Peaking...

I am getting ready to peak in my training in a few weeks and I'm pretty stoked but also super nervous...

This week, big week, 8 miles. Then the next four weeks' long runs look like this:

9 miles

6 miles

10 miles

10 miles

After that the training pulls back anywhere from 5-7 miles max at a time. Obviously the next five weeks are crucial, including this one. So crazy. One day at a time, I suppose.

Today is pace training w/ a distance of 3 miles. 6 X (1:00 at a fast comfortable pace, 1:00 in-between each 10:00 jogging/walking easy). I love pace runs, they are so fast and intense, but then before ya know it you've ran such a long way in a short time.

Tomorrow: 30 mins nonrunning cardio

Wednesday: 8 miles easy conversational pace

Thursday: rest day

Friday: Pace run 4-5 miles (3 X 10:00 fast, 1:00 slow)

Saturday: 30 mins nonrunning cardio

Sunday: Easy 2 mile run

So that's this week! Have a wonderful day and Merry Christmas!!!

7 Miles

I am not kidding you, people, this was the easiest run I have had YET in my training. I was like, no problem 7 miles. I really love this program that I'm doing because I think it really works. It takes your goals, how much time you have and gives you training days that pay off. Otherwise, I know I wouldn't feel this wonderful...it's just super awesome. I'm starting to see that they key to the training are the pace runs. The pace runs don't have high mileages, but twice a week I run in interval paces for 2-3 miles, next week it will bump up to 3-4, but the point is those speed intervals make the long run on Wednesday like NOTHING.

If you're interested in this training program, it's called FocusNFly and the web address is www.focusnfly.com

I swear by this. I started the program only being able to run 2-3 miles at a time and today I just ran 7 miles. I'm so excited!!

I think that ANYBODY can do this. I have asthma and not just mild asthma, I use controller medication and emergency inhalers from time-to-time. I'm not saying that other conditions won't prevent people from training like I am, but I am making a point that with the proper training, an average person without major medical conditions could really DO this.

(Sorry, I'm a little amped up...must be the long-run endorphins, lots of coffee, and I'm seeing Star Wars live in concert in about 3 hours)

Training for a long race is hard, yes, however the benefits outweigh all the reasons not to. Here are some benefits I've seen so far:

1. I have already seen my wheezing get better after and during exercise. Granted, I still use two puffs of albuterol before every run, but that seems to do the trick. Before training, I sometimes would use my inhaler after climbing a flight of stairs...this doesn't happen to me anymore

2. I can eat more carbohydrates! Especially on long run days. I love this benefit. My diet is so much more fulfilling and yummy because of my running habits now.

3. Holiday weight gain is just not an issue anymore. Training in the winter is a great way to not only keep the pounds off from cookies and frivolity, BUT it also...

4. Keeps ya happy. With all that running, I have endorphins like crazy. On top of the craziness and sadness of life, running helps maintain a source of endorphins that is consistent.

5. Routine! I have such an organized daily routine because of my runs. It's great for people who are in school, like me, so that I can stay on task, on time, and just more focused.

6. Spiritual. I know it sounds cheesy, but I have started to pray more, think about my actions, and feel more connected to God. It may be because I have like an hour on the treadmill with just my music and my thoughts, but I also think it has to do with discipline and the excitement of making myself better in a way. I don't want that to sound strange, but since I've been running, I feel more self-confident and proud of what I'm doing...I think this also goes hand in hand with nurturing my heart and soul.

Connected to running or not, I'm trying to be more understanding this Christmas season. Recently, I've found myself yelling at inanimate objects. For example, when I check my email and there are no emails, I am literally angry at my inbox...or...construction signs when I have to drive a different way...or...the door behind which the professor who teaches before me takes too long to leave the classroom and I don't have time to get ready to teach...or...yelling at other cars because they can obviously hear through glass...or...the television when a dumb commercial comes on and I just say something rude or make fun of it...you get the idea. Some of these things are funny and none of them really are that bad, HOWEVER I get worked up over nothing and that's just not worth it. So I'm trying to calm down and use some understanding and common sense when it comes to inanimate objects. :)

I'll end on that. No run tomorrow...it's a day of rest. Run on Friday!

Later!!

Erin

Race Idea

Here goes.

Most of you know that my dear friend Ben Sullivan passed away a few weeks before Thanksgiving. Some of you may have been close with Ben too. If you aren’t, here’s some background. Ben and I went to High School together and remained good friends beyond that. Ben was an incredibly generous soul, a good man, and a person that loved others they way God commissions us to. I thank God everyday that I was blessed enough to know Ben. He taught me many things and I was just lucky to be friends with him. Although the tragedy of his death will continue to challenge my faith and to burden my heart, I have to do something positive for myself and more importantly, for Ben.

Ben’s parents established the Ben Sullivan Memorial Fund to provide money for researching and understanding depression better; to help others understand that depression is a disease, not a character flaw.

I think of the Beatitudes...Matthew 5:1-13 a lot lately. Another helpful article if anyone else is dealing with the loss of someone by suicide is by a Catholic priest named Father Ron Rohlheiser, a theologian and teacher. It's very smart and straight-forward. http://www.ronrolheiser.com/columnarchive/search_detail.php?rec_id=102

Since I am running my half marathon in February, I thought that in-between now and then I would try to gather donations as sort of a pledge drive. Whatever amount of money I have raised by the date of the Huntington Beach half marathon I will donate to the Ben Sullivan Memorial Fund. I will also be making a custom race shirt with Ben’s name on it. Ben was a competitive cyclist during his time at St. Louis University so I think it only makes sense that I will honor him by racing for him. Only I won’t be biking…close enough though :)

More details on how you can donate to come.

so guess what?!

I rocked 7 miles today. Yes, that's right. SEVEN! So crazy. I love that when I started this journey I couldn't even dream of running seven miles and now it's so much easier than I could have guessed. Sure every long run is harder than the last, but my shorter runs are getting easier and easier. Running two or three miles barely gets me worn out.

The rest of the week's schedule:

Thursday--30 minutes of non-running cardio

Friday--3 miles

Saturday--Rest

Sunday--2 miles

Next week:

Monday--3 miles

Tuesday--30 minutes of non-running cardio

Wednesday--7 miles

Thursday--Rest

Friday--4 miles

Saturday--30 minutes of non-running cardio

Sunday--2 miles

So that's my almost my next two weeks of training! Will keep y'all posted!

Erin

Long time no updates...

Hey cyber space...it's been awhile since my last update and for that I apologize.

Running has been steady lately, although with some personal stuff happening last week it was slightly slow going. But I kept going. Last week I successfully ran 6 miles!

This week so far I've run 2 miles on Friday, 3 miles yesterday, and am running in the Dana Point Turkey Trot 10k on Thanksgiving Day. Then Friday 2 miles, and Monday 3 miles.

I am in California right now so I won't write a whole lot, but that's what's happening for me running wise. Things are happening on schedule which is ideal.

11 weeks till the Huntington Beach Half Marathon!!!

5 MILE SUCCESS!!

I'm really excited about this. I think this is the first big celebration for my training so far. Why?

Because I felt GREAT during this run. I didn't feel tired, I felt comfortable, and my heart rate stuck to 165 until mile 4 when it raised to about 170. I felt like I could run more. Which is exactly where I want to be in my training. I can tell it's working!

I am wondering about something now that I'm getting to longer runs: do I need to eat/consume carbs during longer runs? How often? How much? I have read every 30-40 minutes your body needs some carbs...so sports drink or gel thingys?? What's the deal?

Anyway, completely stoked. Another 5k at Donnolly College on Saturday. Running it nice and easy. It's a flat and downhill course. That should be fun.

Alright, well that's it for now.

big day today

I am running five miles today.

I'll let you know how that goes.

I just felt like running

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

I usually don't enjoy Halloween...it always ends up weird and sort of searching for plans. As a kid, it was a full out blast due to an overabundance of sugar and dressing up. Since then, as I got older, I found it necessary to come up with "cool" plans. Now? Never fear, the 5K is here!!

What a wonderful way to start a holiday! With a fun and easy run. And through a historic Kansas City cemetery! It was really a blast. Nice people, funny costumes, laid back atmosphere, and my best time yet for 3 miles (ish). 3.1 miles in 32:51. I'm real happy about this. Especially since I have been training at 12 min/mile. I also monitored my heart rate while running and I think I'm in a good place. I've discovered my resting heart rate to be 68 in the mornings and during my run today the highest it got was 170. (It was also cold out). Most of the race I was sitting at 150. Within a minute of finishing the race I was at 120. I think that's a good fall. By the time I got to the car it was 95 and home back down to the seventies. I am not exactly certain of my max heart rate, but I'm guessing it's somewhere around 197. 170 might be a little high? No? Maybe not. It was after an uphill section so I'm probably being a little paranoid.

So time to plan out week three of training:

Sunday--walk 35 minutes

Monday--2 miles

Tuesday--cycle 35 minutes

Wednesday--5 miles

Thursday--rest

Friday--2 miles

Saturday--walk 35 minutes

EXCITED!!!

Hips and Knees

Today I found a great hip stretch/muscle building exercise on Runner's World:

Lie on your side on the floor. Bend the underneath leg up until the thigh is at 90° to your body and the lower leg at 90° to the thigh. Use the upper arm to stabilise your upper body by placing your hand on the floor. Prop your upper body up on the under arm with a bent elbow. Ensure that the upper leg is taken backwards so that it’s in line with your body or just behind it. Pull your foot and ankle up until it feels locked and straighten the knee. Lift the leg slightly and turn the whole leg inwards so that the toes are pointing down to the floor. Lift the leg until it is parallel with the floor. From this position lift and lower the leg, ensuring that the knee remains straight, the foot locked up and the whole leg is turned in with the leg in line with your body.

Lift the leg until you feel an ache in the side of the pelvis towards the back. If you don’t feel this ache after repetitive lifting, the leg is too far forward. Try starting with 20 lifts and build up by two lifts every two days until you can do 50 lifts comfortably.

This worked wonders!! I had a little bit of soreness in my hip after my four miles yesterday so I turned to the web for an answer and I found it! I feel so much better today than yesterday after my run and I don't feel sore in that spot anymore.

I am looking for some knee strengthening exercises if anybody has any great ones, let me know!

PS also almost injured myself when I saw a wasp on my window in my bedroom. I FREAKED out, plus I had just started changing so I was like half naked sprinting out of my room when I lost my footing and ALMOST fell. Whew...so scary, if only there was a bug on the wall...oh wait. hm.

Rest tomorrow, RACE Friday! I am dressing up as Forrest Gump in the running outfit...red bubba gump shrimp hat, yellow smiley tshirt, and perhaps a beard. I don't know if I'll have time.

HOWDY

Well hello out there! Instead of updating my facebook/twitter everyday with boring accounts of my running progress, I thought I would create a blog that way if you want to really know how my training is going you can follow this blog. Otherwise, you won't be annoyed with interwebs updates :)

For those of you who don't know I ran a relay leg of the Kansas City Marathon about two and a half weeks ago and was able to see some amazing athletes at the finish line of the marathon. I was inspired. I was blown away by the endurance and training necessary to complete such a task. I decided that I wanted to train. Not just to finish a large and oftentimes unattainable feat, but because training for marathons and half marathons forces the individual to commit to a goal and each day to work towards that goal. As I approach the end of my masters program (sort of), I can't imagine a better time to work on commitment, productivity, and prayer. All of which (I believe) will come in handy and be absolutely necessary to finishing both my thesis and completing the half marathon in February.

I registered last week for the Huntington Beach Half Marathon. The race takes place on Super Bowl Sunday, starts nearby the pier and takes me 13.2 miles around the Huntington area right next to the beach. The race is extremely flat with the steepest incline for 3/4 of a mile at 6%. I'm super duper excited for this!

Last week I ran 9 miles with a long run of 3 miles. So far this week I've run 4 miles, will run 3 tomorrow, rest Friday, and randomly I decided to register for a Halloween 5k here in Kansas City on Saturday. So that will be a total of 10 miles! PS I need ideas for a costume to run in on Saturday. They really want everyone in costumes of some kind, but I'm having trouble thinking about what to choose so that I don't have problems running in say, a huge pumpkin outfit.

I'm relatively new at running, so if you notice anything that you have opinions about or would like to share any tips, please feel free to leave a comment. I am following an online training program provided with my race registration.