Still Going...

Last week was probably the closest I've come to following my training program to the tee! I've had to modify and adjust my workouts because of my ridiculous schedule, trying the best I can to kill my workouts. 

Let's review my week:

Monday - sprint day!! I had to do 5x400s (1:46) 2x800s (3:42) with 7x400s (2:11) recovery after every sprint. I haven't reviewed my splits, but I'm pretty sure I hit my 400 meter sprints in the time given, but not my recovery times. I was annoyed I couldn't hit my recovery times, but i hit my sprints which is awesome. When I finally get to my 800s it started to rain so I figured I would finish my workout on the treadmill. I actually felt like absolute garbage at this point and was glad to take a break. On sprint days I've been suffering from cramps and I'm pretty sure it's my IBS - Irritable Bowel Syndrome. I was actually diagnosed with IBS in college and was on medication. The medication was only for the times I needed it which seemed to only hit me when I ran hard. I haven't had any problems since, until recently. I'm trying to avoid going to the doctor, but I'm figuring I might have to go soon. Ugh. When I tried to do my 800s, I couldn't hit them on the treadmill and after the first one was so frustrated that I didn't finish. 

I know I holding give up, but I did. I was pissed off and frustrated and was really trying. Once I hit that point I know I'm not being productive so I just stop instead of going into a complete meltdown. So yup, there was my workout. 

Tuesday: off!!

Wednesday: 3 mile repeats - 7:30 min/mile
I ran with a run club so I could get motivated to hit my goal. Too bad I sucked again and only hit my goal once. First mile : 7:00 min/mile; Second mile: 7:38 min/mile; 7:44 min/mile. Ughhhhh, why??? Regardless, I'm glad I finished. 

Thursday: Orange Theory day! I totally forgot what we did... But I'm sure it sucked lol. I'm still sore from my workout.. That's all I have to say..

Friday: 30 minute spin - in my office!!! Yup, I have a spinning machine in my office (it's tiny), but still I have one!! So yay me!!

Saturday: Orange Theory.. It was mostly leg work... I'm sore..

Tomorrow.. 6 miles at an 8:15 min/mile... I hope I can make this goal... I need it.. 

My Five Miler Race

Today was my five miler race. My goal today (besides my training goal of hitting 8:15 min/mile) was to beat my previous time, which was 41:33. I actually felt okay prior to starting the race(most of the times I'm a bundle of nervous who feels nauseous). As I lined up to start, I did my race day ritual of starting behind the pack, and when I finally got to cross the start line, I shot off.

The beginning of races are so exhilarating to me, and probably stupid strategy-wise. Instead of starting near the front of the pack where I don't have too many people in front of me, I choose to start at the back. I don't know why, because I zigzag through the crowd just trying to get up near the front. I constantly get stopped, blocked, and hit with elbows. I know this is my own fault, but I guess this has just become a part of my race day routine.

As I get to mile 1, I feel fantastic. The clock time says 8:20, but I know I started almost a minute after the clock started. As I passed the clock, I kept telling myself to keep pace, trying hard to lose myself with my iPod and mindless thoughts. 

At mile 3, it started pouring rain. It sucked. I was so thirsty before I even started the race, so the rain actually felt good to me. For your information, I'm very bad at being hydrated. Very. Bad. I tried to avoid the puddles, and just kept trying to maintain my pace. This is the point where my iPod died. 

Once my iPod died, I thought to myself "crap! What am I going to do now?" I think we have become so dependant on training with music that we feel lost without it. Luckily, for triathlons we're not  able to use headphones, so I've learned how to not become self-dependent on those musical gadgets. I took my headphones off and kept trying to avoid giant puddles. 

Once we start approaching mile 5, I feel myself speed up. The energy that you get from the people cheering you on to finish is crazy. I know it sounds crazy, but it's so true. As I look at the clock, I know I've already beat my time. I do a mini happy dance, and go to meet up with friends. 

After the race, I checked my official time. It was 38:46. Not too shabby! I placed third overall which got me this lovely prize: 

                                   

I actually love this thing, and it is so much more practical that the medal. I'm not too sure where I want to keep it, but I know it should stay.

So there you have it!! I made it :) I completed both my goals and am a super happy camper.

Side note for anyone who likes to follow my training plans and advice: I personally don't eat before a shorter run. Rarely I'll have a banana,  and this is only under extreme circumstances. Also, I've found that my sprint training has gotten me to the point where this fast pace is comfortable. 

Just a few days after posting about my disappointing run, I'm blessed to get this race to shine in. Tomorrow I rest, and I couldn't be happier!!! 


Disappointed...

Today was a disappointing training day. I know we are supposed to have these days. You know, the ones where we don't live up to our expectations, and work harder on the next run. I just hate how I feel during these runs, because I feel like a failure.

I know it's crazy to think of myself in this way. I mean, for crying in a bucket, I've placed in almost race since I've been here. But the thing is, I don't care about those races or how I placed (unless there's cash or food prizes - c'mon now); I care about my time, my race, my journey and how I felt. All these things I feel after doing a good solid race is the reward I get for the time I put in to accomplish my goal. I would be lying if I said that I've never cared about placing in races, but things are different now. I've accomplished all that I've wanted to accomplish, and I get much more glory out of helping someone reaching their goal time then placing first in my age group. Is this cheesy to say out loud? Sure. But, it's the truth and I've come a long way to finally get to this point. 

Which gets me to my next point. I struggled today because my body is tired. I've been pushing myself, and not following my training plan to a tee. I've been taking only one rest day instead of two, and switch my workouts up making them inconsistent. So today a quarter way through my workout, I decided this training run wasn't productive. See, when runs aren't productive, you should listen to your body and take the day off. It's better to come into a workout focused and physically ready. I did try today, but I couldn't pull it off.

Tomorrow I'm resting which is probably a good thing. I'm hoping on friday when I do my mile repeats I feel strong and rested. I've got to be ready for my five miler the next day. Oh, and as for the race I did Sunday. Well, after eating poorly and not making smart choices, I finished the four miles in 31:33, placing 3rd in my age group out of 128 girls. Now for the record, I felt like crap the whole race. So lesson learned: Having a hot dog and a half, four bites of a cheeseburger, a snocone, and a chocolate chip cookie two hours before the race is not a good idea. 

And So It Begins...

So far my training has been going really well. I kinda laugh at myself when I incredulously look at the time I am expected to hit, thinking to myself, "seriously? He wants me to hit that?" I even get nervous when I head out the door to start my run. My heart is pounding as I being picking up speed, occasionally looking at my Garmin to make sure it's working.

So far here are my workouts for this past week (I should post all of my workouts but it would be too much to write. I promise I'll get better about posting):

Monday:

8x.25 miles (1:50 each): 1:42; 1:42; 1:41; 1:44; 1:45; 1:48; 1:51 (Missed by a second!!); 1:49
8x.25 miles (2:15 each): 2:14; 2:13; 2:10; 2:11; 2:12; 2:15; 2:11; 2:02

So all in all I did 4 miles, and you know what? It wasn't that bad. Yes - I will admit it sucked as I prepared myself for the next sprint, but it felt great when I was finished. For the longest time I've been in a running rut, and I finally think this was the thing I needed to get me out of it. I have become so comfortable running at my own pace, failing to really push myself. Ok, I'll step off my soapbox now.

Tuesday: I actually rested. For those of you who know me, this was hard for me to do.

Wednesday: Three miles (7:45 pace): My total time: 22:43 (7:34 pace)

I was truly stoked about this time. I honestly thought there was no way in he - double hockey sticks that I would hit this target. Sure I can hit it during a race, but when you're out on your own it's so hard to make those good times. Just to see how I did, I broke up my splits in half: I ended up running the first half in 11:30 (7:40 min/mile pace) and the second half in 11:13 (7:29 min/mile pace). I was so happy that I was on cloud rest of the day.

Thursday: I ended up not doing Orange Theory, so I actually used this day as my bike day. I had an easy 30 minute spin which I completed in my garage gym!

Friday: I made this my rest day instead of Sunday. I had Orange Theory today and a race on Sunday so I decided to let me body rest one more time before this weekend started. I still like to do something active with my dogs on Fridays, so we did a 2.5 mile loop walk. We jogged at some points, but nothing crazy by any means.

Saturday: Orange Theory Fitness (OTF) today!! Today's class was okay. Nothing too crazy. We had 7 minute blocks that included the treadmill, rowing machine, and weight room.

First Block of 7 minutes on the treadmill: 2 minutes at base pace; 1 minute all out; 30 second rest; 45 seconds base pace; 45 seconds all out; 30 seconds rest; 30 seconds base pace; 30 seconds all out; 30 seconds rest. I got up to 12 speed on the sprints - Yay!

Second Block of 7 minutes on the rower: Row 100; Mega Ball (MB) Squat Presses 10; Row 150; MB Squat Presses 15; Row 200; MB Squat Presses 20. I held a 25 pound MB and it sucked. Especially after not doing OTF for a week.

Third Block of 7 minutes in the weight room: 12 chest press reps with leg lifts; 12 squat tap military press reps; 12 lunges with a bicep curl (6 on each side). I grabbed 10 pound weights at first and then ended with 12.5 pound weights. By the end my arms were hurtingggggg.

Fourth Block of 7 minutes on the treadmill: Go as far as you could in 7 minutes - I got to 0.95. I was so close to a mile. So.Very.Close.

Fifth Block of 7 minutes on the rower: Row 100 meters and 20 oblique twists with the MB (10 on each side). I kept looking at the clock at this point wondering when this was going to end.

For the last couple of minutes of class (our instructor definitely started us later than she should have causing us to end early) we did a minute of each: weight room; rower; treadmill at an all out pace. In the weight room we did chest presses on the SBT straps for 30 seconds and then 30 seconds of pushups; on the treadmill we sprinted for a minute at all all out pace; and, on the rower we rowed for 1 minute straight. As always, we ended with a nice stretch.


Overall, this week has been crazy with the exercise intensity. I really like it though. On the plus side, since my little attempt at weight loss, I have finally reached my goal weight (well kind of). I'm officially at 137. Would I like to lose a few more pounds? Sure. But, I'm happy with the way I am and if I do lose the weight, it will just be an added bonus. I'm just so excited to be following a training plan and getting back into running. I'll let you guys know how I do tomorrow. Nothing like a St. Patrick's Day Run!!







 
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