Week 9 of Marathon Training

I finally got to go inside a running store this weekend! I've been wanting to go inside this place for a while  but haven't found the time. For my birthday I received several running presents! My family got me some running capris and a water bottle and a friend gave me a Runners World magazine. I flipped through the first page and saw another runner sporting just the item I've been looking for. A fanny pack. 

    As an Italian woman, one thing I am concerned about is how to eat while I run for several hours. I mean if I'm out there for several hours, someone is going to have to feed me! In addition to that gem of common sense, I've read the benefits of supplementing with Cliff shots or Gu. The extra carbohydrates refuels your muscles as you run  and they add other good things in there too! So I have seen Capri pants with a zippered pouch, but let's think this through, shall we? Cliff shots are like gummy bears . Ever had a gummy bear that's been in your pocket too long? That's what it's going to be like if I put these energy gels in my back pocket . Plus sweat...I'll  stop there. So an alternative to putting the gels in a hidden pocket,  is putting them on a stylish low profile fanny pack. Which I was against  (originally)  but vs sweaty gummy bears , I'll take it! So I found one at the running store and got to try it out this weekend . I also bought a " waffle " made from "Honey Stinger" which is a company based out of Steamboat CO. A waffle that is easy to digest on the go and apparently delicious . I would eat it even if I had time to sit down for a snack, they are that good. check our their video http://youtu.be/ajizuP_5wII

See all the cool stuff you find out about in the running store ? 

       On Sunday I set out to run 17 miles. I ran the first 6.75 solo and Ian hopped on the bike and encouraged me the rest of the way . It was the warmest day I've ran this year . It started out at 49 degrees and went up from there. I actually had to take off my long sleeves and today I realized I got sunburned! Huge shock! I cannot wait for warm weather! So the run went well, the fanny pack worked and kept my  cliff shots from getting gooey. The waffle was amazing . My GPS watch ran out of batteries. Still getting into the swing of things ( note to self, charge your watch....doh!) but I ran for about 4 hours and 10 minutes , so I'm pretty confident I hit 17 miles . It makes such a difference having Ian pedal beside me. He's so encouraging and keeps telling me that " I got this. " when I'm not sure I do. I love having him with me. 

       This week the boys and I are on the east coast for a family  wedding. It was a miracle that we made our flight and an even bigger miracle that I didn't harm any of the 14 year old girls that surrounded me on the plane . Apparently there was an east coast field trip and the girls thought it was cute to yell that " we were all going to die. " My mother said I use to be like that, surely she is suffering from memory loss . I was never that annoying! 

   Anywho, I'm looking forward to running in a different area , hopefully with a break from the high altitude I will keep rocking my runs this week! 

This is me feeling strong ... I guess? I think you forget how to pose for pictures after running that long. Just notice the discreet fannypack

I'm turning 30 and it's a Pinterest special!

    

    Tomorrow I turn 30. Is it silly to say that I never pictured myself getting older? I am ready for this new decade, but as I stare down this new year I can't help but reflect on what I have learned about life so far.  Are you ready, it's a Pinterest special people, filled with sentiment and cheesiness.
     I deeply understand this quote from Pinterest and feel it is so fitting because I have fought to become who I am. There was a time in my adolescents when an author wrote about me in a chapter of her book. I was her example of what bitterness looks like.  Ouch! Most people who meet me today don't select bitterness as my top most personality trait. I am grateful for that because I have worked hard to remove it. I'm not about to claim perfection but I will claim to have come a long way from where I've started and I'm proud of that change.

   Another important little gem I've learned in life is to watch other people and try to add to your life the attributes that you admire in theirs. Life is not a competition especially against other women! Learning different ways of living this thing called life from other people, keeps them close to me even when we're separated by distance.
        I guess one of the most important lessons I have learned is that the hard times in your life or the really crappy days, make the good times so much sweeter. A crappy day can make a normal day glitter because when you've been in the ditches of life a pothole is really not that bad. Know what I'm saying? Hard seasons in life teach us gratitude. This lady says it so much better, seriously what would we do without Pinterest?

 

 

 So if I have any advice for gals in their 20's  this is it:
1. Write letters to your family, they really appreciate it.
2. Keep pictures, time flies when you're not in school
3. You're no good to anybody if you don't take care of yourself , so get on that
4. Never say never for instance " I  would never homeschool or I would never live in a trailer... yeah never say never"
5. If you think you have parenting down, don't judge other parents. Have more kids! They're not all the same.
6. There is no room to grow in your comfort zone, remember that one
7. Give other people a break. Everyone has a little pain in their life, everyone's got a back story, give a little grace, the world would be so much better if we could all do this
8. Do the best you can until you know better, then when you know better, do better -Maya Angelou
9. Enjoy life while you can because tomorrow is promised to no one
10. This one is so important it deserves a pinterest picture...

Week 8 of Marathon Training

    Once again, I veered from my training program this week. That's not necessarily a bad thing, it just proves to me that I have a hard time listening to directions. I really want to run the show! But a few changes were necessary for my schedule. I had wanted to run a half marathon this last weekend but I realized early in the week that Ian would be at school and that it simply wasn't going to work. I've read that you should have a few races under your belt, just to see the flow of things and get use to the jitters and stuff before your big race. It makes sense to me, but I think I'm just gonna have to wing it! It's kinda funny because the only race I've ever ran in (as an adult) was a small town 5k. I was in the back of the pack of about 11 people and the junior high girl totally kicked my butt. If you want to refresh on the story, here it is http://linewife.blogspot.com/search/label/Heritage%20Days So the marathon will just be a whole mess of firsts for me. So! Since I didn't run the Half I decided to run two smaller runs on the weekend. This was suppose to be a taper down weekend, where you run less than the week before so your body can re-coop and get ready  for the next big increase in Mileage, this is what I ran last week:

Monday: Rest
Tuesday : 4 Miles
Wednesday: 6.7 Miles
Thursday: I could not get out in the cold so I did some fine toning exercises in a video...OMG...it took my legs 3  days to recover, YIKES!
Friday: Rest day
Saturday: 6 miles on a treadmill
Sunday: 11 Miles

   So guess what?  I got my Garmin watch! I ordered it off of ebay from another runner, saved about $50. I was so excited to use it on Sunday. Turns out, it was identical in accuracy to my Nike running program on my Iphone. Oddly enough , this means my sensor in my shoe was off. If you recall my shoe sensor was telling me I ran more than a mile than the GPS. Didn't see that coming. So, as far as modifying my training, I think what I am going to do is stick with the Intermediate schedule BUT I am going to take out the long run on Saturdays and only have the long runs on Sundays that increase in mileage. The novice program is scheduled similarly, but I have already passed some of the high mileage milestones that the novice program hasn't hit yet. So I'm savoring that accomplishment but allowing myself more rest day to work up to the new challenges and not injure myself at the same time. OK, one thing, I realize that I appeared obsessive about the Garmin watch but I have to tell you, it's still really good that I have it because, although it showed me that the Nike app was spot on, my phone usually dies around 10 or 11 miles This Sunday I will be running 17 miles, so I'm glad I've got the watch to track it!
  
   I've been trying to be mindful of nutrition and fuel my body with what it needs. I'm asking a lot from these legs and I want to give them all the love they deserve. So I've been eating lots of omelettes with spinach and tomatoes. Salads with beets and quinoa for lunch and I usually just eat whatever with the family for dinner. But I've added some new treats because I love snacks and sweets. Here are a few of my favorites:

http://themarathonmom.com/granola-energy-balls.htm

Granola Energy Bites! So great to have in the fridge for a snack or before a run. Also, Who doesn't love chocolate and peanut butter?
 

http://dashingdish.com/recipe/triple-chocolate-chunk-muffins/


These are a knock off recipe version of Vita Top Muffins from Whole Foods, so good and I feel healthy when I eat them and the 2 year old can't get enough.

 

http://www.gooddinnermom.com/carrot-and-quinoa-muffins/

Ok so no one was pulling on my skirt begging for one of these but I loved them. You can see carrots , quinoa and walnuts in them. They were addicting.

So good. Make one of these recipes this week and tell me how it goes. I am going to go eat a chocolate muffin...And then make my kids work through Spring Break. I'm such a mean mom, but we're pushing Spring Break a week until we get to Grandma's house ;) Wish us luck

A Busy week in Denver and week 7 of Marathon Training

 
  Happy St Patty's Day!  Wow last week was busy! In retrospect, I can totally see why I have been exhausted all day. Our busy week took off last Monday. I had planned a field trip to the US Mint in Denver. I had to schedule the tour back in January. It had been something I wanted to do for a while and we were all excited for the adventure! You ever try to pack in too much to one day? Yeah , well I thought I would do some laundry before we left and right before we got in the car to drive to downtown Denver, I went to get the dry out. To my dismay, my 11 year old had recently purchased camo face paint from the army surplus store in town and left it in his pocket. All of the clothes had brownish grey smudges all over them. I flipped my lid and this is how we took off for our field trip. With mom in a mood. Then we continued to get into the heart of downtown Denver. We were suppose to arrive 30 minutes early because the mint is a secured government facility and they need to make you go through security etc. We were there 30 minutes early but I couldn't find a parking spot to save my life so we just drove around. Finally I told the kids we weren't going to make it and just then Wrex found  a parking spot. A friendly police officer helped me park and we made it to the Mint. My older boys really liked it, the two year old was not impressed. Hopefully they will remember more than mom's lecture about removing the content s of your pocket before throwing stuff in the laundry.

 

I got back to my car in time to see an officer writing me a ticket. Apparently I had parked in a "Mayoral" spot and I was minutes away  from being towed. It pains me to admit that my husband was right, I just may get a ticket in every city we travel in. UGH.

 

Friday , Ian had off and we decided to hike up to North table mountain. If you ever visit Golden, Colorado the city is nestled between two mesas, North and South Table Mountain. We packed some waters and a sling shot and went for it. Ian had to let Waylon ride on his shoulders most of the way. Our highlights were watching Houston try to catch a deer and stopping to practice our sling shot skills. It was a fabulous day.



 



  Sunday was my long run of 15 miles. The training plan was Tues. 4 miles, Wed. 7 miles, Thurs. 4 miles and Saturday 7 miles and Sunday 15 miles. I ran outside Tuesday and Thursday but snow prevented me from running outside on Wednesday. My runs were slower all week than they had been inside but my ego recovered a bit and I am more prepared to run slow to make it through as opposed to not completing at all. After our hike on Friday I decided to skip Saturdays run and rest an extra day. One of my epiphany's that sank in last week is that I am a novice and I can do with extra rest and less pressure. So Sunday I was prepared. I got up early to have my coffee and my oatmeal and then stretched.  It was a mere 28 degrees which I wasn't too happy about but what could I do. I decided to experiment with Cliff shots this week. They are a supplement that I decided to try out to increase my carbohydrate consumption while I ran. Studies have shown that there is an increased performance in runs over an hour long with additional carbohydrate consumption, so it was something I wanted to try.  So I started out slow. Another thing I did differently, is that I committed to a trail. Sometimes when I run , I just go wherever my legs take me, but then it can feel like a never ending journey. I think that the trail I picked is between 6.5 to  7 miles long. So my goal was to run it in the opposite direction of last week, so the dramatic hill climb would be on the way down. Then I would run it twice and after that, run to a place in town that I think is only a mile and a half or so away. So I still don't have a GPS watch so it was a guesstimate. Also my phone pooped out on me before I was through, so I don't have that to go off of either.  I did run for 3 1/2 hours so I'm pretty confident I hit 15 miles some where in that time. The best part of the run was when Ian accompanied me on the trail on my second loop around. He hopped on our 11 year olds bike and rode 7 miles with me. He made it look effortless but it made such a huge difference for me powering through miles 7-14. They seemed to breeze by, when we parted ways, I only had a mile or 2 to go but   they seemed way longer than the previous miles. It made my day having him out there with me. I am crazy sore today but I feel like I really kicked butt this Sunday.  That's marathon training for ya, down in the dumps one week, on top of the world the next. Thanks for the cheers and support, you guys are the best.



He even let me steal his hat, what a guy!



Marathon log week 6

 

    I finished my sixth week of marathon training. The game plan for last week was this:  Tues. 4 miles, Wed. 7 miles, Thurs. 4 miles rest day, Sat. 7 miles and Sun. 14 miles. What can I say, it was all going amazingly well until Sunday came along and hit me over the head. First of all, I have to tell you, if you ever see a status on my facebook and it says something like  "I'm running with Nike etc" when you "like" that while I'm running, it send cowbells and cheers into my headphones and it is so encouraging to me. I wanted to say thank you to all my cheers over the weekend, I don't know why cowbells are so motivating but they are.It must be that I know at that moment, you think I can accomplish this too. Thank you!
     I think I need to look at my training from this point on as phase 2. Here is why. Since January all of my training has been indoors and I have been killing it. I told you last week that I have a sensor in my shoe and an app I use to monitor my distance inside. I told you that they contradict each other right? Well what if they're both wrong? dun dun dun. Sunday was the first beautiful day I was able to get outside the rec center and run. The snow was melted on the path and it was a warm 39 degrees when I started. I bought a new app to show me running routes near by and I discussed them the night before with Ian, to mark out the best path. I had a decent sized carb filled breakfast and went out to meet the day. All of my reading this last week convinced me to run slower than I thought necessary to make it through the mileage, but I wasn't prepared for the course I had picked. Hills....so many hills. One of my apps reads it like this
Mile 1 ascent: 312 feet descent: 139 feet
Mile 2 ascent: 215 feet descent: 204 feet
Mile 3 ascent :255 feet descent: 169 feet
 I won't keep listing it but most of these are a higher climb than it was a descent. I ran slow and kept my heart rate low but I just could not believe how long it took me to get my miles in. I ran for 3 hours. 3 hours. At that point the sensor in my shoe said I had completed 14.5 miles and the app said I only did 12.5. Two miles is a HUGE difference at that point!  To say the least I was disappointed. Not only were the apps recording my time at least 4 minutes slower a mile but also recording that I couldn't complete 14 miles in three hours. It just doesn't seem right.
      So here are my thoughts. I need a garmin GPS watch. I don't wan't to under train but I really don't want to over train either. I learned, while I laid on the couch yesterday, unable to move, that the GPS chip in our phones are generally smaller than in a GPS watch. Since smart phones can do so many things, like a swiss army knife, they may not be able to do them all extremely well. I also learned that my Nike sensor in my shoe is 90% accurate. I don't know how I feel about that quite yet. If I have in fact not been getting in as many miles as I think I have and if my pace is as slow outside as it was yesterday I might need to change to a novice training program. At this point there is no need to convince myself to run intermediate mileage if this whole time I have been running fewer miles that I thought. UGH , that's frustrating .
     Okay here are the positive things. I had a beautiful morning yesterday on a trail I had never experienced before.

See, it was literally gorgeous!
 

Also, I am so glad that I have seen these possible training discrepancies now, instead of on race day. Also, if I switch to the Novice program, I am right on track, yesterday would have been a 12 mile run . A few more great things about yesterday: I ran past a water park I didn't know existed. It warmed up to 68 and I took a nap! Good day, huh?
        I started reading the book "Marathon" by Hal Higdon, it is very appropriate for someone to read before they've ran their first. I was also reading "The New Rules of Marathon and Half Marathon Nutrition : A cutting edge Plan to Fuel your Body Beyond the Wall" by Matt Fitzgerald and although I've learned a lot, it's very technical and more for people trying to improve their times. I have a goal to reach the finish line in under 4:30. However, if I am being realistic and if I am listening to the experience from these books, my real goal needs to be: to simply finish, uninjured and smiling, preferably. I gotta say that does not sound as impressive as 4:30. But I need to be realistic.
   One thing that I read repetitively this week, was that most runners need to slow down in their training. The only way to improve in running is to run more and the only way to run more (or the most) is to run slow. The moral : Run slow and you live to run another day. Also, I have read over and over that it is better to reach the starting line undertrained than to over train and never reach it or, reach it at the level of burnout.
   Well thank you for listening to me ramble. I realize this might not be as interesting to you if you're not training for a marathon. But I love your support and I love the challenge of figuring it all out myself. So next week the intermediate program works up to 15 miles and the novice program runs 13. I will let you know how it turns out.

In case you needed a visual aid of what that might look like....you're welcome

My Marathon Log week 5

I've been reading up on a few marathon books last week and decided that I really want to document my training experience for my first marathon because it's kind've a big deal for me! Ok a huge deal. I know people can get annoyed reading fitness posts on facebook so if this annoys you, don't read it! However, if you want to read about a non athlete training for a marathon, lets hash this out together. I say I'm a non athlete because no one has ever referred to me as an athlete before. I'm still the girl who was always on the "B" team for sports and received a B in PE for not participating. This is my athletic background.
     I started running last year when I joined a fitness challenge and to simply get out of my trailer and running was the cheapest most convenient form of exercise.  Running kept me from losing my mind with my colic child and now I am learning to enjoy it. I decided to run a marathon when I saw that the training programs started with the ability to run 5 miles and it just so happens, I can do that. I wasn't anxious to start a regimented training  program because, lets face it, I have a hard time following a coach. Even when it was the couch to 5k app in my ear telling me when to walk or run, I wouldn't listen. Now it's  a piece of paper telling me what days to run, I always think I now best and deviate from the plan. I always regret it but I am so stubborn. Maybe it stems from the fact that coaches never really took to me, most likely because they saw my half ass effort. So this is my chance to change right?



This is my log of the days I've skipped and the changes I've made. I try to draw an icon of how I felt I did at the end of the training week

     So here I am, I've just completed week 5 of training for my marathon. Here's how it's going. The Sunday before last nearly killed me. I ran 12 miles...I think. I have two different trackers and they both tell me different things. One relies on GPS and the other is a sensor in my shoe. The GPS told me I did 13.6 miles but the sensor in the shoe said 12. I don't want to under train so I assume the mileage for the day is not complete until both trackers agree I've reached my goal. I think I need to start running outside , I want to run outside but inevitably it snows on the days where I have my chance. The Rec Center is right across the street. I'll talk about that in a bit.  So I completed my Sunday mileage of  12 miles and I thought I was going to die. I don't think I hyped myself up enough mentally. The week before I was nervous about running 11 but somehow when I got to 12 I forgot that I hadn't ever done that before. I think the last 4 miles my mantra was..."I should be home... this is awful... I don't think I can do this...I'm hungry...this is ridiculous." I seriously almost quit but, I kept going. As a result last weeks training was more mental than physical, I was exhausted the rest of the day but no one really has any patience for a mommy to take a nap, especially when she's already been gone 2 hours running. So Monday I slept in, instead of cross training and Tuesday I skipped because it was my sons birthday and he wanted me here. Also, there was just little will in me to run. I ran 5 miles on Wed. 4 miles on Thurs. took my Friday to rest, then 5 on Saturday and then 10 on Sunday. This Sundays run went much better. Yes it was less miles but I made sure I had a carbo-licous breakfast and I also experimented with energy gels by Gatorade. I'm not sure that  its the brand I'll stick with but I gotta say, I think they rebranded squeeze pops from the 90s and made them energy gels and I'm really excited about it because those were my favorite candies! Anyways, the extra carbs really did make me stay on the level the whole way through. I paced myself and felt great at the finish.
   So I have a few thoughts about running on an indoor track. It definitely has some advantages
  1. So conveniently close to me, seriously like .10 miles away, I walk there
  2. Safe to run at even when its dark
  3. I'm getting spoiled running next to a bathroom and a drinking fountain, things you miss when you're on a trail
  4. Doesn't matter if it's snowing , you can still get that run in
  5. The distractions are sometimes fun, on Sundays the Silver Sneaker ladies play basketball, I totally want to be one of them when I grow up, I want to wear those awesome goggles even if I don't need them

This is the indoor track, it's like a balcony around the basketball court
 

Here are some disadvantages of running indoors
1. I miss being outdoors, I was going to run outside this weekend and of course it snowed
2. The people who walk up here sometimes like to walk side by side, you would think that if they heard me huffing and puffing like a rhinoceros  behind them, (because they can definitely hear me) that they would scootch to the slow lane but this is not always the case.
3. The nimbus who has the bright idea to walk on the white line the whole time, it's two lanes buddy , you're not practicing to tight rope walk for cirque du soleil, so pick a lane!
  4. If someone crop dusts you it totally sucks, this also goes for the guy who blew up the bathroom! I went in there to tinkle after 5 miles and nearly puked.

     All in all, I'm just so glad I'm actually doing this. I read a great inspirational book called "Chasing Dawn" this mother of 5 decided to run 12 marathons in 12 months and you thought I was crazy! Her book gave me a new perspective on marathons. It doesn't have to be as serious as it is, in my head, and I'm not the only average person running marathons. Good to know. Also her times were not smoking fast which means, it's ok if mine isn't either. After all according to Hal Higdon author of "Marathon"  "If others finish in front of or behind you, it is only that their personal victories are more or less than yours. A person finishing behind you with less talent, or of a different age or sex, or various other limiting factors may have achieved a far greater victory." Great news for me because right now this marathon idea still seems really intimidating. My number one goal for this Marathon is to "finish like a champ, not like a chump"( I got that from the book "Chasing Dawn" she's so clever)  I really don't want to end up on youtube as one of those ladies having body spasms or losing control of bodily functions at the finish line. My husband loves to watch those and laugh....really don't want to be one of those.