Week 12 Workouts

This week's training went pretty well. Here's a brief run down (no pun intended):

Monday: OFF

Tuesday: TT for Amazing Lower Abs, Workout A, with Intervals

Wednesday: Tempo run, 45 minutes total, 3.76 miles

Thursday: TT for Amazing Lower Abs, Workout B, no intervals

Friday: Pace workout, 40 minutes total, 3.4 miles

Saturday: 20 minutes AM Yoga, hip focus

Sunday: 17.75 miles, 3:45:16

Total: 26.24 miles, TT for Amazing Lower Abs - Workouts A & B, 20 minutes Yoga

I felt pretty good during Sunday's run. Much better than last week! During the last 2 miles I started to feel like I was running on bone. I mean, it felt like my feet had zero padding. Do I just have to run through this until my feet get used to the miles, or is there something I can do now? I just got new shoes - Brooks Ghost 3. (The store didn't have the Saucony style I was looking for in stock, so they talked me into the Brooks.) I just started taking a new Glucosamine/Chondroitin supplement so I'm hoping that will help. I've been taking it for about a week. Usually my feet hurt earlier in the run so either my feet ARE getting used to the miles, or the supplement did help a little this week.

Also, after my long runs, I feel like I have the flu for the rest of the day. I get the chills and feel achy and generally icky. I assume it's from the exertion and maybe from a bit of dehydration, although this week I took extra water with me. Does this happen to anyone else??

Aside from that, the long run felt pretty good. Maybe it was the yoga, or the massive amount of carbs I had on Saturday, or maybe it was the "perfect" weather (mid-30's and mostly sunny), but my overall average per mile was much faster than my usual long runs. Even the last couple miles were faster even though my feet really hurt. So, I'm pretty happy about that! We'll see how things go next week...

Have a great week!

Playing Catch Up

First, if you haven't voted for your favorite finalists in the 10th Turbulence Training Contest, you can do so here ==> TT Contest Voting Go on, vote and come back, we'll wait. :) Voting ends on Friday.

OK, apparently I don't write on my blog very often, according to an old friend who ran into my sister at the bank and said "Abby hasn't written on her blog in over a month!" LOL - I know you're out there HT! ;)

So here I am to say "I'm Here!" and I've been training for the marathon, although I've been a bit frustrated. I feel like I'm not at the level I should be by now. I don't necessarily feel like I should be really fast, I just feel like I shouldn't be really slow. And right now, I'm feeling really slow!

This weekend is scheduled to be one of my longest runs ever, 18-20 miles. Luckily, it is not supposed to be HOT like it was last Sunday. It was a fluke hot spring day and I had to quit 2 miles too soon because I was overheating and out of water.

So here's a brief look at what I've been doing the past few weeks. The miles listed are a mix of long runs, intervals, pace and tempo workouts. It's been a real slow process. It's only been the last few weeks that I have started feeling less tired and more like myself!

Week 7: 6.13 miles, 10 minutes yoga (ran a 5K race instead of a long run)
Week 8: 15.96 miles, 60 minutes P90X Stretch
Week 9: 15.33 miles, TT 2K3 Workouts A & B (I have been missing TT!)
Week 10: 17.24 miles, TT 2K3 Workouts A & B
Week 11: 20.18 miles, TT Amazing Abs Workout B

Now I am in Week 12 and I'll post more details on that soon.

That's about it! I promise to be back sooner next time! :)


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So...I Took Some Time Off...But Now I'm Back!

So...OK...I took a little time off from marathon training. I'm not sure what happened. I was sick, and then I had lingering fatigue, and never did find out what was wrong. I've only been running here and there for the last few weeks. But now I have been feeling better and will begin training more consistently. Yesterday I ran about 10 miles, and I am definitely feeling sore today! :)

I'll be back with more training updates, but I wanted to point you to the winners of the 6 Week Turbulence Training Mini Contest. (You may recall I didn't join the 10th TT Contest because I wanted to focus on running.) But here's the winners of the Mini Contest: TT 6 Week Mini Contest

Very impressive 6 week transformations!! Congratulations!


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Week 2: Feeling Like A Wimp

During week 2 I was still feeling pretty tired. I went to see the doctor and I had a mono test done. The results came back inconclusive; the nurse basically told me that I might have mono, but I might not. I had mono years and years ago and that was much worse than this. But it would explain why I am so tired.

Monday was the day that I forgot my running shoes when I went to the gym and so I only ran about 2 miles.

Tuesday was a 30 minute tempo run.

Wednesday was a snow day! It was a blizzard outside and I wasn't going anywhere.

Thursday and Friday just didn't happen. I didn't work out at all - too tired. I know, I sound like such a wimp!

Saturday I was feeling a little more energetic. I was supposed to run 5 miles - I ran only 3.

Sunday I was supposed to run 11 miles (according to my master plan) but I'm just not ready for that so I planned to run 8 miles. The first 4 felt pretty good, but during the 5th mile I got really tired. I decided to take a short cut home and ended up running about 7.5 miles. My pace was super slow, but I didn't care. I think I would have been able to run 8 (or even more) if it hadn't been snowing for the entire run. I had to run in about 1/2" to 1" of snow and it was a little bit like running in sand. I was absolutely exhausted when I got home.

So, 3 days off this week, but not quite a total bust.

Week 2 totals: 15.3 miles
Week 1 totals: 11.6 miles, 25 minutes Warrior Yoga

Days 4-8: A Recap

Thursday morning I was supposed to run 2 miles, but I woke up too late to get to the gym. I might have been able to run outside, but it's still pretty dark at that time of the morning, and on top of that, it was snowing pretty good. So I decided to throw in a 20 minute yoga DVD. I turned on the TV and DVD player and put in the DVD. Then I proceeded to putz around the house doing "this and that". If I don't take care of "this and that" before the workout, then I will think about it during the whole workout (see previous post RE: brain chatter). So by the time I got done with "this and that" it was too late for yoga because I had to go to work.

By Thursday afternoon, my "sniffle" had become a full blown cold. I didn't work out on Friday, and I stayed home from work. I ended up sleeping most of the day - I hadn't realized how exhausted I was! By Friday night, aside from some sneezing, a runny nose, and a few lingering body aches, I was feeling a bit better.

On Saturday morning I decided to give running a try. I was supposed to run 10 miles, but I just didn't see that happening. I started out slowly, and the first mile felt pretty good. The second mile was mostly uphill, so it was a bit slower. The third mile was mostly downhill, and it was a bit faster. :) During the fourth mile, I was still feeling good, so I decided to turn away from home instead of toward home. I finished with 5.84 miles at about an average 12:00/mile pace. And I was pretty tired.

Sunday was a day off.

Which brings us to today. I was going to run 3 miles this morning. And so I drove to the gym. And then realized I forgot my tennis shoes. Grrrrrr. So I went back home and got my shoes and went back to the gym and ran 2 miles.

After my workouts I've been drinking the Lemon-Lime Recovery Drink from Thrive: The Vegan Nutrition Guide to Optimal Performance in Sports and Life. It looks like the "sludge test" from freshman year science class, but actually tastes great. Although I don't think my husband would try it in a million years. :)


Week 1 totals: 11.6 miles, 25 minutes Warrior Yoga

Days 2 and 3: Yoga and Pacing

Yesterday morning I did a 25 minute yoga workout (told you I was starting slow).

Recently, I've been doing yoga a lot more often. I used to be very anti-yoga, but by forcing myself to do it, I've found that it's made me much more flexible. Sometimes I struggle with getting rid of the chatter in my head. You would think that yoga would help clear the noise, but it doesn't work that way for me. If I don't start with a clear head, I have a lot of trouble finishing the workout.

Today's workout was a 40 minute pace workout. A pretty slow pace, but a pace workout nonetheless. After a mile warm up, I did 2x400, and then 2x800, followed by a half mile cool down. I haven't been running a lot recently and just feel like I need to start slowly to build up my "running confidence". On top of that, I've got a little sniffle, so my breathing isn't quite at 100% capacity. :)

I recently read an article about age, sex and finish time compared to pacing in a marathon. The authors found that older, female and faster runners were better at pacing than younger, male and slower runners, respectively. (March DS, et al, J Strength Cond Res 25(2): 386-391, 2011) So I have the female going for me, but the younger and slower I think is going to trump that! I'm really going to have to learn to concentrate on pacing in my long runs so that I don't burn out.

Have a great day!

Marathon Training, Day One

I ran 2 miles.

I'm starting slowly. ;)

And I still got a blister. I just got my running shoes not that long ago so I'm not sure it's my shoes.

Also, I bought one of those braces for plantar fasciitis that you put on your foot while you are sleeping. It basically holds your foot so that it is flexed. I'm still not sure that's what is wrong with my foot, but this morning my foot pain was diminished. However, my calf was sore. I was not amused. I'll give the brace a week or two at the most before I make my final decision on whether or not it's working.

Finally, rest in peace Jack LaLanne. What a guy! The fitness icon died yesterday at 96 years old from respiratory failure due to pneumonia. I have his Juicer collecting dust in my basement. I bought it from my sister at her moving sale years ago. I should get that out and take it for a spin!

Have a great day!

My Vegan Challenge

All this week I've had "We've got the power, so can yoooooooooooouuuuuuu" stuck in my head. My husband got me She-Ra, Season 1, Volume 1 for Christmas. The kids are loving it, especially my daughter. She is totally into "Princess" and go-go Girl Power! :)

This week I've been undergoing a "vegan challenge". I had joined the 21-Day Vegan Kickstart (free to join), which began on January 3, but I didn't follow a vegan plan for the entire first week. Then I learned about a "vegan challenge" where I work. They were doing a 7-day challenge, and I was determined to give it a try. (A vegan diet contains no animal products - so no meat, dairy, eggs, honey.)

The majority of my meals this week came from Brendan Brazier's Thrive: The Vegan Nutrition Guide to Optimal Performance in Sports and Life and from Robin Robertson's Vegan Planet. In some ways, it was nice (lots of fruits and veggies, new recipes to try), but my food processor definitely got a workout, and so did my digestive tract. Let's just say I had a lot of fiber and flax. :)

Here's my menu so far this week (in somewhat random order, not necessarily by meal):

*Denotes Thrive Diet recipe, or at least derived from a Thrive Diet recipe ;)

Monday:
Quinoa and Sweet Potato Pancakes*
Salad with cukes, tomatoes, nutritional yeast, sesame seeds*
Dressing made with tomatoes, oil, vinegar, and agave nectar*
Homemade vegetable crackers*
Clementine, banana
Energy bar*
Tofu & Kale Spanakopita (Vegan Planet recipe)

Tuesday:
almonds, date, flax, carob powder, Vega powder, almond milk*
Tofu & Kale Spanakopita leftovers
pear, apple
Energy bar*
potatoes/onion
Boca burger
applesauce
prunes, peanut butter, almonds
popcorn with nutritional yeast

Wednesday:
Quinoa and Sweet Potato Pancakes*
lentil soup with quinoa
clementines, banana, pineapple
Energy bar*
Polenta Chili Casserole (Vegan Planet recipe)
almonds, raisins, peanut butter

Thursday:
Oatmeal with pumpkin, walnuts, almond milk
Salad with cukes, tomatoes, nutritional yeast, sesame seeds*
Dressing made with tomatoes, oil, vinegar, and agave nectar*
Clementines, pear, almonds
Homemade vegetable crackers*
Energy bar*
Mac and "Cheese" (Vegan Planet recipe - pictured below)
Chocolatey Peanut Butter Brownie (Vegan Planet recipe - pictured below)

Friday:
Tortilla with peanut butter, banana and strawberries
Mac and "Cheese" leftovers (lunch and dinner)
Homemade vegetable crackers*
almonds, pineapple, carrots
Chocolatey Peanut Butter Brownie











Quite frankly, I miss eggs. I don't really miss meat, but I miss eggs. Thursday night I had a dream that I ate something with egg in it and after I ate it I thought, "Wait, eggs aren't vegan!" and then I woke up. One of my son's favorite meals is "eggs and toast" and we usually have that for dinner a few times a month, so I think those dinners will stay. :)

Energy-wise, for the first 3 days I was kind of tired (probably sugar withdrawal) but by Thursday, I had tons of energy. Basement painting here I come! We are turning part of the basement into a playroom for the kids. I let the kids choose the colors - one wall will be pink, and the other will be green.

Have a great weekend!

New Year, New Goals

This year has gotten off to a pretty good start, and I wanted to share a few goals/resolutions that I have for the year. You are already familiar with some of these. :)

1. Post on the blog more often.
I've been a little neglectful.

2. Run a marathon.
Or even jog one. :) I haven't been running as much as I would like to be. I confess, I've been a bit of a wimp. The weather has been really cold, and even though I bought some cold weather running gear, I haven't run outside. I also have a nagging pain in my foot. It actually started around the time I ran the half marathon. I thought it might be plantar fasciitis, but I don't have any heel pain, which seems to be a common symptom. It's more in the ball of my foot. I feel it in the morning when I first wake up, and also after sitting for a while, like when I'm in a meeting and then stand up afterward. I'm concerned because I haven't even started training yet!

3. Be more personable.
I am horrible at small talk. I've been accused of not being "effusive". So this year, I will "effuse". :)

4. Spend more time with my husband and kids, separately and together.
I always feel like I'm telling my kids, "In a minute." I want to spend more quality time with my kids. And a "date night" with my husband every once in a while wouldn't hurt either. :)

And, of course, eat right, exercise, and get more sleep. All of which will help me achieve my goals!

Happy New Year everyone!

Back In Action

Ahem, so, well, it's been awhile since I've posted. :)

New Year's Resolution #1:
Post on Blog more frequently.

I have 2 big announcements!

First, I got second place in the Women under 40 Category in the last TT Contest (Contest #9). Very excited about that! The 10th TT Contest has already begun - you can read the rules HERE. Start your year on the right foot! :)

Second big announcement: I have signed up to run a full marathon. Not EXACTLY sure what I was thinking! But I do plan to post more about training, nutrition, etc. I think it will help keep me in line! :)

My "official" training will start near the end of January, so I might not post too much before then, but I'm going to try!


Happy New Year!


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