My Birthday and Running Updates

Today is my 39th birthday.  I will remain in the 35-39 year old age grouping for 365 more days.  My day has been great so far with numerous birthday wishes on Facebook, through text messages, and phone calls.  My staff is also very thoughtful on my birthday!  In fact, they presented me with a nice gift bag and ice cream cake this morning.  They know how important running and the running communnity is to me so they felt the Boston Strong shirt was a perfect tribute to me.  I couldn't agree more.

Goodies from my staff.  The pringles and swedish fish will be road tripping with Kaelynn and I this afternoon

So what have I been up to in the world of running lately?  Well, I am in week 2 of my training plan for my next running adventure that my friend Joe was kind enough to create for me.  So far my training has been going very well.  Last week was a nice and easy recovery week.

35 recovery miles

Why did I run 35 miles during a recovery week you ask?  Well so I can see what I am made of in September when I toe the line of my fall marathon in Erie, PA.  I am not quite ready to share my goal for this race just yet but let me just say I am ready, willing, and able to put in the work that will be required to meet my goal.

Erie Marathon Entry Confirmation

 This week's training has gone very well.  I ran 6 easy miles on both Tuesday and Thursday and did my first track workout on Wednesday.  I am very pleased will how all of these runs went.  It was outlandishly hot yesterday which did remind me that it is best to sacrifice a little bit of shut eye and get the workout done before the sun comes up!  I am currently sitting at 19 miles for the week and the training plan calls for 6 miles tomorrow and 12 miles on Sunday.  As I mentioned in my April in review, I will sacrifice mileage any day for my kids so I will likely be sacrificing my 6 mile run tommorrow as I will be in Ann Arbor with Kaelynn for her final ice skating competition of the 2012-2013 season.  Fortunately it works out that I will be home to do my long run on Sunday so I am not sacrificing all 18 miles this weekend!  Like Joe said don't worry too much about it because this early in the training program it isn't even a spec of sand on the beach.  I like how you think Joe! 

To snag a line from Joe, one of the greatest athletes I have the pleasure of being friends with, it's time to go to work!

Keep running, you're simply the best, and you inspire me!!

Marathon Training Week 2...Mission Accomplished

Today's 10 mile run brought week two of marathon training to an end. Overall, I had another great week! Let's hope there are 16 more great weeks ahead of me!

Monday- My favorite day of marathon training because it's a rest day. Of course we didn't have school on Monday so I didn't get any weight training (in the form of putting delivery trucks away) in.

Tuesday- My alarm went off at 4:30 AM for my 3 mile tempo run at the Y. Felt really good and enjoyed the run.

Wednesday- Once again the alarm sounded at 4:30 AM. Nice easy 5 mile run at the Y. Although, I didn't get the memo that it was "wear red to workout" day. It really was quite an entertaining conversation. You can read about it here. I loved the comments on my post that day! Everyone had such great perspectives on the issue! When I got to work a delivery truck was already there so I had a nice bonus session of "weight training" at 7 AM!

Thursday- For the third day in a row my alarm sounded at 4:30 AM. My brother stayed with us Wednesday night because he had a meeting on Thursday and our house was closer to his destination. After I woke him up and got him organized I headed down to the treadmill for my "hill" workout. 3 miles with two .25 mile "hills" mixed in. I was watching the end of The Bucket List and I had some trouble breathing during the cool down mile because the end of the movie is sad and I was trying not to cry. I wonder if watching sad movies while running is the key to oxygen deprivation training. LOL

Friday- Nice day of cross training. 30 minutes (2.5 miles) on the elliptical and 15 minutes of rope skipping!

Saturday- Headed down to the treadmill and ran a nice easy 5 miles while watching Fever Pitch.

Sunday- Last night the weather was calling for 12 degrees (feels like -3) for Jenn and I's 10 mile run today. Jenn texted me last night to see if I would rather run at 1:30PM instead of 6:45AM since it was going to be so cold. I had to text her back and tell her that it would have to be 6:45AM due to my schedule today. I didn't get to sleep until after 11:00 last night and when my alarm went off at 5:30AM I pressed snooze. I really wanted to stay in bed under the nice warm covers but I forced myself to get up because Jenn was counting on me to be there. I am so glad that Jenn and I do our long runs together because if I was running on my own today I would have gone back to sleep and would have had to force myself to get my 10 miles in on the treadmill later today. In the end, the weather wasn't all that bad. Once we got started we warmed up rather quickly. In fact Jenn took a layer off around mile 1. We had a great run today and managed to run 10:35 pace. Such a difference compared to our "lead leg" 11:26 pace 9 miler last Sunday.

Next week is a bit of a step back week. Jenn and I only have a 7 miler on tap for next Sunday. It's going to be so weird to be done so quickly. I have a feeling we are going to want to run further. However, we are two very smart women and we know well enough to respect the training!

Keep running, you're simply the best, and you inspire me!!

Week One of Marathon Training Complete!

Well week one of marathon training is in the books! Overall, it was a pretty successful week.

Monday- First day of marathon training which also happened to be a rest day! You have to love starting your training by doing absolutely nothing! Of course I do put stock away at work so I suppose I could count that as a weight workout--most of the cases are close to 30lbs!

Tuesday- 3 mile tempo run on the indoor track at the Y! Think I got into the groove a little too much after my 9:30 warm-up mile. My plan was to run aroun 8:25 pace for my tempo miles however I ran them in 7:58 and 7:59 respectively. Go figure my overall pace of 8:28 for the three miles was quite close to my intended tempo pace.

Wednesday- Easy 5 miler on the treadmill while watching My Big Fat Greek Wedding...maybe if I put some windex on my legs they won't be sore!

Thursday- 3 miles with two .25 mile "hill repeats" on the treadmill. This was a tough one for me. I felt like I was going to fly off the back of the treadmill during the "hills". I followed the "hill workout" with 20 minutes of jump roping. My calves were definitely feeling the burn! I may want to reconsider which day I get my jump rope workout in!

Friday- Cross training day. 2.5 miles (30 minutes) on the elliptical while watching The Bucket List. Found this movie choice very appropriate since completing a marathon is on my bucket list.

Saturday- 5 miles on the indoor track at the Y. I was trying to run at a nice easy pace but I was in the groove and ended up running just under 9 minute mile pace. Oops!

Sunday- Today Jenn and I ran 9 miles. My legs (as well as Jenn's) felt like lead out there today. I don't know if it was a result of the increased intensity of the workouts this week or the snow on the trail or a combination of both but Jenn and I powered through those 9 miles. We didn't quit! It's these types of runs that are going to make us stronger in the end. There are no guarantees one of us won't have lead legs on marathon day so we knew we had to be strong and power through it. You have to be prepared for ANYTHING on race day!

Looking forward to week two of training and doing it all over again...well maybe minus the lead legs from today!!

Keep running, you're simply the best, and you inpsire me!!

100th Post......September in Review

It seems fitting that this is my 100th post and I ran over 100 miles this month and gave no less than 100% out there at all times this month! Yesterday's hill repeat workout brought my September training to an end. It was a fantastic workout! I could almost feel the new found strength in my legs on the uphills and this month was my highest mileage month since getting back into running!

September Stats

134--- running miles Monthly mileage PR!!
0--- elliptical miles
0--- bike miles
134--- total miles
151--- weight as of September 30, 2010

Current 2010 Stats

878--- running miles
52.9--- elliptical miles
5.1--- bike miles
936--- total miles

I am very pleased with my September training! I paced Jenn to an amazing 1/2 marathon finish in which we crushed her goal!! I also ran two 5k's this month and placed 1st in my age group at both of them and managed to PR at the second one and place 3rd female overall and 15th person overall and of course my new montly mileage PR of 134 miles is worth mentioning again!! I can't wait to see what I can do at the Detroit 1/2 Marathon on October 17, 2010!!

Keep running, you're simply the best, and you inspire me!!

May in Review

Today's 3 mile run brought my May training to a close. It was quite hot and humid out there today but I was pleased to find my legs again. I was finally able to run under a 9 minute mile pace today (which I hadn't been able to do since the marathon attempt)!

May Stats

88.62-- running miles
0-- elliptical miles
0-- bike miles
88.62-- total miles
2-- shortest distance covered in May (end of marathon training schedule)
25-- longest distance covered in May (Cleveland Marathon DNF)
148-- weight as of May 31, 2010 (total weight loss to date...46 pounds)

Current 2010 Stats

503-- running miles
50.9-- elliptical miles
5.1-- bike miles
559-- total miles

Overall, I am pleased with my May training. I didn't plan on a DNF in the marathon but everything happens for a reason and I have to believe there was a reason I didn't conquer the marathon this time. I will in fact attempt 26.2 again.

As for now, I am completing the 4 week post marathon training program. I will end it with the "Girls With Sole 5K" on June 20.

Keep running, you're simply the best, and you inspire me!!

Splish Splash 11 mile Dash....

Yesterday it was 47 degrees here! I set out at 8:30 AM for my long run. Of course there was a threat of rain but I decided to go for it so I didn't have to put in 11 miles on the treadmill. Within the first three miles of the run it started pouring. At this point I could have headed back home and finished my run on the treadmill but I figured I was soaked already so why not just finish the run outside. By the time I hit mile nine I was running through the puddles on purpose, acting like a kid again! The funniest part of the run was the drivers attempting to splash me. Really people, there is literally water dripping off the visor part of my baseball cap how could you possibly think splashing me would bother me at all at this point. I just kept on running and laughing and acting like a kid. It was fun! I was completely shocked that I managed to run a 9:51 mile pace for the entire 11.08 miles especially because the wind was so fierce at times that it felt like I was standing still.

When I got home from the run I was literally drenched with water still dripping off the visor part of my baseball cap. My shoes were soaked and making that "sloshing" (is that a word) sound. I realized at this point that my workout clothes were really heavy so I actually decided to weigh them to see how much extra weight I was running with. Turns out my workout clothes weighed 5.2 lbs (not including my shoes). I was talking to a friend last night at her daughter's birthday party about how I technically ran with an extra 5.2 pounds on my body. She looked me in the eye and said do I have to remind you how much extra weight you were carrying this time last year? I immediately realized she was absolutely right. Last year I was carrying an extra 42 pounds on my body so in the grand scheme of things, 5.2 lbs is nothing!!

Today is a scheduled rest day. Good thing because my legs are sore!!

Keep running, you're simply the best, you inspire me!

Week 1 of training is in full swing!

As I mentioned in my previous post, I officially started training for the Cleveland Marathon this past Sunday. Sunday I completed an 8 mile run on the treadmill. Monday was my first day back to work after being off for 2 weeks so I was glad it was a day off from training. Tuesday afternoon I did a steady 3 mile run on the treadmill. I had my monthly massage appointment last night as well. While on the subject, I have a love/hate relationship with my massage therapist. He gives a great sports massage but he always seems to find sore spots. It never fails. I went in last night complaining of mild left shoulder pain when running. He was able to release the "hang up" on the shoulder (as he refers to it). After that he actually found sore spots in my hand of all places. Can I tell you how painful hand massage can be when they find a "hang up"? OUCH!! This is where the hate part of the relationship comes into play!! However, the love relationship came this morning when I woke up pain free with no muscle tightness. Gotta love that. Tonight I opted to cross train on the elliptical. I did 6.8 miles in 90 minutes. Not too bad. My feet did get numb once or twice but I was able to overcome that. Just takes some getting used to. Tomorrow calls for a 3 mile run and Friday a 5 mile run. Saturday is a rest day and that will complete week 1 of my marathon training. Believe it or not, I am actually looking forward to this challenge! Now, if it would just get a little warmer (less icy) out, I could get in a nice run outside. I miss running outside during the dead of winter!
Thank you for checking in and remember "you're simply the best" and "you inspire me".

Preparing for the official training to begin!

Well, Sunday will be day one of my official training schedule for the Cleveland Marathon. After watching the weather report last night for the next several days, I am thankful that my treadmill was delivered yesterday and that my elliptical is being delivered in the next hour. I have a feeling I will be doing a lot of my training for the marathon on said equipment. I made the mistake of running outside every single day (except one) last year while I was training for the Cleveland 1/2 Marathon. Of course running outside in the winter involved ice and in turn landed me with an injury that had me down for the count for two weeks (one of those weeks being on crutches). I ran 4 miles on the treadmill yesterday and it felt great. Thankfully there is a TV mounted on the wall in the basement or I may have been incredibly bored. Given the choice, I prefer to run outside but I will do what I need to do to stay healthy and injury free and if that means working out inside then so be it.

As I have mentioned before, I will be running the marathon in honor of my dear friend, Deb. The weekend of the marathon it will be ten years since she had a brain tumor removed. We are forming a team to raise money and awareness for brain tumor treatment and research in her name. Once I have the information about our team, I will post it on my blog so that others who are interested may join the team or make a donation!

I am continually amazed at the love I have found for running again! As of December 24, 2009, I have lost 40 pounds!

The first picture is from December 26, 2008 at a mini high school reunion with my friend, and fellow runner, Robert. I was 194 pounds in that picture. The second picture is from December 24, 2009 at my house on Christmas Eve with my dear friend, and running buddy, Deb. I was 154 pounds in that picture!