Tag: Training

Catching Up

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These past two weeks have been quite busy, and semi productive, but my blog was pushed to the side, and now I need to catch up on all that has happened. First of all, I’ve taken out two races, the Parma 5k and the Winking Lizard 2 person relay. The Parma 5k was a last minute add so I wasn’t fully committed to it. And I lost my partner for the Winking Lizard race. I already have something to do to replace the time of these races….packing. I’ll be moving to a new apartment, and city in the last two weeks of July! I’ll miss my easy access to the metro parks, but I’ll have four of my favorite places to run just moments away via highway. July also brings new opportunities with a new job!

My training also hasn’t been going as planned. The past week has been spent looking at apartments and getting caught up on things I need to do before vacation, so my regular time to run hasn’t been regular. I also had some heart pains, either caused by acid reflux or too much caffeine  (I’m thinking the latter) that made me too nervous to go for a run. And even when I did, it was probably the worst run I’ve had in a very long time. I’d rather be too careful and be healthy than push myself too hard and really do some damage.

What I’m looking forward to most is being officially North Carolina bound! It’s for a wedding, but anything could easily persuade me into going to the beach. I’m also hoping I can convince Darren to visit some lighthouses. Unfortunately we’ll be back in Ohio on Sunday, but I’m excited for the holiday weekend. The 4th of July happens to be my second favorite holiday
Enjoy the long weekend, and while you’ll be at work this week, I’ll have my toes in the water, ass in the sand, not a worry in the world and some cold drink in my hand 😉

>10 miles is well….10 miles

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>I completed my first and only long run before the half marathon. Stupid for waiting this long to get a long run in, but honestly, I can’t do those for fun. I have mixed thoughts on the run and post run, so let me break it down for you.

The weather was almost perfect for running, sunny, mid 50’s, but the wind was cold and in some spots, I had to fight against it. The first half was great, except knowing in the back of my mind, this was going to take a very long time. I started to feel great and knew it would be worth it once I finished. But then on the way back in, my body started to question what I was doing, cramping up in my side and legs, I took many moments to stretch.

Seeing my car in the distance after what seemed like hours of being gone, I had the adrenaline to finish strong, even though my body wanted to shut down. I finished, and felt relieved, I did it. What an accomplishment. I had run 10.8 before….in a foot of snow, where my body was numb. But after feeling every ligament, muscle and tendon in my body, I knew I worked hard, and would feel the effects.

I made sure to drink water and gatorade after and decided it was worth it to break my carb diet with a chocolate and strawberry crepe. I did work off all those calories 🙂 My legs felt like jello, my knees sore ( as they are after anything longer than 3 miles) and it felt great to sit in my car.

I feel better knowing what to expect, not only from the run itself, it’s going to be long, hard work, but it will feel great when I’m finished. I know my legs will be jello and I’ll be sore the next day. But I’m not as nervous anymore. I know I can do this, running is my thing.

>Nightmares, nerves and the unknown

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>It’s hard to believe that in 10 days I’ll be running the most important race I’ve ever done. It’s starting to get to me. Every time I think about the race, my stomach starts to turn, I feel like I’m going to throw up and I panic. I get this feeling at the beginning of every race I do, usually only on the starting line though. Now, with under two weeks until the race, I get this feeling multiple times a day. It’s even starting to get to me in my sleep. I have nightmares of being at the race and it keeps getting delayed or I’m not in the right running clothes. Hard to run a race without your clothes, unless you’re the naked man in the Flying Pig race  this past weekend in Cincy.

My biggest fear is the unknown. No clue if I can do this or how I’m going to feel during the race. I got a treadmill workout in yesterday. Pushed myself, trying to find which pace I could keep for the whole race. I found my pace, slower than what many would like to be doing a half marathon in, but honestly, I just want to finish. 10 days left, and I’m all for the carbo load. I’ve picked up multiple sports drinks that I plan on using before the race. Here on out its a pasta diet, my favorite part of running.

>Consistently Inconsistent

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>I was finally able to get into the workout room last night. I decided on the bike, I knew with my inconsistency that this wouldn’t make me want to stop in 5 minutes. I started off with listening to some Anberlin, my favorite music, and really got going. Within a matter of 25 minutes, I had gone 6 miles, and was biking at a 14.2 mile average speed. It felt great. Looking back to last summer, the fact that I did a 30 mile bike ride with no training, I should be able to do a 13.1 run with training. It’s just the fact of actually doing it.

After this, I attempted the one machine I could easily go without. I hate the treadmill, but because I was the only one in there, I tried it without being too embarrassed. Bad idea, my legs were tired from biking, and I was mentally breaking myself down with not being in shape. I did 10 minutes, decided that was enough.

Upside to all of this, I was able to bike 6 miles, and run 10 minutes (as of now, its more of the time than the mileage) and ate a pound of pasta without any guilt 🙂

>Biking, Bowling and Football

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>It was a long week. I was still sore from snowboarding until Friday, but I knew it was good for me. I had a busy weekend, but I was able to get a workout in. Friday after work I went straight downstairs and biked for 25 minutes, ending with 5.3 miles, not bad, and I felt great. Biking is going to be my starting point. It still takes a lot, but I can ease into it without feeling I failed on the treadmill. Although I love running, I could easily take a day of biking over hitting the treadmill. This past summer I did the Tour de Cure for Diabetes, biked the 30 mile moderate. It felt great, who knew I’d be able to bike 30 miles in a few hours.

Friday night I did some bowling, not really a workout, but it was good for my arms. I was sore Saturday from biking. Although I live in Ohio, I am not a big fan of the Bengals or the Browns, but yes the Packers. I, however, was one of the three Green Bay fans at BW3’s on Saturday night, but I was definitely showing my team spirit. Green Bay Packers advance!

Hoping to get some good workouts in this week, we’ll see how it goes….