22 WEEKS TIL NYC, WEEKLY RECAP: 5/25-5/31, REST DAY

Rest day, no run. Hope to do Yoga for runners later.

Woke this morning & the muscle soreness I had seems to be gone:) YEAHH!!!!

WEEKLY RECAP 5-25-09 THRU 5-31-09

Mon- 5 mile interval workout
Tues - 5 miles easy at conversational pace
Wed - 1 mile w/u, 6 Hill sprints followed by walking down hill then pushups & crunches, then 1 mile cooldown (3.55miles)
Thurs - Rest day
Fri - 10 mile long run
Sat - 4 mile recovery run
Sun - rest day

Total miles for Week 3 = 27.55 miles

Week #3 of NYC training done!

4 MILE RECOVERY RUN

Goal was to run 4 miles at a 10min pace +/- 10secs.

Temp was warm, 67F at the beg, 70F at the end, but the run was great. Legs/knee feel awesome.

I ran the pond route and did my best to keep it slow. Man, this pace feels slow Hahaha, something 17mths ago I never would have dreamed of saying. LOL

4 miles in 41:04

Mile splits according to my Garmin 301:
M1 - 10:03
M2 - 9:59
M3 - 10:04
M4 - 9:58

Pretty damn consistent, if I do say so myself:)!!!

Followed my run immediately with the core wo:!!

1-Min Planks 2 sets
Bicycles 2 sets of 25
Oblique crunches 0 failed LOL
Hip Extensions 1 set of 25
Pushups 1 set of 20

Completed the whole core workout, except for the Oblique crunches. Attempted, but failed on first one LOL, not strong enough yet and still a tad sore. Will try them next time:)Planks were great, held for 1min, then 2nd time, could only hold for 50secs. Still good tho:) Completed the pushups (girlie style), and by the 20th I was exhausted. But completed them:)!! Good workout:)!!

GREAT 10MILE LONG RUN & REVIEW OF A GREAT NEW RUNNING BRA I JUST FOUND

Plan for today was 7 miles at 10s pace +/- 10secs and last 3 miles at 8:45 pace +/- 10secs

Woke this morning still feeling sore, but better than yesterday, and it felt like a good sore:)

Mapped out my 10mile loop, and headed out the door at 11:20am. Temps said 56F, and I got lucky, rain held off for the whole run:)

I walked up my hill to the flats, about .15, where I then started my 10mile run. Legs felt good right from the beginning. I took a carb boom orange/vanilla gel at mile 6, and really was feeling good.

10miles in 1:36:34 for an average pace of 9:39

Mile splits were (accordin 2my Garmin 301)

M1-10:40
M2-9:51
M3-10:03
M410:01
M5-9:59
M6-9:57
M7-9:50
M8-8:51
M9-8:45
M10-8:35

Legs felt awesome. Walked the hill back up to my house, tried to do the core exercises, but my ass muscles are still sore from the hill sprints on Wed LOL, you have to remember, I'm 44 years old LOL, and my arms and stomach muscles are also a tad sore, so the pu & crunches just didn't happen:( I will try the core again tomorrow. I felt it best to not push it, and let the muscles recover. Hope that's OK? Not sure if it is related, but wonderin if I'm sore due to the fact I got my 'monthly friend' this morning. I know, too much information, but I figure I'd throw it out there. It didn't affect my run, but wondering if it affecting how my muscles are recovering????

I did do the supermans, and the 1min planks. They felt awesome and didn't bother my other issues.

But overall I think I nailed todays workout and I'm pretty psyched:)

Now for my review of a new running bra that was brought to my attention. It is made by Gracies-Gear and it is AWESOME. The most comfortable running bra I have ever worn. And most importantly, I didn't chaffe, and it has a pocket that held my iphone while I ran. Just amazing. Here's a link to the one I tried. It's the long tank and it didn't ride up on me at all.

REST DAY/NO RUN TODAY

Woke a tad sore this a.m. Not bad, was sore the first time I walked down the stairs, (walking upstairs was fine), but the second time I walked down them I felt fine. Guess I just had to get the kinks out. LOL

Resting today in preparation for my 10 mile long run tomorrow:)!

HILL SPRINTS W RECOVERY JOG FOLLOWED BY SITUPS & CRUNCHES

wo today called for 1m w/u followed by 6 x 60sec hill sprints with jogging recovery back down; w 10 pushups and 10 crunches each time I got to the bottom, then a 1m c/d

It was cold and rainy out there today. Temp said 54F, but I only got wet on the mile w/u & c/d, cause I live in the woods, so lots of trees to cover the street, so I barely got wet when running the hill sprints:)

I chose my street to run the hill sprints. From my house to the top at the Stop Sign is .1M, with an elevation of 127 ft to 332 ft.

However, to get my 1m w/u in I had to run down the hill by the pond, so I ran that mile in 10min, then walked it back up to my house (another .21m), then stretched alot, then started the hill sprints.

Wow, I completed all 6 with pu/crunches, but by the 3rd hill sprint I wanted to puke. The pu were ok till around the 3rd set when they were getting harder, but I did them all. Granted they were done modified, but at least I did them, and my arms feel like they got an amazing workout. Crunches felt good throughout, tho toward the end they were tough too.

I found after each hill repeat, that I felt stronger running the first half of the hill, but then would teater out at the end at full exhaustion, but it really felt awesome, as I have never done a workout like this before.

When I finished my last set I cooled down with a mile run. I came right inside and did my post core workout. Another 20 pu, 20 crunches, 50 bicycles, and 2 sets of 1min planks.

I'm officially exhausted, hungry and wanting a hot bath tub. In my experience, that means I nailed this workout baby:) Tomorrow is a rest day for me, one in which I believe I just earned:)!!!

5 EASY MILES AT CONVERSATIONAL PACE

Goal for today was 5 miles in the 9:35space range, no faster, and no slower than 10s.

Temp was a tad chilly at 59F and breezy, but while running it felt delightful. I chose a route with more hills in it today. Again, another full loop. It was awesome, legs/knee felt really good. I felt very comfortable out there, and kept my pace very consistent to what Josh wanted:)! Again, I find it easier to keep my splits/pace consistent at the 10min range. But my body WILL learn to do it at the faster pace too, I just KNOW it:)!!

Got out the door at 9:41am, right after I got kids off to school.

Mile splits were as follows:
M1 - 9:59
M2 - 9:52
M3 - 9:54
M4 - 9:41
M5 -10:25 (all uphill)

Miles 2.5 - 3 had me running an elevation of 97Ft up to 210Ft.
Miles 4-5 had me running an elevation of 64Ft to 205Ft.

I'm hoping by running on hills now my legs will get stronger. For the past few months I pretty much stuck to flat surfaces with the gradual slight incline. But since NYC is known to have hills I want to incorportate the hills, since I do live in a hilly section. I just don't want to over due it with hills, that my easy/recovery/maintenance runs all of a sudden become hard workouts, but todays just felt perfect:)!!

INTERVAL WORKOUT

Todays sched called for 1 mile w/u, then 2 miles @ an 8:50 pace, then a mile @ a 8:30 pace, then a mile c/d. For a total of 5 miles.

Woke a little later than I planned, as time was rushed today b/c my kids were marching in the Memorial Day Parade. So I woke at 7:35, was out the door by 8:05, legs felt ok during the w/u, but was thinking how am I going to do the splits Josh wants me to when I feel tired. LOL Was in the sun all day yesterday at the club. Though I didn't have any alcohol. Haven't had any alcohol since 5/17, and from now on, not having any more alcohol:)!

Warmup felt ok, then it was time to hit the splits, watch kept going back and forth, but I was pretty sure I was on target or a tad fast for all the splits, but once I started, my legs just felt awesome. I guess I'm finding it hard to stick to a certain pace, and would rather run them a tad too fast, then too slow LOL Is this ok Josh?? Then I ran the last mile as a cool down.

Funny, I used to nail my splits when I was running them at 10min pace, now that I'm using speed work/invervals, I find it harder to hit the splits, but at least my times are on the faster end and not the slower end:)!!

5 miles in 44:56 (overall pace 8:56)

Mile splits were as follows:

M1 - 10:22
M2 - 8:22
M3 - 8:38
M4 - 7:57
M5 - 9:37

Workout as a whole really felt awesome. I felt like I could have done more splits, but was happy they were over, and really enjoyed the last mile cooldown.

23 WEEKS TIL NYC; REST DAY; WEEKLY RECAP 5-18-09 THRU 5-24-09

Rest day, no run. Good quality time spent with family on this Memorial Day Weekend.

WEEKLY RECAP 5-18-09 THRU 5-24-09
Mon- Rest day

Tues - 7.12 miles total: workout consisted of 10min warmup followed by 10min @ an 8:50 pace, followed by a 2min recovery jog (This interval was repeated 4 times) and then ran an easy 10min cooldown

Wed - 5 easy miles run at conversational pace

Thurs - Rest day

Fri - 8 mile long run

Sat - 4 mile recovery run

Sun - rest day

Total miles for Week 2 = 24.12 miles

Week 2 of NYC training done!

4 MILE RECOVERY RUN

4 mile recovery run. Ran around the pond, Temp 65F blue skies and sunny. Nice and easy, legs felt really good. Almost felt like the run was too slow Haha.

Mile splits:

M1 - 10:07
M2- 10:01
M3 - 9:33 (run was a tad downhill)
M4 - 9:49

Week 2 of training DONE:)!!!

LONG RUN THAT JUST FELT PERFECT TODAY

Workout called for running all miles at conversational pace, and then the last .5 speed up and the last 400meters full out sprint.

I chose a new route today, as I didn't want to run round and round. LOL I mapped out a great 8 mile route, that included some gradual hills. Legs/knee felt awesome, tho the temp was about 80F, most of my run (thankfully) was in the shade, so it wasn't so bad. I brought 20oz of powerade mixed with water, and I also took a carb boom vanilla/orange gell at the 5 mile mark.
Don't know why I did, but I weighed myself before the run and I was 119, and after the run I weighed myself again and I was 117.2, granted my run was in the late PM, so not sure how accurate the original weight was, but looks like I lost about 2lbs on the run. Does that mean I didn't drink enough? I never felt winded, thirsty or anything, it was just an awesome run. Tho, the sprint at the end was a tad hard to do, but I did it:)!!

Mile splits according to my Garmin 301 were:

M1 - 9:43
M2 - 9:35
M3 - 9:21
M4 - 9:35
M5 - 9:06
M6 - 9:38 (there was a gradual hill)
M7 - 9:14 (a gradual downhill)
M8 - 8:38 (with the sprint at last part:)

Overall the run felt great and my legs felt amazing:)

REST DAY; NO RUN TODAY

As with all running plans, rest days are important too, so no run for me today. Hoping to fit in a yoga session later on, will post back if I get it done.

EASY 5 MILE RUN AT CONVERSATIONAL PACE

Got out the door at 10:23am. Just a gorgeous day; blue skies and sunny.

Great run, tho a tad hot out there today. At beginning of run temp said 64F by the end it said 71F.

Had 5 easy miles at conversational pace. Just ran my 5 mile route without looking at the Garmin 301 till the end when I hit the 5 mile mark. I didn't have to look at it because I set it to beep at me at each mile split, so when I hit the final 5 mile split, I knew my run was finished. Run felt real good out there today. Didn't wear a knee brace (I don't want to become dependant on it), and since it was an easy run, wanted to see if I'd feel anything. Knee past the test, pain free run. YEAH:)!!

Though not that important, but hard habit to break since I'm so anal on #'s LOL, here are the overal mile splits, which my Garmin 301 told me when I got back to the house and synced it to my PC. So fun running without being dependant on a watch. Just hit start, never look at the watch/Garmin 301, and after the run is over, it tells you all the cool things about how you ran the run; length of run, mile splits, elevation, you name it.

M1 - 10:23
M2 - 10:18
M3 - 9:39
M4 - 9:28
M5 - 9:12

RAN FOR TIME, NOT DISTANCE TODAY

Todays run was run for a certain amount of time, NOT distance.
I was told to run for 1:08:08

with a 10min warm up at a very easy conversational pace Followed by
running for 10min @ 8:50 pace with a 2min recovery jog
This interval was repeated 4x
and then I jogged a very easy 10min cool down

I realize I wasn't supposed to clock mileage but the Garmin was on so (but I only referred to it to know when my 10min were up and when my 2 min were up) here it is: 7.12 miles, but this run was NOT run for distance, it was run for specific times at a certain pace intervals.

Knees felt great, legs felt great. I could get used to running workouts like this:)

24 WEEKS TIL NYC; NICE RECOVERY RUN TODAY; MY DAUGHTERS FIRST COMMUNION TODAY; WEEKLY RECAP 5-11-09 THRU 5-17-09

Woke early before the rest of the family woke. Rainy/cloudy 60F. So much for our rain dance for today, as today is our 8 year old daughters First Communion. Still a blessed day and we are all very excited!

7:46a.m. - got out the door, and ran a very easy 3 Mile recovery run, wasn't quite sure how to run this pace wise, so just went out and let my legs go nice and easy. No ill affects from yesterdays dopey fall, thank God. There is a bruise/scrape on my knee but it didn't hurt at all during the run and my legs felt awesome.

3 miles in 28:52

Mile splits:
M1 9:51
M2 9:25
M3 9:36

I even ran up my hill back to my house to end the run. Nice:)!

WEEKLY RECAP 5-11-09 THRU 5-17-09
Mon- Rest day
Tues - 4 easy done at conversational pace
Wed - 6miles total 1/2 mile warmup, followed by 3 mile 30 seconds faster, followed by 2 miles 45 seconds faster, then 1/2 mile cooldown
Thurs - 4 miles done in negative splits
Fri - rest day
Sat - 8 mile long run
Sun - 3 mile recovery run

Total miles for Week 1 = 25miles

Week 1 of NYC training done! NYC here I come:)!!

LONG RUN - slow and easy

Got up at 5am, had half a bagel with peanut butter, some coffee and was out the door by 6:05 to meet my friend Eva at 6:30. This time she came to my neck of the woods, and I chose a very nice fairly flat 8 mile course.

Nice easy/slow run out there today 8 miles in 1:24:18, an overal pace of 10:32

Mile splits:

M1 10:57
M2 10:52
M3 9:51
M4 10:17
M5 9:50
M6 10:31
M7 10:28
M8 11:30

Pace was definitely conversationally, and felt great.

Mapped an 8 mile route via mapmyrun, and it was about a .5 short, so wanted to add more to the route so ran through the HS parking lot and wasn't paying attention, when I went over the speed bump, clipped my shoe and went down like a ton of bricks:( Scraped hand, right elbow and right knee cap. Stung like a mother, but by the time I got home nothing hurt. Thank God. Iced the knee and then took a hot tubbie, and all seems fine now. Just dopey on my part. Note to self, no more running in HS parking lots. LOL

But overall I think the run went well. Until I fell on my knee, I had no discomfort. Two weeks ago I ran this same route, and by the end the rt knee was very tender:( So today was a thumbs up

Not sure how to run tomorrows recovery run, as todays pace was slower than my previous runs this week. Does recovery mean even slower tomorrow? Or recovery being same pace, just less miles??

REST DAY

Today is a rest day. Will finish cleaning the house and grocery shop LOL Ready for my long run tomorrow morning.

NEGATIVE SPLITS

Woke this morning with a bit of a sore throat, and it was cloudy and chilly. Got the kids off to school and got out the door before the rain really hit. Ran in some drizzle, but not bad and the temp said 60F. I wore my brooks yellow running jacket in case it rained, and it felt chilly when I left the house, but didn't really need it and all it did was make me hot LOL

I forgot my water for the run, cause I was going crazy cause I couldn't find my knee brace, the one I like for the IT band, but found the sleeve one. Don't like this one cause it is a tad constricting. Oh well, something is better than nothing. Rush out the door and into M1 realized I had no water. Oh well, couldn't stop to drink anyway as I was due to do 4 miles negative splits, no walking.

Still feel I may have done them too fast but it did feel good. Felt a twitch in rt knee a tad during M1 but was gone by M2. But over all legs felt great. Was a tad concerned that running 3 days in a row would be an issue, since yest and todays wo were hard per se, but I'm feeling good and there is no pain:)

Mile Splits are as follows:

M1 - 9:25
M2 - 9:18
M3 - 9:02
M4 - 8:39

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Another gorgeous day. Plan was to run a half mile w/u, then 3 miles at 30 secs faster, then 2 miles at 45 secs faster, then 1/2 mile cool down for a total of 6 miles.

Decided to run the 6 miles around and around the pond:) Finished in 54:33

Started the w/u at my regular 10min pace, hit the half mile at exactly 5:00min, legs felt great:)!
Then kicked it up a notch to run 3 miles at 30 secs faster:

mile splits as follows:
M1- 9:32 (wasn't sure at this point if I'd finsih, but when I hit the mile mark, legs felt great)
M2 -9:04
M3 -8:51

Then kicked it up another notch to run next 2 miles at 45 seconds/mile faster:
M4 - 8:42
M5 - 8:22

Then a half mile cooldown at 5:02

Legs felt awesome. This workout was fantastic. Though I'm sure I ran it too fast, it really felt good. Oh, and I wore the knee brace, and once again, no pain in the knee:)

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Had a great run. Legs really felt great out there today. Goal was to run at conversational pace for 4 miles. Well, it was a gorgeous day out (finally no rain:), and the legs just carried me around the pond.

Ran the 4 miles in 38:15

Mile splits were as follows:

M1 - 10:18
M2 - 9:31
M3 - 9:14
M4 - 9:12

Well, it ended up being a negative split run, but the good news is my HR never exceeded 147 and there was no knee pain issue at all. Forgot to wear the knee brace, but the run was pain free so that was good:)

Monday, May 11, 2009

24 weeks, 6 days until NYC

Well, it has been quite awhile, but I am now back to posting. Training for NYC started today. With a rest day; gotta love it:)!!

My plan is to run:

Mon - rest day

tues - run at conversational pace

wed - speed workout, where I have a 1/2 mile w/u, then run x miles at 30 sec faster, then x miles at 45 secs faster, then 1/2 cooldown

thurs- run each mile at negative splits

fri - rest day

sat - long run run at conversational pace

sun - recovery run