This has been a rough week for me - I have hardly ran at all (even though I knew I should) mentally though, I just couldn't get myself out of the house. Yesterday however was different. Thursday's are 'hill' workout days. There not so much hills as little bumps, but it does essentially do the same thing as larger hills.
The workout is to run sets of 3 or 4 hills and then repeat. Yesterday I ran a three set 4x's. After it was over I felt great. I felt like I had worked up a good sweat but I wasn't exhausted or sore - generally I felt good. This led me to my next concern...am I doing enough or should I keep going?
At the end of a run (workout or other exercise related endevor) I like to feel like I've done as much as I can, I like to feel tired and energy drained. It makes me think I gave it my all and didn't hold back. I gabbed up the coach and he told me that "at this point, I should not feel drained or exhausted. My goal is to burn fat not sugar...sugar burning brings about the tired and drained feeling." Ok, I thought, but still, I feel like I could do more...shouldn't i just keep going?? He quickly told me no, not today.
So what's a girl to do? I want to do more and he promises the day will come when I will be ready to do more at higher intensities, but this is a gradual process and I need to build up to it. I'm not sure I believe him, but I'm still trying his method so we'll see.
On a side note, Saturday will be my first hour + run. I'm not running this for distance as much as it will be for time and endurance. I don't know why this bothers me so much (I've already run for just under an hour and I train for 1 1/2 hours during the week on running days...it just seems like such a "big" amount of time...I find it intimidating. I'll update after to see if I feel anymore "exhausted" and/or "energy drained" at the end of it. Perhaps that is what I need to teach me to enjoy doing what I do now!
Friday, May 30, 2008
Friday, May 23, 2008
Another one bites the dust...
....and another one down and another one down, another one bites the dust!
Yep that is how I feel right now (cheesy I know). I ran race #4 last night and can honestly say I felt good at the end. Last night was Zoom thru the Zoo 4miler, a bit longer than my usual 5k and I haven't been doing any major running lately so I was a bit nervous. I spent most of the day psyching myself out so that didn't help and I thought I was going to be sick prior to the race (and I want to run a marathon???HA)
Overall time was 47min - not great, but in a effort to do as my coach has requested, I took WAY more walk breaks to try and keep my heart within range.
Here's how it broke down
Mile 1: (9:16 min) I started out good, basically a pretty good jog, nothing fast at all (tried to pace myself). About half a mile into it I felt as if for sure I'd already missed the 1mi marker, there was no way this could be only the first mile. I kept on pushing, debating whether or not I would walk or just keep going. Finally I decided to take a 30sec walk break in an effort to play along with coach Marks training. Of course I still thought I had passed the 1mi marker so it was easier to justify...about a minute later there it was staring me in the face. Hum, is that possible?? My time seems faster than I thought it would be and I'm not moving that fast...maybe I should slow it down.
Mile 2: (21:32) This mile was the hardest of all 4, I felt myself tightening up and keep trying to focus on my breathing which was becoming short and quick. It is usually about here that my sides cramp up and I was trying to breath so this wouldn't happen. The breathing didn't get under control but my sides didn't cramp up either. It was about here that I started letting go of the anxiouty that I started the race with. I focused on breathing and putting one foot in front of the other - this was nothing new to a 5k.
Mile 3: (34:50) I felt like I had hit my groove. I was still taking 30sec walk breaks on a regular basis. This consisted of running 2-3 min with 30sec walk breaks. My muscles seemed to be fairly warmed up, my mind was empty, and I was focused. This mile felt good.
Mile 4: (47:00) It was about here that I thought "I can do this." I don't mean the 4 mi run, but the whole marathon thing. I was hot and sweaty, but generally I felt good. By this time my breathing was undercontrol and it was all about putting one foot in front of the other at this point. Legs and lungs felt good and I seriously thought I could have kept going beyond the finish line.
In the end I was happy to be finished. I am actually not feeling bad at all today from the run and I really think I should up my weekly runs. I realized that the further I run the easier it seems to get (I am finding my groove) and that I am overly nervous to begin the race with. If I focus on my breathing and letting my daily stress go then the run becomes easier (unfortunately it takes a few miles to get this to happen.)
Overall it was a good run - I'm not impressed or thrilled with my time but I tried to do what Coach Mark has asked and if I want his plan to work and I want to succeed at this I have got to try right?
Next race...Gibson Guitar 5k...yippy!
Yep that is how I feel right now (cheesy I know). I ran race #4 last night and can honestly say I felt good at the end. Last night was Zoom thru the Zoo 4miler, a bit longer than my usual 5k and I haven't been doing any major running lately so I was a bit nervous. I spent most of the day psyching myself out so that didn't help and I thought I was going to be sick prior to the race (and I want to run a marathon???HA)
Overall time was 47min - not great, but in a effort to do as my coach has requested, I took WAY more walk breaks to try and keep my heart within range.
Here's how it broke down
Mile 1: (9:16 min) I started out good, basically a pretty good jog, nothing fast at all (tried to pace myself). About half a mile into it I felt as if for sure I'd already missed the 1mi marker, there was no way this could be only the first mile. I kept on pushing, debating whether or not I would walk or just keep going. Finally I decided to take a 30sec walk break in an effort to play along with coach Marks training. Of course I still thought I had passed the 1mi marker so it was easier to justify...about a minute later there it was staring me in the face. Hum, is that possible?? My time seems faster than I thought it would be and I'm not moving that fast...maybe I should slow it down.
Mile 2: (21:32) This mile was the hardest of all 4, I felt myself tightening up and keep trying to focus on my breathing which was becoming short and quick. It is usually about here that my sides cramp up and I was trying to breath so this wouldn't happen. The breathing didn't get under control but my sides didn't cramp up either. It was about here that I started letting go of the anxiouty that I started the race with. I focused on breathing and putting one foot in front of the other - this was nothing new to a 5k.
Mile 3: (34:50) I felt like I had hit my groove. I was still taking 30sec walk breaks on a regular basis. This consisted of running 2-3 min with 30sec walk breaks. My muscles seemed to be fairly warmed up, my mind was empty, and I was focused. This mile felt good.
Mile 4: (47:00) It was about here that I thought "I can do this." I don't mean the 4 mi run, but the whole marathon thing. I was hot and sweaty, but generally I felt good. By this time my breathing was undercontrol and it was all about putting one foot in front of the other at this point. Legs and lungs felt good and I seriously thought I could have kept going beyond the finish line.
In the end I was happy to be finished. I am actually not feeling bad at all today from the run and I really think I should up my weekly runs. I realized that the further I run the easier it seems to get (I am finding my groove) and that I am overly nervous to begin the race with. If I focus on my breathing and letting my daily stress go then the run becomes easier (unfortunately it takes a few miles to get this to happen.)
Overall it was a good run - I'm not impressed or thrilled with my time but I tried to do what Coach Mark has asked and if I want his plan to work and I want to succeed at this I have got to try right?
Next race...Gibson Guitar 5k...yippy!
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Type A vs. Training
Patience is a virtue that I do not possess and I believe will prove to be my biggest pitfall in my running success. Why? Because of 2 reasons actually:
1) I see the end goal and focus on getting to that point (I want X tell me how to get there - NOW.)
2) I don't want to take the necessary steps to get there (if that step requires time) I want to know what I can do to get there in my own time frame (once again, NOW)
I have officially signed & paid for a coach to help prepare me for my upcoming Marathon. I did a couple of trial runs with the coach to see if I thought we would be a good fit and if I liked his style of training (of which I did) and decided to make this a more permanent thing. Afterwards, I was chatting with the coach about goals, training techniques, etc and I realized that we have different views. I'm not saying one is right and one is wrong (although it's been said that mine are closer to wrong) I just believe that I should be able to get from A to C and not necessarily have to go thru B.
Case and Point
I will be running the St. Jude Marathon in Memphis in December '08. This will be the first marathon I've ever attempted (hopefully not the last) and in the planning phase of this process I started doing massive research on marathons, training techniques, personal experiences of others, comments on the specific marathon etc. I have loaded my brain down with LOTS of information. My goals for this race are not only to complete it, but to complete it within 4 - 4.5 hrs. I've given myself 6 months to train and am willing to take the necessary steps to achieve this goal.
My coach has other ideas.
As posted before, the hub is well versed in coaching/training/exercise so I went to him to whine about not getting what I want and you know what...the hub totally backed up the coach. Talk about surprised (not that I didn't think the coach was right, but the hub wasn't keen on me having a coach) so now it is no longer me against the coach but now I am against the coach and the hub.
To be coach you have to be willing to be trainable and I agreed to try and be trainable. By default, my nature is to make nice and do what I want anyhow, but I really want to attain this goal so I think my best bet is to listen, no matter how difficult this may be. Only time and proper training will tell if the end result is what I want and I'll never get there if I don't start somewhere so I guess it all begins here.
1) I see the end goal and focus on getting to that point (I want X tell me how to get there - NOW.)
2) I don't want to take the necessary steps to get there (if that step requires time) I want to know what I can do to get there in my own time frame (once again, NOW)
I have officially signed & paid for a coach to help prepare me for my upcoming Marathon. I did a couple of trial runs with the coach to see if I thought we would be a good fit and if I liked his style of training (of which I did) and decided to make this a more permanent thing. Afterwards, I was chatting with the coach about goals, training techniques, etc and I realized that we have different views. I'm not saying one is right and one is wrong (although it's been said that mine are closer to wrong) I just believe that I should be able to get from A to C and not necessarily have to go thru B.
Case and Point
I will be running the St. Jude Marathon in Memphis in December '08. This will be the first marathon I've ever attempted (hopefully not the last) and in the planning phase of this process I started doing massive research on marathons, training techniques, personal experiences of others, comments on the specific marathon etc. I have loaded my brain down with LOTS of information. My goals for this race are not only to complete it, but to complete it within 4 - 4.5 hrs. I've given myself 6 months to train and am willing to take the necessary steps to achieve this goal.
My coach has other ideas.
- No time goals for 1st marathon (complete it then set time goals for next)
- aerobic training (endurance) - not anaerobic training (speed) which translates into training for a marathon and not doing monthly 5k's. 3-no race challenges (I had planned to participate in a circuit run which consisted of each 5k, 5mi, 10k, 10mi, half marathon from July-November that he says will interfere with my training.)
As posted before, the hub is well versed in coaching/training/exercise so I went to him to whine about not getting what I want and you know what...the hub totally backed up the coach. Talk about surprised (not that I didn't think the coach was right, but the hub wasn't keen on me having a coach) so now it is no longer me against the coach but now I am against the coach and the hub.
To be coach you have to be willing to be trainable and I agreed to try and be trainable. By default, my nature is to make nice and do what I want anyhow, but I really want to attain this goal so I think my best bet is to listen, no matter how difficult this may be. Only time and proper training will tell if the end result is what I want and I'll never get there if I don't start somewhere so I guess it all begins here.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Slacker is Me
Ok, so I've been avoiding this week. I don't know what happened really, it was like I was revved up at full speed ahead, had it all mapped out and then "bam" I came crashing to a halt.
Monday I met with a new running group "MIM" and did some sculpting techniques, some short form runs and a few short tempo'd runs. The coach [Mark] provided some good insight and suggestions on what I need to do/change to help my running. It seems that in the past few months I had been training 'anerobically' as opposed to aerobically. Per his suggestion I need to get a heart rate monitor and work on staying in my 'zone.' Simple terms...I need to walk/run/walk/run and build on this instead of run, run, push some more and just try to get thru it.
It's not hard to see that over the past few months I've been without any real direction in my running...my main focus has been to run 5k's and get to where I run at the top of my group. In my own 'untrained' way I've gotten myself this far but I know I'm going to need help going the marathon distance. I really enjoyed monday night's run, I felt worked, but not over-worked. The problem was tuesday (and each day subsequent since) that I've felt like the life has been sucked out of me. I've made the plans to go but as soon as I get home and get changed ... I just get so tired and don't ever leave. Even the hub has commented on it.
Today is hill's training with MIM unfortunately I do not get to run with them today due to a change in M's soccer practice. Nothing scheduled for this weekend so instead I will start preping myself for monday night's run with MIM. Good news is that I'm on the books for Zoom thru the Zoo (4 miler) next thursday, so you can bet I'll be getting back to the pavement soon. (Probably about the time the gray clouds and rain disappear.)
I've got to start somewhere if I'm ever going to get this thing off the ground - right?
Monday I met with a new running group "MIM" and did some sculpting techniques, some short form runs and a few short tempo'd runs. The coach [Mark] provided some good insight and suggestions on what I need to do/change to help my running. It seems that in the past few months I had been training 'anerobically' as opposed to aerobically. Per his suggestion I need to get a heart rate monitor and work on staying in my 'zone.' Simple terms...I need to walk/run/walk/run and build on this instead of run, run, push some more and just try to get thru it.
It's not hard to see that over the past few months I've been without any real direction in my running...my main focus has been to run 5k's and get to where I run at the top of my group. In my own 'untrained' way I've gotten myself this far but I know I'm going to need help going the marathon distance. I really enjoyed monday night's run, I felt worked, but not over-worked. The problem was tuesday (and each day subsequent since) that I've felt like the life has been sucked out of me. I've made the plans to go but as soon as I get home and get changed ... I just get so tired and don't ever leave. Even the hub has commented on it.
Today is hill's training with MIM unfortunately I do not get to run with them today due to a change in M's soccer practice. Nothing scheduled for this weekend so instead I will start preping myself for monday night's run with MIM. Good news is that I'm on the books for Zoom thru the Zoo (4 miler) next thursday, so you can bet I'll be getting back to the pavement soon. (Probably about the time the gray clouds and rain disappear.)
I've got to start somewhere if I'm ever going to get this thing off the ground - right?
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Update
***Update to previous post***
Race results finally posted...I came in #4 in the last race! Yippy...ok so I was 4 min behind 3rd place and roughly 4 min ahead of 5th place so.....need to work on it, but still excited!
As for running this week...nope. I had planned to start running with the MIM group this week, however it was late monday when I got the email and today I am recovering from yesterday's pump it up party. I totally landed on my foot the wrong way and I've been limping around all day. I'm hoping that by monday I'll be back to normal and head out to run with them.
Yes, I need to get back to running while I still have the momentum from my last race. I don't have another race planned for a bit so I have time to get some good runs in.
~K
Race results finally posted...I came in #4 in the last race! Yippy...ok so I was 4 min behind 3rd place and roughly 4 min ahead of 5th place so.....need to work on it, but still excited!
As for running this week...nope. I had planned to start running with the MIM group this week, however it was late monday when I got the email and today I am recovering from yesterday's pump it up party. I totally landed on my foot the wrong way and I've been limping around all day. I'm hoping that by monday I'll be back to normal and head out to run with them.
Yes, I need to get back to running while I still have the momentum from my last race. I don't have another race planned for a bit so I have time to get some good runs in.
~K
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Race #3
Today I ran for Breast cancer research and awareness. I felt good running for this cause, I however did not have any heart in it. I don't know what happened, but last night I lost my drive to run this weekend. I was geared up for it all week, last night-not so much. I thought maybe I was tired and today would be better, but instead I struggled to get out of bed early this morning. I made it to the race, I got ready but all I kept thinking about as I waited for the race to start was how 'alone' I felt. In a place where I was surrounded by people all doing the same thing I was, I had no one to talk to, no one to motivate me or vice versa.
Running is an individual sport, but today it felt like an isolated sport. I guess what it boils down to is that I didn't run much this past week (1 day), my head was full of other thoughts and I've been wanting a running partner for some time now. Funny thing is I started back to running because it was something I could do that didn't require other people. Go figure how it would turn out!
Good news is that I ran another 34 min run today. As I said earlier my heart wasn't into it so I did more walking than last time which only gives me hope that I can bring that time down to closer to where I want to be...just step one foot in front of the others.
Running is an individual sport, but today it felt like an isolated sport. I guess what it boils down to is that I didn't run much this past week (1 day), my head was full of other thoughts and I've been wanting a running partner for some time now. Funny thing is I started back to running because it was something I could do that didn't require other people. Go figure how it would turn out!
Good news is that I ran another 34 min run today. As I said earlier my heart wasn't into it so I did more walking than last time which only gives me hope that I can bring that time down to closer to where I want to be...just step one foot in front of the others.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Update
Just an update to the previous post...I found out that I ranked 1st in my age division in the last 5K. YippY! I am thrilled beyond belief...not only did I take time off my run, but I also ranked in the top of my division.
How's that for motivation...I've already signed up for #3 and I'm totally motivated for marathon training!
Go Me
How's that for motivation...I've already signed up for #3 and I'm totally motivated for marathon training!
Go Me
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