Yesssssss!

First of all, thank you, thank you, thank you to those who commented on yesterday's blog. I left you a message in the comments section but just wanted to reiterate how much I appreciate your kindness!

Today was a much better day. Sleeping 9 hours was KEY! I needed that. And tonight I will be asleep at a reasonable hour and sleep in. That's what the "Yessssss" is for. I get to sleep soundly every morning this week! I got my workouts from Miguel and he was not kidding when he said this week would be light and easy. My hardest workout is Wednesday and it really isn't hard at all. Just a mile at a relaxed 6:30 pace, 3 minutes recovery and then 4 x 400 at a :90 pace with 1 minute recoveries. Everything else the rest of the week is easy stuff with striders. He even said, "No tough core workouts this week, especially no burpees!" He knows I do CrossFit and that it can take a toll on ya'. So yessssss, I'm looking forward to easy stuff all week long!

JANETTE asked me yesterday in the comments about how I found Miguel as my coach. He is a local runner and I would always see him out and about training like a mad man for the Olympic Trials. He also is one of the managers at our Togo's Eatery so I'd see him there whenever we went in for good grub. We would always say hi to each other as we crossed paths while running. It's a small town and when you see other runners, you remember them. When I started working part time at our local running specialty store, he and his wife would come in regularly to see our store manager, with whom Miguel and his wife are close friends. One day we all talked about past races and upcoming races and goals and that's when I got the idea to seek his help for my next marathon. Our store manager asked him about it and he said yes.

I don't know why but I didn't really know how much he listened when I gave him my feedback on workouts, but I learned just the other day that he listens AND remembers everything! After doing a workout last week, I told him what my splits AND my heart rates were and he said something like, "Remember last month when your heart rate was much higher when you did a similar workout?" I was pleasantly surprised that he remembered the exact number because I looked it up in my log and he was right. He really does monitor my work. Yaaaaay!!!

Anyway, time to get ready for bed. Kids are sound asleep and my DH had a rough night at work last night and he's ready to crash. Thanks again for reading, everybody! Hugs!

Sunday Night Sadness

You ever feel so tired and drained that you just want to cry? My kids are sound asleep in their beds and I should be too, but the thought of going to bed without my hubby is making me sad. I want to postpone it as long as possible. I just miss him when he's at work even though I know I will see him after his 24 hour shift. Anyway, that's besides the point. Or maybe it's not. The baby will be 3 in December and can you believe that my hubby and I have not had a real date or a weekend away without the kids since the baby was born! How I long for some time alone with my spouse. It saddens me.

But I know all this hoopla is temporary. The kids will be older one day and then I'll miss them when they're gone. The grass certainly is always greener on the other side. I just need to accept my life NOW and go with it. I'm crying as I type this. I think this is the most personal I've ever gotten on this stupid blog! Forgive me. I hope it's just PMS.

I had a busy day today catching up on stuff around the house. I think the cause of this exhaustion was getting up at 5 a.m. to do a 12 mile run at 5:30-ish. I did 24 half-mile out and backs, to stay close to the house. It was kind of neat doing that. Went faster than I thought it would. Got it done at an average of 8:00/mile. I did 2 x 1 mile pick ups at mile 7 and mile 10. The first pick up was 7:03 and the 2nd pick up was 6:48. Miguel said not to go faster than an 8-min. mile except when doing the pick ups, and not to run the pick ups faster than a 6:40 mile.

Anyway, after the run it was just go, go, go for the rest of the day. I think the laundry in this house has a mind of its own because piles of it appear out of nowhere within a couple of days of me washing it all. Same with the dishes, and the baby's toys. And then we grocery shopped, and I hate to grocery shop. The day did come to a nice close when the kids and I went to evening Mass. The toddler is so good in church nowadays. Very mellow. :) Jumping ahead... as I tucked my older son into bed tonight he said, "Thanks for taking us to church, mom." I'm so glad he enjoys going! So does my daughter, even though she won't admit it.

I'm sleeping in tomorrow morning. Forget running at 5:30, for once. I'm gonna run at 10 a.m., and like it. My legs are tired, my mind is tired. I need some sleep. I've run everyday since June 1. I haven't been counting the days, but it's a streak for me. On the day I actually take a break from RUNNING, I might go into shock. That day is coming though, after the Half on Aug. 3, I'm going to enjoy some downtime from running and I'm going to be cross training a lot more until marathon training starts. Honestly, I can't wait!

I will say this, I really, really enjoy working with Miguel on all my training stuff. He is so knowledgeable and encouraging. I completely trust his coaching. It's funny, he literally will tell me in his notes on my training schedule, "You'll feel fatigued on this day because of the workout you did on such and such day," etc., and he's RIGHT! Or he'll predict the paces I will run based on a workout I did a couple weeks back and based on the rest I've gotten before the workout. He's always within mere seconds, or one second! I hope I keep up my end of the deal and live up to his expectations. I'm feeling pretty confident about it, and I'll certainly do my best.

I just have to get over this Sunday night sadness. Time for bed. It's 11 p.m. and this is the latest I've been awake in over 6 weeks! Thanks for letting me cry 'on your shoulders.'

A Little Taper

Thank you so much for reading and leaving your comments. I REALLY appreciate that. I feel your good vibes and they inspire me!!!

After last week I am now in taper mode for the upcoming San Francisco Half Marathon. I think I mentioned before that I'll be running the 2nd half (the easier one -- of course). ;)

This week I've done the following:
Monday - Easy run on the canals. 7 miles in 1:01:42, 8:47/mile average
Tuesday- AM Easy run on the roads. 6.1 mile in 50:57, 8:21/mile average
PM Easy run on the roads. 3.2 miles in 29:00, 9:03/mile average (95-degrees)
Wednesday- 2 mile warm up and 4 x 100 meter strides followed by 2 miles in 13:09 (6:36, 6:33), 3 minute recovery, 1 mile in 6:22, 3 minute recovery, 1 mile in 6:19, 2 miles cool down. This looked easy on paper, but it was FAR, FAR from easy. I had never pushed myself so hard before and I think Miguel only had me do this for one mile for psychological reasons more than physiological. It took me out of my little comfort zone and I need that in order to improve. It was out of this workout that I posted the following on Runner's World online:

"I thought about Squirrel's thread this morning before my workout. I had a feeling the workout would hurt when my coach wrote in his notes to me:
" Don't be afraid to push yourself hard for this last mile."

The workout itself wasn't long. It was to be run at a high intensity, sandwiched in between a couple miles warm up and couple miles cool down.

2 miles at slightly faster than 5K pace, 3 minute recovery.
1 mile about :10-:15 faster than 5K pace, 3 minute recovery.
1 mile 'as hard as you can.' Thus the, "Don't be afraid..." statement.

I was still hesitant to let it all go until the half mile point, and then I ran my heart out (literally). I felt the lactic acid in my shoulders and arms and my breathing was crazy. I even drooled on my chin because swallowing took too much energy! I don't know that I've ever done that before. My heart rate was 178 bpm, which leads me to believe that maybe my max IS closer to 181 than I thought. The effort just felt so HARD!

The workout was good for me psychologically. I need to push myself past my comfort zone and know really well what that "pain" of all-out effort feels like. That way I won't be 'afraid' when I feel it in a race.

I think I'll get over my fear as I push myself harder. He commented once that he has seen me finish races and has also seen some of my goal race pictures, and he said that I looked too full of energy the entire time, and especially at the end. It's true. I think I play it safe too much.

I know there is racing smart and there is racing timid... I think I've raced timid too long! Time to get over it! "

Anyway, today I ran 5.5 easy on the treadmill, ~47:00, ~8:32/mile average.
MY SWEET HUSBAND BOUGHT ME A TREADMILL AND SET UP A MINI GYM IN OUR GARAGE LAST NIGHT!!!!! He is the best!
I could not do all this stuff without his support and encouragement. Thanks darlin'!

I followed the run with 6 x 10 second strides to loosen up the legs and fire the fast twitch muscle fibers. Then I did 3 rounds for time of 21-15-9 reps of 30# overhead squats and Burpees. Took me about 10 minutes! Yikes. I'll get better... I hope. Yesterday I did Fran, scaled to very light weight and jumping pull ups, in 4:38.

Okay, time to get on with the day. Will be doing a series of 400s tomorrow (at 85-87 seconds). Not really super fast, but just enough to get the legs turning over again.

75 Miles - A New Mileage PR

I've never run 75 miles in one week before, and I feel pretty good. It's been a hard week of running and I'm glad it's over. I'm just thankful that I was able to do it. I know that God helps those who help themselves, so I put in the leg work, but I always ask God to help me through pretty much everything. And all evidence points to Him listening and helping!

Yesterday I ran 8 miles instead of 5 because I did not do the afternoon run the day before. My body just pleaded for the afternoon OFF of running on Friday, so I listened. It worked because yesterday I cranked out the 8 miles in an average of 8:10's while pushing the toddler in the jogging stroller, and felt so fresh. And today was even better.

I was out the door at 6:30 a.m. and ran a 2.45 mile warm up including 4 x 100 strides. Changed into the Brooks Racers and then ran the 8 x 1Ks at 5K pace or faster (target pace was 4:00 for each 1K, or a 6:27 mile average). I took 2 minutes active recovery between each interval. I set the Garmin to beep at the 1K mark and just ran... did not even look at the thing once during the intervals and went straight by feel. Here's how they panned out.

4:00
3:58
3:51
3:52
3:54
3:56 (My legs began to feel like bricks here)
4:01 (I thought I was running super fast on this one, but obviously I wasn't)
3:53

I ran a 2 mile cool down. I felt like I was working pretty hard, but like I was still in good control of my form and not gasping for air like at the end of most races lately. I was very happy with the workout, and when I talked to Miguel, he was pleasantly surprised. He had actually given me a goal of 4:00-4:06 for each of these, based on my recent 5K time from the end of June.

Anyway, to celebrate my 75 mile week I am going to have some good red wine tonight and yummy pot roast sandwich with sauteed onions, bell peppers and shredded cheese. Can't wait!

For those interested in seeing how Miguel Nuci trains, here is the link to his Motion Based training log.

Tempo Intervals, so lovely

Ha! I say they're lovely with my tongue firmly in cheek.

Woke up at 5:00, down 16 ounces super concentrated sports drink, out the door by 5:45. 2 mile warm up, strides, quick stretches, changed into my racing flats and off I went.
First 2 miles: 13:40 (6:50/mile average) felt kind of cold and tight
3 minute active recovery, jog, walk, stretch, fluids
2nd 2 miles: 13:29 (6:45/mile average) felt loose, good, working hard but controlled
3 minute active recovery, like the one described above
3rd 2 miles: 13:33 (6:47/mile average) felt loose, good, working HARDER, but still ended up slower.
2 mile cool down.
Stretch & coffee.

Total miles for today: 10.4
Was supposed to do a 3 mile shake out run tonight, but my legs are SORE! I think the race on Saturday, the 20 miler on Tuesday plus the 10 miles Wednesday and 7 on Thursday finally caught up to me today. Legs were feeling some fatigue during those tempo intervals. I will not lie! In fact, I had to crash and burn on the couch while the baby napped today. I'm so glad my older kids are understanding! My son teased me about snoring so loudly! Oops.

Tomorrow I'll do anywhere from 5-8, very easy! Another hard day on Sunday (lots of 1Ks). I should top out at 75 this week... then tapering down for the SF Half. Yaaaaay!

First 20 Miler Since May

I ran 20.05 yesterday. Miguel said this was going to be a 75 mile week, and a tough one. So far he's not kidding. Anyway he said to start at an 8:20 pace and pick it up throughout the run and finish at a 7:40-7:50. It was 76 at the start and 85 at the end, and believe me, I felt that heat.

My first 7.17 miles was at an average pace of 8:06/mile.
My second 7.38 miles was at an average pace of 7:54/mile.
My last 4.5 was at an average pace of 7:45/mile.
The overall pace for the 'working' part of the run was 7:56/mile average.
Mile 20 was my cool down mile, which I walked a 1/4 of because I was so cramped!

I practiced drinking a higher concentration of sports drink. I also took 2 GU's. Overall my carbohydrate intake during the run was 200 grams. My fluid intake was about 20-25 ounces per hour, mostly in the form of sports drink. I definitely needed more electrolytes (i.e.: more sports drink). I washed the GU's down with water. The calf cramps attacked fiercely at mile 18-1/2, so it was just the last half mile of the first 19 that I had to battle them... but then they stuck around big time for the cool down mile. Seriously, ouch.

I was glad I was able to complete the task the way Miguel prescribed! He was happy too. He sent me an email from where he's altitude training (Mammoth Lakes) and he was very excited (I think surprised) that I was able to do it. Anyway, after this week I have two weeks of taper like running in preparation for the San Francisco Half Marathon on August 3rd.

This morning I ran 6.7 miles recovery and I'll do 3.3 this afternoon. Another recovery day tomorrow, and then a tough tempo interval workout on Friday. Wooohoooo, can't wait. (I'm rolling my eyes as I type that, but I actually am kind of excited for it).

Have a good week!

TUNE UP Races

I love races, of all lengths. I don't know which distance is the most difficult. I think they are all freaking hard in their own right. Yesterday I ran a 10K and it was a nice, flat course. I was primed and ready for a big PR too, but I didn't count on the wind at the turn around. Ugh.

The good news is I won. I also PR'd, but only by 7 seconds. I don't know, I feel guilty even calling it a PR. The bad news is I didn't break 41:00. My finish time was 41:19. My splits were 6:30, 6:33, 6:35, 6:41, 6:52, 6:41 and 1:27 (for the last .2ish miles, course was a tiny bit long). Can you see where I hit the wind? By mile 5 I was steps away from WALKING. My body wanted to go so badly, but my mind was tired of running into the wind and wanted to stop working. It was weird... definitely a mental thing yesterday.

I felt so, so good before that turn around and even at the turn around. I thought we'd get a tail wind on the way back because there was a slight headwind in last part of the 3rd mile. Oh well, I was wrong. NO tailwind. I let my negative thoughts get the best of me though. Instead of thinking, "Everyone else feels this wind too," I thought, "Might as well kiss that sub-41: good bye." And wouldn't you know, it went bye bye. :(

I finished the day with 11.2 miles total. Anyway, it felt good to finally win a 10K! I won a $100 gift certificate toward Mizuno shoes. Time to try the Mizuno Wave Elixirs. I hear they're a great shoe for slight over pronators. Finished the week with an 8.45 mile run today and total miles for the week were only at 54. I'll be back up in the 70's range this week.

After the run this morning I did the CrossFit WOD, substituting jumping and kipping pull ups for the L-pull ups.
For time:
15 Handstand push-ups
1 L Pull-up
13 Handstand push-ups
3 L Pull-ups
11 Handstand push-ups
5 L Pull-ups
9 Handstand push-ups
7 L Pull-ups
7 Handstand push-ups
9 L Pull-ups
5 Handstand push-ups
11 L Pull-ups
3 Handstand push-ups
13 L Pull-ups
1 Handstand push-up
15 L Pull-ups
My time was not fast, but I got it done.
I finished with 60 sit ups and some other core strengthening from Running Times magazine.

HOT outside!

It has been so hot in the last few days. The high yesterday was 106. The high today was 108. I actually ran 4 miles this afternoon when it was 108, and it wasn't too horrible. It wasn't the best, but I managed to stay very well hydrated. The hard part was the heat made my legs feel like they were full of lactic acid. It was hard to run faster than an 8:30 pace. I did feel a little dizzy and woozy around mile 3, but the feeling left as soon as it came about.

GOOD NEWS: My husband is HOME and all is great! He got home late last night and scared the living daylights out of me, but it was so, so wonderful to hold him again. He's home for 5 days before he has to go back to work. We are all so happy!

Quick recap of the workout from yesterday:
Ran this at 5:30 a.m., around 75 degrees and humid!
Did 9.2 miles total which included a 2K at 10k pace, 3 min. recovery, 1K @ 10k pace, 2 minute recovery, 400 at faster than 5K race pace, 3 minute recovery, and then repeat. The 2Ks were a lot harder than I thought they'd be. By the end of the 2nd one, my body just felt DONE. It was like a full out effort to get to the end of it. I think I almost passed out, but then was finally able to stop when my Garmin beeped. But overall, a great workout.

Did an easy 4 this morning at 0800 in 85 degrees, and then the 4 this afternoon in 108 degrees. I finished exactly 1 minute (down to the second) slower than the a.m. run. So today's heat differential made me almost 3% slower than I was in the morning. As I ran this afternoon, I imagined what the Badwater runners must feel like running 135 miles in 130 degrees. I know I could NEVER do it. The heat and I are not good friends.

Anyway, have a great week and I'll be posting sometime on Saturday after the 10K race. Wish me luck! I hope it's not in the high 70's again at gun time.

Running with a GRACO stroller

Let me say it's like pushing a wheel barrow, not the easiest thing in the world.
That's how I got the miles in today because the jogging stroller has a flat and I'm too lame to fix it.
Hubby might not be home until WEDNESDAY now. :(
I miss him so much that I'm having dreams about him, just holding him close and smelling him. I hardly ever dream about him!
Anyway, 12.25 miles at easy/recovery pace (had to be, pushing that gargantuan beast of a stroller).

An easy 7 tomorrow, and a mini taper week for the 10K on Saturday. :)

A Little Bit O' Speed

I did some speed work today and it felt good. It was difficult to get in the mind set. In fact, every ounce of me was saying, "This is gonna suck. Maybe today is not the day to do this." You know, trying to talk myself out of it. But then I thought, "Look, as soon as I get started the sooner I can get it done." When things started to hurt I just envisioned Shalane Flanagan, Kara Goucher and Jen Rhines running their hearts during the 5000 final. By the way, way to go, Kara!

Ran my warm up and strides, changed into the Brooks Racers and off I went.
1 mile at 6:17
4 minute recovery jog
1200 at 4:34
3 minute recovery jog
800 at 3:01
3 minute recovery jog
400 at 1:26
200 recovery jog
200 at :40
400 recovery jog
Then a fast 400, repeating the above 400-200 sequence.
I repeated the 400- 200 segment a total of 4 times and each split was within a second of each other, so I was pleased. Stayed in the 1:27 and the :40 ranges.
I could feel the lactic acid building in my by the 3rd round, and definitely getting a bit harder to deal with in the last round.
Did cool down miles, and that was that!

Then the toddler and I met up with the running club and we rode the bike next to the runners. It was fun to relax and socialize with everybody.

Tomorrow the little guy and I do 12 easy miles. I'll be around 72 miles for the week. Can't wait to race the 10K next weekend.

Happy Birthday, USA!

Happy 4th of July everybody!
Started the day off with a nice 8 mile run. It felt so good and I felt very fresh. Will do 3 more this evening with the toddler in tow. My older kids will be at their step mom's and I'll miss them, but they'll be back on Sunday.

I don't have much going on today. Just relaxing at home, maybe swimming with the little guy. Laundry, watching the track and field trials that I DVR'd last night. We'll probably watch fireworks off the balcony tonight if he can stay awake. My hubby is still fighting fires. He called last night during a break and said they had a good day of work, but their shift wasn't over until this morning! I can't wait until he gets home.

The kids and I are heading out to the coffee shop for some goodies. Have a wonderful holiday and stay safe. Remember the saying on 4th of July? Safe and sane? :)

What's Up With The Running...

It's all good. :)

I haven't been posting about running much lately, but believe me, it's been going on. I ran 17 miles on Sunday at an 8:12/mile average and it felt pretty good considering I had a challenging few days prior w/ CrossFit, and then the 5K race the day before. I was pretty dehydrated though, as the several episodes of diarrhea after the run let me know. Sorry, TMI.

Monday, 8 easy, Tuesday 10 easy.

Today, 12.28 miles, 5 a.m. :
I weighed myself before the run (yes, a whopping 129.6)!
Drank 1 GU diluted in 8 ounces of water over the course of a 2 mile warm up with strides.
Changed into my racing flats quickly.
Did 4 x 100 meter strides.
Ran 1 hour at 88-92% of maximum heart rate. My MHR is incorrectly figured at 220-my age. I haven't done a good heart rate assessment test yet.
That hour felt too slow, and I averaged 92% for the entire time. That's why I think my MHR is wrong. However, I did pick up the pace in the last 1.28 miles because I just WANTED to go faster. I ended up with 8.28 miles in 60 minutes, and my last 1.28 miles averaged 6:44/mile.
I drank a heavier concentration of Cytomax every 15 minute during the hour. Surprisingly my stomach did not get upset. I think I'll be drinking Cytomax from now on!
2 mile cool down.
Finish weight was 127, so 2.6 pounds of water weight lost. Got to replenish that.

Tomorrow and Friday are easy/recovery days with strides thrown into the mix to keep the fast twitch muscle fibers alive.
Saturday is an interval workout (will do it on the roads). Sunday is a medium long run of 13. I should be up at 70 miles this week.

On a CrossFit note: I attempted to do the benchmark workout, Cindy, yesterday afternoon. OH MY GOODNESS, my quads and pectorals IMMEDIATELY protested! I can't believe how sore and tender they STILL are from the certification last week! I stopped the workout because it felt like I'd pull some muscles if I proceeded, and I don't want to do that.

Okay, time to eat breakfast.