Posts Tagged ‘1/2 Marathon Training’

Whew!  The events of the last few days have kept me away from the computer!  Let’s start with the birthday.  No birthday run for the first time in 6 years, all in the name of tapering!  I’m happy with myself for being forced to taper, but I miss running.

 

The birthday-day started off with lunch with my parents…

Totally cheesing it with my parents.  And this is typical of how horrible I look through the work day.  Come home from running in the AM leaving myself 20 minutes to get ready.

We ate an awesome lunch at Papa J’s in Carnegie and fished off with a little cake my parents got at Giant Eagle.  It was sooo cute!  It fed the three of us small pieces and I gave my dad the rest to take home (he loves his chocolate).  I love my parents, they are amazing, and the day could have ended there and I would have been fine…

 

Then I went back to the office and…

the secretaries had gotten me a gift basket of a variety of goodies including chocolate covered oreos (which have Jared’s name all over it!), candy apple, candy pretzel rods, and loads of other yummy confections from a local gourmet basket company, Applelicious!  I was overwhelmed and beginning to feel spoiled!  Shocked!  What a thoughtful gesture and something I certainly was not expecting!

 

With all of the excitement that had just happened, and the packet pick-up pending, it goes without saying my mind was not on work.  Oops!

 

I got to Elite Runners and Walkers and was so excited to pick-up my packet, I forgot my wallet (I was pre-registered, but wanted to get some clifbloks).  The shirt is awesome, and I will certainly give you a better close-up tomorrow!!  The goody bag left something to be desired, but I love the shirt!

Here’s where it gets interesting, or more interesting!

Jared took a half day to meet the plumber to have them clear our mainline, so he was home when I got home.   He said to me “Go look at what the plumbers pulled out of the drain”.  I was not at all interested and somewhat disturbed that they wouldn’t just have thrown it away.  For about 5 minutes we went back and forth on me going to look.  I just refused!  Then I finally caved and saw a Steelers shirt in the bag.  I thought to myself “Some little kid must have flushed their Steelers shirt” but then I noticed a tag on it.  So I walk into the living room where Jared is and I open the bag, still puzzled, and go, “Why would someone flush—“ and I unravel the new shirt and two tickets to the HOME OPENER!  And I yell. “ Ahhh thank you thank you”.  We also had a pass to the HYP Club pre-game buffet.  The game was not a necessity, but honestly a bonus that the Steelers opened on my birthday and I was looking forward to vegging out on the sofa for the night.  I had already had enough excitement for the day!  His company gave him the seats to the game and the ticket to the buffet! 

But wait, it gets better.

After I settle down a bit over his joke, he goes “Hey can you get me a Gatorade” and I oblige and go into the fridge.  I grab him a Gatorade but stop because I see this all wraped up….

Okay.  I am dying at the point.  I cannot handle anymore.  I almost start crying.  I have wanted this braclet for so long.  Not because it’s Tiffany.  Not because it’s uber trendy, but because its simple and silver.  That’s all me right there.  I cannot believe it.  My mom told me I have to take it off to run the race lol.  Judging from how crappy I look going to work everyday, I could stand to have some femininity lol

 

There I am in my Steelers shirt, new bracelet, holding my tickets.  The game was awesome…

 

We got to the buffet a little late, but I enjoyed two big spinach salads with green beans, feta, and strawberries.  I should also say that lunch was a spinach and feta pizza.  And that spinach and feta are my #1 and #2 favorite foods respectively and it’s my birthday and I will eat as much of both as I want.  At least I stayed semi-healthy without having run the past few days.

 

The HYP buffet is at the Carnegie Science Center which is literally across the street from the field, and I captured this awesome picture.  May be the only one that turned out, sadly.

 

Experiencing football is unlike baseball and hockey.  Pittsburgh is an amazing city.  The city was electric last night and has been getting great publicity, from the G-20, to the opening night of football season, we are on fire and it showed just how strong the city is.  I love Pittsburgh.

 

And I love the Steelers. I made good friends with another woman sitting next to us as we were both yelling explicative’s at the top of our lungs.  

 

And omgosh what a game!  I was exhausted, happy, feeling very spoiled.  We left a little after half-time in the 3rd quarter, and I was in bed by midnight.  I slept till seven today (though I did attempt to wake up for a 20 minute run) and was still tired.

 

For tonight, pre-half-marathon, I am in my comfy pants, doing some laundry and getting everything organized.  I will have a night-before post maybe later since I don’t expect to move much from the couch.  In fact, I am waiting for our dinner to be delivered… pizza bagels.  Perfect combo of carbs, fat, and delicious-ness to carbo-load.  I will probably snack on some  cereal tonight, too

I will tell you what, I had thought the only thing I really needed was a pair of headphones before the race.  When I went to the Apple store yesterday, I also asked them to reset my iPod.  For some reason, they diagnosed it as being unable to connect to the syncing cable because it has been water damaged.  What the? 

Have I submerged my iPod before via a bottle of soda that opened in my bag?  Yes, but this was several iPods (and years) ago.  Have I inadvertently washed my iPod?  Yes, but it came back to life, two iPods ago. Have I used this iPod, as careful as ever, being certain to make sure it comes in contact with no water?  Yes, and it still breaks on me.

So the iPod guy offers me 10% off any new iPod purchase or a replacement iPod for $129.  No, fix this one dammit!   Not to mention, I refused to purchase an iPod so this is actually Jared’s iPod that I have now somehow managed to break! F%*k.

My last resort fix is to put it on my speakers and hope it works some magic.  Maybe once its charged it will come back to life.  Here’s to hoping.

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Speaking of electronic devices, I have my camera battery charging.  I want to do a good job of photo blogging the b-day (or, perhaps more importantly, packet pick-up day!

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This’ll be my last time running before the half!  I need my music to help get me going, but I think at this point, I am just so frustrated that I don’t care anymore.

Hi Everyone

Expect a series of posts this week regarding my reflection on 1/2 marathon training.  I am just way too excited about it, and I’ve got a lot to say.  Everyone at my job is asking me about it, Jared told me I’ll do fine, my fellow bloggers have sent their words of support, and I know I can finish, finish with a time that I feel good about, and I cannot wait to cross the finish line.  I’m going to spend some time this week calculating the time I hope to finish by.

Early in the training (week 1-4)

Early in the training, I was concerned more with my work-week (M-F) training than my weekend training.  I could sleep in on the weekends and not miss a run or risk being late for work.  I had been sleeping in a lot during the work week and feeling very frustrated with myself, coupled with the hills, I wasn’t feeling totally confident.  The hills around my house are tough (excited to see what my newly-running sister says), and I had the frame of mind… “Well if I can’t run 3-5 mi training runs on these hills, I will never be able to finish the half”.

Middle of training (weeks 5-7)

Jared and I ran the Run Around the Square.  I still haven’t checked my finish time.  I guess it’s not that important to me at this point probably because a.) I know my side stitch threw my real time way off and b.) A 5k time is never a half marathon time.  But I noticed through this race that I ran the flat part fast and quick and the hills were good to me.  I just happened to get a side stitch going downhill.  That’s my luck though.  Also, I don’t expect my heart rate to be anywhere near 190 BPM (thanks Garmin) during my half marathon.  Though, I haven’t been able to find my HRM chest strap since the race.

Training after the race has been great.  As I’ve said, every long run distance at this point is a new distance.  So today, 13 miles is a new distance, and next week, 13.1 miles will be a new distance. See why I’m running today

My training the last two weeks has been great.  I running longer than usual during the work week (let’s not ask what time I am getting to work, but I blame it on driving Jared as well), and when the half is over, I am going to focus on getting back to where I was in college.  This won’t be terribly challenging, I’m 3/4 of the way there now.

End of training (week 7-now)

Everyone says taper, taper, taper towards the end of training, but I am feeling so good I am literally going to have to force myself to taper.  I am so close to being back to where I was during the work week that I am apprehensive to taper knowing that next week, race week, may be the time that I am finally back to where I was before the training started.  This training has done so much good for me.  I need to remember that once this is over, I won’t be done.  I can start back up where I left “off”.  I am also excited for winter runs and seeing the same people waiting for the bus along my running route.

I also need to realize that I wanted to train for a half to get myself back to where I was before, but it has evolved into much more!  I was always secretly proud of myself for losing the weight, but I guess over the past few years I felt somewhat disappointed that I let myself gain some of it back.  The motivation here is two-fold.  It’s easy (??) to not eat a lot to stay skinny, or exercise to compensate for what you’ve eaten, but it’s different when your motivation is to push your body.  That is always what my motivation has been, and that is why I am only successful when I take that approach to weight loss/maintenance/healthy living.

General Observations:

I can’t believe it took me six years of running to run a half marathon.  I was interviewed for work some time ago, and the reporter asked me what I would accomplish in a few years, personally & professionally, and aside from the obligatory Carnegie answers, I said I want to run one marathon a year.  A marathon is a lot different than a half marathon, and I get anxious to think about running double of what I am going to do today.  That still scares me.  Then again, 13 miles scared me.  I think because when I was “running at my best” I was just trying to run as fast as possible on the treadmill to make sure I got my caloric burn.  I’m not doing that anymore, so I don’t feel restricted.

Also, I realized that you cannot run on a treadmill and expect to train for a race.  Or, at least I can’t.  When I was at my best, I was scared to run on the street.  A million excuses.  I’ve heard them before. But I’m not that person anymore.

I was shocked to realize I could run, having been overweight, I got myself to the point where I could run.  Sure, it was on a treadmill, and it took dedication, and it was hard, but this feels really different.  This is just you, without knowing the incline as you are running it, pushing yourself to maintain a pace (rather than a button on the treadmill).  I’m glad I’m not that person anymore.

Running Goodies I’ve Discovered Along the Way

• Body Glide.  After an 8 mile run, horrible chafing, I invested in this stuff.  Chafing gone
• iPod holder.  Plastic ZipLocks will not keep your iPod dry
• Handheld Water bottle.. These will be great if you can prevent death grips (I discovered I cannot)
• Nike Air Pegasus.  If you were to tell me at the beginning of “this” that I would be running my first 1/2 in a shoe other than Mizuno (hell, or even New Balance), I would have laughed at you.  These are the shoes for me.  I can feel it.
• Hydrabelt.  I don’t know if I’ll be taking this with me along the route or not yet.

Combing years of experience with a new approach

I think a lot of what is driving my success right now is a combination of factors.  I have a new job which I consider a major life change and a great opportunity to change other aspects of my life.  Another factor is weight gain I’ve experienced the past 2-3 years from my other job (and let’s be honest, my body has not reacted well to birth control).  Another factor is not having a treadmill (and being okay with that) or a gym membership to put me on machines.  At this point, considering these circumstances, I have every excuse NOT to exercise when you think about it.  And some days I don’t exercise at all.  But I know that this is the right time to make these changes. Some things stay true through my running:  I need music to start.  I need at least 30 minutes in the morning to sip some coffee and prepare myself mentally.  I sweat =).  I have to run in the morning.  I enjoy Peanut Toffee Buzz Clif Bars before my runs.

At this point in the game, I don’t care if the 5-10 lbs come off.  Sure, I may not be at my ideal racing/running weight, but I am still doing it.

Told ya I was reborn, right?  =)

So after passing out at midnight last night, I somehow managed to wake-up at 6:30, naturally (no alarm) to get ready to run with my sister at 7:00 am.  I was looking forward to having a running buddy.  My sister has attempted to run off-and on the past few years to aide in weight loss.  She’s getting married in a few months, and I am happy she is starting to help remove a few excess pounds.  Coupled with Weight Watchers, I think she will meet her goal.  I am very happy for her.  WW is not something for me.  I tried it for a few days, a few months back, but I’ve lost weight without a diet/tracking system, and I found that marking that I ate 1 tsp of peanut butter was a bit too detailed for me.  Though, the bonus was that apparently running for 45 minutes “burns” 8 points.  I digress.

So I got her to run my hilly route and she did great.  She’s running on a track now, so it’s pretty flat and I told her to start running on hills.  We’ll see if she listens.

When we got back, I made pancakes for everyone with Hodgson Mills Insta-Bake mix.  I added some vanilla and sugar to the batter.  I made 15 pancakes.  3 for Erin, Michael, and I, and 5 for Jared.

Finally!  An excuse to use my Fiestaware Platter!

I portioned mine out and topped two with syrup and one with White Chocolate Wonderful PB.  Delish.

And so we got ready and were off to the Baptism!

It was a nice ceremony,  but Jared and I are not totally religious (sorry if that offends anyone), but we appreciate and respect those who are.  Afterwards, my cousins hosted a luncheon where family and friends gathered.

I couldn’t resist snapping a picture of Jared, he’s just so handsome =).  And the funniest thing happened, my uncles Mother (not on my side of the family, but the only grandparent-esque person left around) said to him “You have red hair” she was so surprised.  He always wears hats.

Pictured here is Michael, Erin, my mom, my aunt, my uncle (x2), and another Aunt.  The family table.  I’m sure you are all familiar.

When we left, I dropped Jared off at home to start some school work and I went to do a quick grocery run at McGinnis Sisters.  I tend to avoid Giant Eagle at all costs on the weekends (except early morning).  We needed milk badly and I chose something other than the store brand, called Brunton Dairy, which is only 20 miles north of Pittsburgh.  It came in a glass jug, which I can recycle or reuse.  I really like this, especially with milk.  And their milk is organic by nature, not by the fee for the Organic license.  Awesome.

After all of the festivities of the weekend, I was tired and plopped myself on the couch.  I ate some Costco Raisin Bran for dinner (breakfast was the theme today) then finished the evening watching I Love You, Man with Jared and Ambrose on the couch.  It was perfect.

As far as today, Monday, goes I have/had a six mile run planned on my normal course route.  It is raining now though and I am getting over the disappointment of that to try to get this run in…

The rest of the week running and rest of life wise looks like…

Monday: 6 mile run, baking, organizing closet

Tuesday: 5 mile run, long work day, meeting at night

Wednesday: 4 mile run, work (or off day)

Thursday: 3 mile run, me & my dad’s birthday, lunch with the parents, pick-up race packet, oh and work

Friday:  20 minute run, work, carbo-load (bagel with peanut butter and banana)

Saturday: 1/2 Marathon!!!, Breakfast with Jared and parents after, volunteering at the Arts and Heritage Festival, sleeping like a baby.

Hope everyone enjoys Monday!

Whew—it’s been a tough week at work.  It has probably been the hardest week of all, because I had one large event happen and some mini-emergencies in between.  As a result, I’ve been working from home several nights this week…

I’ve got a bunch of (self set) deadlines to meet at work today including:

• Finish meeting minutes
• Assemble Council packets
• Copy Council packets
• Go through 1,500 possible rental properties
• Send scope of work to other townships for a joint project

My sister and her fiancée will be in tonight, around Midnight for the long weekend so as soon as I get home from work tonight, I will be going on a cleaning spree.  Whee!

 

My to-do list for tonight includes:

• Laundry
• Clean living room (dust, clean floors, put stuff away)
• Clean dining room (vaccum rug)
• Clean kitchen (clean, scrub floors, put dishes away)
• Clean bathroom (all those fun things)
• “Red-up” guest bedroom
• Clean-out car*
• Run to grocery store to get a few items
• Take dry cleaning(!!!)
• Sleep
• Clean office

I will be so happy tonight knowing that everything from work & here is done.  And I’m exciting for my 13 mile run tomorrow!!  Last long run before the big race (I get butterflies just thinking about it!)