving

Ingredients

40 g baby spinach leaves
2 tbsp Orange Juice
1/4 cup filtered water
54 g Banana
72 g pineapple
80 g blackberries or you could do blueberries instead
1/4 cup water

Directions
In a mixer blend together baby spinach, orange juice and 1/4 cup of water. Blend well until it makes a nice green liquid. You should see a few tiny leaf fragments but that is all. Stop the blender and add the remaining ingredients. Fresh is best but frozen works well too. In this recipe I used frozen black berries. Blend until desired consistency is achieved and enjoy.

By my calculation the total calorie count for the recipe above is 142 calories. I really enjoy these green smoothies. It gives me the sweetness I crave with the veggies and fruits I need. Can you tell I’m really excited about smoothies? Haha. It’s funny how some things just work for you, and other things no matter how hard you try you just can’t seem to make them work. Smoothies are a definite “fit” for me.

Adventures in running...

I'm a wimp.
I gave in to my achy hamstrings today and didn't run. I wanted to run but, more than anything I don't wanna injure myself. Right now I'm just at the point where you wanna give the muscle a good rub...and when you do....it's like....ahhhhhhhhh...ooch. It hurts so good...lol. So yeah, no run for me today. I gotta wonder...will I ever just run without some muscle group feeling sore the next day? Whether it's my arms, or sides, ankles or calves....some part of me ALWAYS seems to be sore...lol.

So, tonight I'm chick-itty-checkin Blogland. Looking at the blogs I follow. I love reading about other peoples' adventures in running. Especially the adventures of those of us who were not blessed with a svelte and perfect runners physique...lol. Somehow knowing other gals are out there bouncy and jiggling their hinders in the name of running makes me feel better about myself and my struggles. Blog-on Bloggettes!! I'm readin yah!

Speaking of which, one of my many blog-stalks Erica is giving away a copy of The Nonrunner’s Marathon Guide for Women on her blog here! Sounds like an awesome read, especially with me training for the half-marathon and all. So if you have a free min give her blog a look-see.

Anywho, The plan for tomorrow is to what? RUN... of course do I ever have another plan? lol... stay tuned.

Recap of the last few days

Well due to hubby's birthday, I ended up taking a few day off from running. I got back on the running wagon on June 10 with a 1.25 mile run. It went ok. not my best run.
Then June 11th I ran again. This time I ran 2 miles and follow it up with a 0.25 mile cool down walk. I'm tired right now at work so I'm going home and going right to bed. I'm hoping my legs won't be too sore when I wake up, coz I'd like to get another run in. Saturday I have some home improvement plans so I don't wanna run Saturday.

Next week is the start of my half marathon training. Gulp... we'll see how it goes.

Today's Run went like this:
start time: 12:04 PM
end time: 12:30 PM
Time: 00:26:00
Distance: 2.00 miles

and a 0.25 mile cool down.

It's a beautiful morning...

It's a beautiful mornin', Ahhh,

I think I'll go outside a while,

An jus' smile.

Just take in some clean fresh air, boy!

Ain't no sense in stayin' inside

If the weather's fine an' you got the time.

It's your chance to wake up and plan another brand new day.

Either way,

It's a beautiful mornin',

Ahhh......

Sorry, just a song I had stuck in my head after my run this morning.

It is a beautiful day for running outside, and that's just what I did. I found out that...wow...my area is hilly!! I hadn't run outside since we moved. And my new neighborhood is very peaceful to run in. But, it's hilly. So my run was a little harder than normal. I also got all disoriented when I started out. The switch from treadmill to outside always throws my senses off just a little bit in the beginning. This time it was actually pretty bad and lasted for about 0.15 of a mile. Then I was fine.

So today's stats look like this:

start time: 7:48AM

end time: 8:02 AM

Time: 00:14:00

Distance: 1.07 miles

Now, it's off to start my day!! Toodles...

P.S. Thank you Rascals for the song that is still in my head!!

Bum Run...

This morning I just ran 1 mile. I felt crappy. I was having a hard time keeping control of my breath. I couldn't stay focused. It just didn't go very well. They can't all be great runs! I'm not discouraged though, I've had bad run days before...it'll pass. I think I might have eaten too close to my run. I feel better if my stomach is more empty when I run.
Tomorrow morning I'm not gonna run. I'm gonna go home and go straight to bed so I can get up around noon and have a life...(3rd shift sucks) The good news is I have the next 2 days off...yeay!!

In..1..2..Out...1...2.

So far for June I've ran twice, 1.5 miles each time. I'm learning something about the way I breathe. I am constantly holding my abs very tight when I run. Sounds like a good thing but I'm finding that it alters my breathing and then rather than breathing deeply using my diaphragm I'm actually just breathing shallowly with my chest. So Wednesday morning when I ran I tried to think about my diaphragm moving down as I breathed in...I thought about the air going all the way down to my belly then I'd exhale. In..1..2..Out...1...2. As I exhaled I thought about my diaphragm pulling up into my lungs and squeezing all the air out. Visualizing this really seems to help keep me focused and keeps my breathing under control. Other than that not much new on the ole' running front. I just keep trucking along. Right now I'm doing something like Week5 day2 of the c25k. I'm not following the C25k exactly coz I'm trying to get ready for the half marathon training program...so I wanna speed up the c25k. But week 5 day 2 is the..

Brisk five-minute warm up walk, then:
Jog 8 minutes
Walk 5 minutes
Jog 8 minutes

I've been doing 4 minutes of walking in between the 2 jogs. I did that on Monday and on Wednesday. By then end of this week I want to be running for 20 minutes with no walking or holding on to the treadmill...that is my goal. I've gotta get ready to start the half marathon training and the first week of it looks like this.

Week 1
Mon. Off
Tue. Fartlek(4M)
Wed. 4M
Thu. 4M
Fri. Off
Sat. 3M
Sun. 6M


I Know I'm not ready for all that just yet!

I did find a half marathon program that's 8 weeks long and starts out at just 2 miles
http://mba.tuck.dartmouth.edu/pages/clubs/triathlon/training/Half_Marathon.htm

Week 1
Mon. Rest
Tues. 2M
Wed. 30min cross train
Thurs. 2M
Fri. Rest
Sat. 30 min cross train
Sun. 4M

So I don't know...I'll have to see how I'm doing next week.