pilates

I just realized I never post when I do Pilates. I try to do it once or twice a week -  mostly to strengthen my core. Tonight was an off  night on running so I did a 30 min pilates work out. I enjoy it because it stretches me (I never stretch before or after running) and it helps my posture. I wish I had more time to do it but there is only so much time in a day!

8.2

2 miles w/u @ 9:22
6.2 miles @ 8:34

Boring in the mill. But done!!


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4 run 4 cycle

I have a Duathlon in 2 weeks that I keep forgetting. So I decided to try the bike out after my run tonight. It felt good.

4 miles on the mill - my sis in law and I call it TTS (Treadmill Tourette's Syndrome) So I warmed up at 9:13 then upted to 8:49, 8:41, 8:00 then left it at 7:47. It's so hard running on the treadmill to see what I can really push myself to run. I can't wait for better running OUTDOORS weather.

Then I hopped onto the bike and cycled:
4.17 miles in 15:00 mins for  16.7 mph

Tomorrow I need to get 8 miles done on the treadmill. oh the boredom!!!!

5

ok, I missed my long run last weekend! It was suppose to be a 'half marathon race' weekend in my training schedule but there were no half marathons. It was actually a busy weekend, M's party on Saturday, family in town for the party and a late late late Saturday night after party at our house. Sunday was a recoup day and there was no running in the cards for me that day. So I will just chalk it up and move on to this week's runs.

5 miles on the treadmill. Went just fine.
1 mile w/u 9:22
.5 mile 8:41
the rest at 8:20 felt good to push

4 more

I skipped my run last night since it was M's birthday and we let her stay up a little later to play with her new toys. So I went tonight...on a Friday night! The gym was pretty packed, I was surprised.

w/u @ 9:03 for about 8 mins
tempo run 20 mins @ 8:00
kicked it down to 8:27 for a few minutes to recover

Good, sweaty run. Can't wait for Sunday's long run OUTSIDE!!!!!

I wanna see 30+ for the first time ever for my weekly mileage!

7 hard ones

I just wasn't feeling it tonight. I ran 4 on the mill then hopped off to do some weights thinking I will just do 7 tomorrow night. But then I realized I wasn't even tired, I was just bored! So I hopped back on and ran the 3 remaining miles....plus tomorrow is M's birthday and I know that bedtime might be a little later and I didn't want to have to put in 7 miles on a late night, so tomorrow will be an easy 4!

7 miles 1:01:49 8:49 pace (I warmed up at 9:13 then the rest I ran sub 9, 8:27 fastest mile, then 8:41 and 8:49's)

quick 4

I was able to sneak to the gym during nap time today since C was home. It was nice to get it out of the way. I was going to run outside but with the wind chills of -5, I opted not to. So I ran at the gym

4 miles 800m repeats (8:00, 7:47 then 7:30) with recoveries at pace 9:13, 8:57. Felt good to push that 7:30 for half a mile...I need to do this more and try faster repeats. worked up a sweat!

Meatloaf beatloaf

I made this last night and it was very moist. The kids loved it, A had seconds then thirds.

1.5 pounds ground turkey
1 onion, minced
1 green pepper, minced
1 tbsp worchester sauce
1/3 c. bread crumbs
1 egg
1/3 c. parm cheese
1/4 c. balasmic vinegar
1/4 c. ketchup

1. Saute onions and green pepper in olive oil season with pepper, a little salt and garlic powder. Cook until soft and set aside to cool.
2. Mix the  meat, worchester sauce, bread crumbs, egg and add in the onion/pepper mixture. Add in the parm cheese until blended. On a baking sheet lined with foil and sprayed with  non stick spray, form the meat into a loaf. Whisk the vinegar and ketcup together until thickened and pour over the meatloaf. Bake at 350 for about an hour until cooked, don't overcook.

Served with roasted fingerling potatoes and broccoli and lemon

14

I wanted to run 15 but I had to cut it short as I had to get home in time for Sunday School (my week to teach) and shower up before church. Plus..it was SO COLD OUT! I felt like my bum was getting frostbite! I ran the first 6 miles with my friend, G. It was nice because when we got to my house (this is where he left) I already had 6 done. Miles do go faster when running with a friend.

I finished up the rest of the 8 miles ok, I had this weird feeling in the upper, inner part of my left leg. I am not sure if it was just cold but from mile 7 until about 11 it felt uncomfortable and was a strain to run, slowed me down a bit. But then I started to feel better and if it weren't for time and the cold I would have gone longer.

I took water with me but did not take one sip, nor did a chew a shot block. I felt fine (energy wise) the entire time...funny maybe the fact that I was freezing distracted me. Running is really about the mind games, isn't it?

Doggy Cake!

It's our beagle, B's 9th birthday tomorrow! Our other beagle, C, has an unknown bday so we usually tag his along too. We traditionally get hot dogs and fries for the beagles to have for their birthday. This year we made this cake...I have made it for them in the past and decided to treat them again to this recipe.

Doggy Peanut Butter Carrot Cake

1 c. whole wheat flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 c. shredded carrots
1/4 c. peanut butter
1/4. c. canola oil
1/3 c. honey

1. Mix the dry ingrediants then add in the wet. Mix until just blended. Shape into a large dog bone and bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

4 miles

Last night I did 400m faster faster repeats for 4 miles. It felt really good to do these intervals, especially after all of the VALENTINES DAY CHOCOLATE I had been eating...all day long.

.25 miles @ 9:30, 8:30, 7:30, midway thru I did 9:22, 8:20, 7:20...the last .25 I did 7:13. I think I need to push myself more as I felt like I could have gone faster for just .25.

Next week I plan to do: 9:30, 8:00, 7:00 :)

7.0

7 on the mill....felt good. Kept it at my target pace.

7 1:04:12 9:10 pace :) Glad it's done!

4.2

Tuesday night's run went fine. Sweaty but fine. Started at 9:03 then up to 8:27 then 8:13 for the last mile or so. It felt good, I pushed myself a bit as it seems my slow, long runs have gotten me away from any speed I have made progress with.

4.2 35:50 8:32 pace

Crockpot Chicken and Chorizo

This was spicy, but we all enjoyed it. Very flavorful! I had tried a sample of soy chorizo at Trader Joe's the other day and bought it. I then threw this together and it was great.

4 garlic cloves, minced
1 onion, halved then sliced
1 red pepper, sliced
1 lb chicken thighs, boneless, skinless
1 package soy chorizo, crumbled out of the casing
1 14 oz. can diced tomato
sea salt and pepper
1/2 c. chicken stock (more to dilute the spice of the chorizo)

1. Lay the chicken on the bottom of a slow cooker. Season with salt and pepper and lay the garlic on top. Lay the onions on top and crumble the chorizo over, pour the diced tomatoes and stock and peppers on top.
2. Cook on low all day. Serve over brown rice and I had peas on the side. YUM!

It is spicy, if you use the Trader Joe's soy chorizo but the girls handled it fine, they each had about 3 glasses of milk!

3.5

I don't always run on Sundays but since I missed two runs this week I really wanted to. It wasn't too cold but it was windy and drizzly. I didn't mind since I knew I was only going for a short run. I tried to go as fast as I could but I am used to these nice, slow runs now! Haha, so putting forth a fast effort it tough. Plus, my legs were tired from the LR yesterday.

3.5 29:54 8:30 meh! slow poke

15.12 miles

I woke up with no voice and a scratchy throat this morning but I felt fine otherwise. I didn't want to miss another run this week so I forged ahead this morning. It was in the upper 20's and I knew by the time I started to run it would warm up to the 30's so I just layered with two running shirts, my normal running tights and socks/sneaks and wore light gloves, with my hand held water bottle and my ear warmers.
Pandora was good to me and I liked running to some Neil Young this morning among other stuff :)
It was a good run. I ran solo this morning so I was interested to see how I did running by myself at my own pace. I again achieved negative splits which was good. I like running slower then towards the end seeing how much I can push out. I felt strong at the end. It was pretty much a 3/1 run.

15.12 miles 2:15:09 8:56 pace (nice to see that 8 at the beginning of a LR pace, even though it's close to 9)

i	Pace (min/mi)	Elevation (ft)
1	9:16	10
2	9:21	-22
3	9:04	-25
4	8:57	16
5	9:02	-8
6	8:56	14
7	9:06	29
8	8:51	-18
9	9:01	7
10	8:57	1
11	8:46	10
12	8:52	-4
13	8:43	-4
14	8:47	3
15	8:38	-14
16	7:37	5

7.2 crazy week

Last Saturday the kiddos spent the weekend at grandma's. C and I had a fun night out on Saturday but received a call at 3am that my stepdad's mother passed away - it was sorta sudden and very sad, she was only 75. So we had to pick the kids up early on Sunday morning and then the rest of the week was sorta crazy....we drove to Streator, IL where my stepdad is from for the service and to be with my family. Times like these your training plan and runs can sorta get thrown out the window. I wanted to run at the hotel we were staying at but there was no way. But in perspective it was more important to be with my family.

So finally tonight I was able to get a run in and it felt really good to stretch my legs as they were very stiff in the beginning.

7.2 miles 3/1 run - so the first 2/3's of the run I ran at pace 9:13/9:05 the rest I ran at tempo 8:20 the last mile I ran at 8:40 to cool down.

Hope to make up my runs over the next three straight days then rest. It's funny if I don't run more than 3 days apart I'm always afraid I am going to be really slow, lose my endurance and forget how to run. Hasn't happened yet - knocking on wood.

Choices choices...running theories

 When I first started running, I googled running plans and found a nice 6 week schedule for my first 5K. It was easy, I liked running 4 times a week and it fit my schedule. As I started to run more and run longer races, I fell into following Hal Higdon's race plans for a few reasons: 1. Several runners I know have used his plans and they worked for them 2. He is quite popular and has been around for years 3. His plans seem safe and his plans offer a variety from novice to advance.

Then I started reading more books, more blogs, forums on Runner's World (RW) and realized that, just like anything in life, there is no one cookie cutter way to doing things. Some runners out there dispise Higdon and would rather do Ryan Hall's training or Jeff Galloway. Some runners balk at Higdon's marathon plans as they believe his schedules don't allow enough miles per week, or how your long runs should be 20% of your total miles per week (mine are usually 40-50%!) and running at least 5-6 days per week. Runners on the forum of RW say how you should be running at least a peak of 90-100 miles per week for proper marathon training - who has TIME for that! Others scream that running Higdon's plan at just 4 times a week just isn't enough training and you should really just be doing half marathons with that experience.

Now I'm reading more about the Less is More plan that says you only need to run 3-4 times a week, running with 'smarter' runs and that if you run Less, it's less likely you will be injured.
Less is More

Makes you really want to scream and say WHAT IS THE BEST WAY OUT THERE! But like anything in life, I guess you really have to see what works for YOU. What works for your schedule, what theory you agree with and what works for your body. I follow this blog Shut Up + Run and she write a nice post about following the Less is More plan because she wants to run a smarter, injury free marathon.

I have a running friend, he must be in his late 60's, he has run 26 marathons in his life. His SLOWEST was 3:40, fastest was 3:00. This is his training method: he never ran a longer run than 10 miles but his pace was always 6:20 during those runs. He ran all his marathons at 6:20 until he couldn't keep that pace and always finished. Crazy...I know! But I know my body and there is no way I could run a fast 7:30 for 10 miles and then taper off. I run the opposite usually, start out slow then end fast.

Bottom line, I think it's great to read and talk about different theories. But as a runner, you have to make your own decisions as you know your body the best. I like getting advice from running friends and others that I feel pace/run the same as me. I will continue to use Higdon's plan BUT I will also tweak it a bit to fit my needs. I am following the Novice 2 but he doesn't plan for speedwork, I have been adding this in. If I don't finish this marathon with my results then maybe I'll check out another plan. But so far, I have done great, cutting my Half Marathon time by 15 minutes in one year, using Higdon. It's working so why change now.

12.58 miles of snow and ice and cold!!!

My scheduled run should have been 14 miles today...but who knew we'd wake up to a winter wonderland! And of course, my girls have been waiting all winter long to really 'play' in the snow. So I was upset that they are not only at grandma's for the weekend but I sent them with NO snow boots and NO snow pants. They will have to play in the snow tomorrow when they come home :)

Anyhow, G and N ran to my house again this morning and at 7:15 am we were off. I was layered just fine but the SNOW and ice underneath the snow was pretty tough. They each had a goal of just running 2 hours, so I followed suit. We ran mostly in the roads and saw lots and lots of people shoveling this morning. It was tough on our legs, slipping with your running shoes, trying to avoid ice and running through the snow makes running a lot more work.  We ran around the neighborhoods, ran up some hills and since G started running about 20 mins before me, we dropped him off at his house as he was close to 2 hours. N and I kept going then he headed to his sisters house living me to run the last 1.5 miles solo. It was tough, my legs were tired from the snow and I was just cold (it was 21 degrees out but with the wind chill, only 9).  And it was windy at times. So I finally made it home and just stopped instead of trying to finish up another 1.4 miles. I did walk my dogs for about  20 minutes so I think that is about 13 miles today!

12.58 miles 1:57:43 9:21 pace

Considering the extra work to run and all of the snow/ice, the pace wasn't that bad. Glad it's over with! But I'd rather have done this than do 14 miles on a treadmill!!!!

3.25

My kiddos are at grandmas for the weekend. I think since I stay home with them I welcome this free weekend. People ask what we are going to do with all our free time. Get my runs in, organize a few things I never have time to do and just be, go out for dinner and refresh. Weekends like this make me be a better mom! Plus I know my girls are getting attention and l love and having fun.
Since it was so cold out I decided to run at the gym. I gave the beagles a decent walk first because they are my fur babies.
3.25 miles. Did my faster, faster 400m repeats again.
9:13, 8:27 then 7:47 and 7:30. Felt good to push and am anxious to run another 5k soon.
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