Week Four: Days Two and Three

Day Two: I woke up at a reasonable hour feeling pretty good. Unfortunately sometime after breakfast that good old runner's hangover got the better of me again and I was feeling dried up and worn out so I crawled back in bed for some extra Zzz.
I don't know how I can avoid this! I thought that I did so well with hydrating. Now true, I didn't nap as much the day of the run and I had a late night at work. I'm wondering if that factored into it.
Anyways it wasn't as bad as the ones before at least. Once I got out of bed I decided to do some core training as I haven't done that in a while and then I would get ready to teach my yoga class.
I only did about 45 minutes of abs but that was enough to have me feeling it today! I got a stability ball for my birthday so I am loving the increased challenge to my strength workouts.

Today was meant to be our day for cycling. Cycling days are great because we don't have to start as early. You create your own breeze when riding so you can handle the heat way better than when you are running. I really didn't sleep much again so I figured breakfast would need just a little boost.


Yogurt mixed with whey protein and banana.
Rye bread with natural peanut butter.











Just after I ate I got a message saying that we had to cancel. I was a little relieved because this meant that I could sleep some more before I trained so I went back to bed for an hour or so.
By the time I was up and about again it was too late to go running. It would have been unbearably hot out in the open. If it was earlier I would have run but since that wasn't an option I went with some total body strength training with the focus being a little heavier on the legs.

Since I'm always talking about my strength training and never giving that much detail, Ill share with you what I did today.

I started out with a short stretch and when I felt like my body had loosened up I jumped straight on the stationary bike and did 10 minutes of a moderate intensity cycle with about a minute cooldown.
Then straight into my total body workout. I am not of the belief that you need to be a gym regular to be fit. I do all of my strength workouts at home incorporating both body-weight and free weight exercises into my workouts. I'm not trying to get bulky. I just want lean, strong muscles and I know that everything I need for that is right in my bedroom.

My total body workout was a 500 rep routine that I try to complete with as little rest as possible but still keeping good form. I got this workout from bodyrock.tv and I tweaked it some...

50 backward lunges with a kick. (Lunge backwards with the right leg then power up to standing and kick the right leg up out in front of you as high as you can. Do 25 reps then switch legs)
50 'walking' push ups. (Push up then get back into plank and walk with your feet and your hands one step over to the side. Perform another push up and then walk back over to the side where you started from. Each push up counts as one rep. Alternate between moving left and right)
50 mountain climbers

I wore ankle weights for all of the exercises from this point.

50 Sumo Squats with Knee Lifts (A sumo squat is like a regular squat with a wider stance and sliightly turned out feet. You're still squatting down as low as your flexibility allows. So, sumo squat and then shift your weight to one side raising your knee up. Return to the sumo squat again and do the same on the other side. Each knee up counts as one rep)

50 One Legged Bridge Lifts. (Lay on your back, knees bent. Extend your right leg up in the air and then lift your hips to a bridge position. Your left shin will be parallel to the ground and make sure not to let the bent knee flay out to the side. Complete 25 reps and the switch legs.)

50 Squats with side Leg Extensions. (These are similar to the Sumo Squats with Knee Lifts. Squat down and shift your weight to one side, extending the other leg out to the side. When you lower your extended leg, shift your weight onto that side while squatting and extend the opposite leg. Each leg extension counts as a rep. Remember to stay low)

50 One Arm Side Push Ups. (These are weird and awkward the first time that you do them. Lay on your right side with knees slightly bent. Place your leg hand on the floor next to your right shoulder. Wrap your right arm up and across your chest to hold on to your left shoulder. Now push up with your left arm, raising your upper body off the floor and straighten the left arm. Complete 25 reps then switch sides)


Here is a random woman doing said exercise.
I believe this is her 'I'm not in pain I swear' expression.









50 Star Crunches (Lay on your back and raise your legs straight up in the air. Crunch and reach your arms in between your legs and you let your legs drop open to the sides. Bring your legs back together and rest your upper body back on the floor to complete a rep)

50 Diagonal Squat Touchdown with Jump (Squat, turn your torso to your right side and touch your hands to the floor. Rise up and twist your body in the opposite direction as you reach with both of your arms up towards the ceiling and then jump! Do 25 reps and then switch sides)

50 Side Plant lifts. (From a push up position, shift all your weight on to one arm and rotate your entire body to the side. You'll be balancing on one arm and the sides of your feet and your body will be parallel to the wall. Lift your hips up so that you create a straight line with your legs and upper body. Lower your hips down again – this counts as one rep. Do 25 reps on each side.)


There you go!
Once I finished that I had limited time before work so I just did a small set of exercises for my weight training.

Both circuits 3 times:

20 Side Step squats with resistance band (securely tie a resistance band around your ankles and then step your leg out to the side as far as you can and squat down. Repeat 10 times to the left then 10 times to the right)
8 Slow Squats then 8 smaller Pulsing Squats (28 lbs in weights)
8 Plie Squats then 8 smaller Pulsing Plie Squats (28 lbs in weights)
10 One Legged squats (4 lbs on shoulders)

10 deadlifts
10 Sumo deadlifts (Deadlift in sumo stance with slightly bent knees)
Both deadlifts done with 12 lbs dumbbells.


And that was that. I showered and had lunch and then skipped off to work!
Tomorrow I will either bike ride, run or do upper body weight training. This week got kind of messed up schedule wise but I still got in the three required runs so that's all I'm concerned about. Sunday I am running a hike trail!

More to come!

Lets Keep Moving! Week Four!

My alarm went off at 5:00AM this morning and I made my way to the kitchen contemplating what to make. Today was a 10 mile race simulation run and I wanted to be well fueled. A race simulation meant that I was *supposed* to start at a slower pace and then run my goal race pace for the last 4 miles. I wasn't really hungry at all but there was no way that I was going to run 10 miles on a light breakfast.
While I was mulling over my options I made sure to drink a couple glasses of water because today I was determined to stay well hydrated before, during and after my run. No more runner's hangovers please!
I decided to whip out the spatula for today's pre-run meal.


Oatmeal pancakes drizzled in honey and cinnamon and topped with strawberries.

I wasn't hungry but they were so good that I scarfed them down. I haven't had pancakes in a while!

Water with breakfast.






There were several things that were different today. I stretched about an hour before the run and then right before. It rained very heavily before we got out on the road and a bit during the run. This breakfast was a bit bigger than I usually go for. I pre-hydrated a bit more as well. I ran with Tylenol wrapped in saran wrap tucked in my bra. We planned ahead and dropped off Gatorade about 5 miles into the run. And I felt sick to my stomach initially.

It was a grumpy start for us both actually. My running partner slept very little and and so did I. My car battery died so he was nice enough to get up a bit earlier to pick me up. He was feeling heavy from his meal and I was feeling queasy. We tried to keep the conversation cheery but once we started our first mile we fell into silence with the odd grumble here and there. One thing was for sure. We were very grateful that we jump to 12 miles NEXT week.
After the first mile was over I picked up my pace as usual. My energy suddenly spiked and I noticed that my pace had naturally hastened. I was wondering if I was going too fast and slowed down slightly but my legs were being sneaky and I kept speeding back up. Half way through the second mile took me along the coast and it started to rain lightly again. It was wonderful except that the sea breeze was extremely forceful, so much so that when I ran out from the protection of the coastline trees it knocked me so hard I skid! It was very challenging trying to keep pace against such wind and I was worried that I expended too much energy this early in. I began to feel better though and I kept trudging along at the same speed. I realized that I had gone about 3.5 miles and hardly dented the Gatorade in my hand. I started taking bigger sips as more frequently even if I wasn't particularly thirsty. I wanted to see if it would make a difference in my performance. I may have drank a little more than I needed because I was feeling my stomach sloshing about a bit for a lot of the run...but I rather have too much than too little....I'm thinking that this is a big part of why I get so dehydrated post-run. Oh and I have also just figured out the art of running and drinking at the same time without spilling or snorting my drink. It involves shifting my hips forward a bit and holding my breath while I sip. Its the only way I don't get it up my nose.
When I reached the 4.5 mile mark I was happy to notice that my pace was still going strong. I only finished about half of my Gatorade by the 5 mile mark (though it felt like I drank 10) but I went ahead and picked up the full one instead. My brain got confused when I suddenly switched from lemon-lime Gatorade to the mango flavoured one. It seemed to shock my taste buds more than it should.
When I passed the area where I discovered my bloody shirt last time I saw my time and I vaguely remembered being at that point a little later. I wasn't sure but this was a nice ray of hope and it kept me moving. My pace was still up there and I was feeling more confident by the second. Then came the new gels. The one that we were trying this time was called Honey Stinger and it sure lived up to its name. Mine was chocolate flavoured and I hoped to God that my chocolate gel would not burst in my pants! The taste was just as I expected: murderously sweet honey mixed with chocolate. However this gel took to the heat a lot better. Due to it being so sugary I needed to chug some more Gatorade after to wash it down.



You can get these caffeinated as well but I opted for the caffeine free version.











Not too long after eating the gel I got an unpleasant nudge from my stomach. You know that lower abdominal burn that you get which forewarns you that you're about to spend most of the day getting better acquainted with your toilet? Yeah...well I got that. I tried not to panic but I couldn't stop my mind from racing over the worst case scenarios and the fact that I was wearing tights for goodness sake and my only option would be to run into the sea as there were no bushes nearby. The internet circulated photo of the marathon runner who crapped himself and kept running came to mind and I was dying inside at the thought of it! Was I going to have my first GI mishap on such a good run?! Noooonooonooo please no!!! I knew the run was going too well! Panic-panic-hey keep running you-panic-more panic.
I kept going and to my utter relief the pains starting to fade. No mid-run runs for me this time! Phew! hahaha!
Running past the place where my nail popped up last week I was pleased to see how much more energy I had this time (and the fact that my clothes were still unsoiled). I still have that nail by the way...the nail bed seems to have sank back in place.
The real excitement happened during the ninth mile...I realized that I had reached that point a few minutes faster than last week. And the end was near! I kept the pace until I knew that the finish was about 400m away and then I started to run faster and faster until I sprinted across the finish at one hour and thirty four minutes! The first time I did 9 miles I finished in one hour and forty five minutes so I was thrilled! I've knocked 21 minutes off my time in two weeks!! I threw up my arms in triumph and knocked my shades clean off my head and had to walk back a few meters over the finish to retrieve them. Not what I had in mind but then I ripped off my shoes and dove straight into the sea fully clothed. The sea was rough and cool and it felt amazing to kick lightly and be tossed about by the waves. I then walked up the beach sipping the rest of my Gatorade that I felt too full to finish but figured I needed it. The cool water on my feet was divine! The feeling I had today is so much better than winning any old race. Its the feeling of personal improvement and that was all I needed. I ended up walking the beach more than I wanted to due to some confusion over the pick-up point and on my second and third time down the beach my feet were killing me from the steep incline of the shoreline. I took the soggy Tylenol out of my bra and popped those and they helped after a while. No pain really mattered at that point though. I felt amazing and I had energy to spare. Today was really an encouraging day after the strain of my tempo run. So happy!

I had a couple errands to run after lunch. My post-run lunch was the same as last week. The vegan burger/baked potato combo and then an hour or so after I had an apple with skimmed milk.

I was pretty pooped for my errands and when I got home I had the apple and milk and then plopped on the couch where my cat happily snuggled with me. I'm pretty sure I heard the workmen from next door shouting outside the house but I wasn't moving for anything. I had work at 4PM and it was nap time thankyouverymuch.



Shhh! We're dozing off and take pictures of ourselves at the same time!









A great day of training over. I feel proud of myself. We've been working hard and we're seeing results. My running partner knocked 15 minutes off of his time as well! I had said before the run that if my time continued to get slower I would take a few days off of running to recover to avoid over training but it was quite the opposite! Now I have no excuse to slack off. :P

Oh well! Tomorrow is day two which is scheduled to be an easy run. Depending on how I am feeling I may do the run or cross train but I will definitely be doing yoga.
I'll let you know. ;)

End of Week Three!!!

Wow...week three felt like a marathon in itself!
Today is day seven and its a yoga day. I'm surprised how good my legs feel after yesterday's hillwork considering that I have never done that before. The power of protein I guess!

Since today is a day where I'm not running I won't have any grunts and grumbles to report so I'll use this post to talk about the little tidbits of helpful information and tricks that I have picked up so far and may have forgotten to mention.
(Wow that was a long sentence)

A runners must-have: Vaseline.
Nice legs aren't the only by-product of running. The more miles I put in, the more areas of my body are becoming subject to chafing (heart rate monitor fiasco aside). I've had to start putting Vaseline on my inner thighs so my shorts won't rub away my skin. I also need to put some along the lining of some of my sports bras to avoid unsightly wear and tear and also at the base of my Achilles tendon where my shoe ends. Another long distance nightmare that runners experience is bleeding nipples. Thankfully I have not had to deal with that but it happens mostly to men from the continuous rubbing of their shirts on such sensitive skin. Eventually the skin rubs away and they bleed. Women in badly fitting sports bras or women that run without bras can get this as well. I also heard that cotton sports bras can be the culprit too. How can we avoid chafe? Vaseline the crap out of the problem areas. It may feel gross on your fingers but it will be worth it not having to deal with the nagging sting of gradual chafing.

Another must have: Oragel
Oragel...Anbesol...any of those dental ointments or liquids that create a numbing sensation. Why? For those confounded running blisters or injuries to the toenail that can make your run unpleasant. Once the skin isn't broken you can pretty much use it on anything of that nature. It numbs the area and then you can place a band-aid over it to prevent further rubbing and voila! You're good to go! You can potentially use it on a burst blister granted that you're willing to endure some initial stinging.

Tip: Pre-hydrate
Drink 8 to 16 ounces of water or a sports drink one to two hours before a run. If you forgot an hour before you can have four to eight ounces 30 minutes prior. Why? Even being as little as 2% dehydrated can mess up your performance in the run. Being dehydrated makes your blood volume plummet and that limits your body's ability to carry heat. This makes your heart beat faster than it needs to which makes it that much harder for your body to meet the aerobic demands of your run. As if it wasn't hard enough! I've been reading that keeping your drinks cold also helps maintain a better performance.
"In a study published in 2008 in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, cyclists who drank cold beverages before and during their workout exercised nearly 12 minutes longer than those who drank warm beverages. And in a study published this year, runners who had an ice slushy ran about 10 minutes longer than when they had a cold drink. In both cases, the drink that was colder lowered body temperature and perceived effort, allowing participants to exercise longer."
I haven't tested the theory myself but I know how hard it is to keep my Gatorade cold when I've been running with it in my hand for the entire time! When you have a long run, freeze half of your water/sports drink and then before you head out fill the bottle with the rest. It won't be slushy cold the entire time but it will stop you from guzzling ultra-warm grape flavoured ickyness seven miles in when all you want is a refresher. Another option is to plan ahead and plant drinks in coolers along the trail.

Trick: How to avoid people stealing your cooler while you're running.
If you're like me and adore your cutesy little lunch-box sided cooler you'll be hesitant to leave it out in the open for some sticky-fingered dolt to swipe it so you may not want to go with the plan-ahead option for hydrating. It really is the better option so you don't have any cumbersome water bottles strapped to your hip or in your hand the entire time. So how can we do this without the abduction of our loyal Rubbermaids? If your thought is to hide them, yes that could work but then you'll lose time digging around in the bush trying to find your cooler. My idea is to take a plastic bag and fill it with ice, place your drink in there and tie the bag. You can run up and burst the bag and take your drink and keep on moving with no problem. However MAKE SURE YOU GO BACK AND PICK UP THE PLASTIC. *ahem* This idea works for me because I highly doubt that a roadside wanderer is going to waltz up to a tied plastic bag strewn at the side of the road and check what's inside. At the best of times you'll be confronted by soiled diapers or remains of what probably once resembled a chicken with a few KFC napkins. Point is...its safe and cheap so long as you clean up after yourself. And you'll have lovely icy drinks to keep you going!


Tip: Make peace with carbs.
A lot of people run to lose weight. It's a fulfilling yet easy way to keep yourself active and is very effective when it comes to weight loss. However, too often you see someone hash it out on the road or treadmill, come home half dead and eat a leaf of iceberg lettuce and a couple peas and think, 'Woohooo carbs and protein!' and then later in the day wonder why they feel sluggish, moody and unable to enjoy their day much less be productive. There is a weight loss diet and there is a runners diet. As a runner, carbs are our main source of glucose which is the sugar that our brains and muscles use as fuel. If we don't put fuel in the tank how do we expect to keep moving? I know the days where I haven't had enough carbs. I feel light headed, have low energy, trouble concentrating and I just feel out of balance. I originally felt uneasy about the amount of carbs I was supposed to eat at first but now I know why! Keeping carbs in your diet will allow you to have great energy, accelerate your workouts and keep going during the rest of the day.
But hold your horses. I'm not saying we can go out and inhale a box of donuts just because we ran for half an hour. Studies speak of 'good' carbs. These are high-quality, low-glycemic carbs that are burnt up slowly and slowly release their energy. Examples are whole grains, beans, fruits and veg. Whole wheat waffles are back on the menu! Fast burning carbs like white flour and white pasta are not off limits but they are generally recommended in moderation and only for a pre-run meal. These kinds of carbs are not really that substantial but they have the effect on your blood sugar that gives you a quick burst of energy that's handy before runs.
The point I'm making? Don't league carbs with the Boogie man. And yes you'll still lose weight.

And last but not least...

A runner's must-have: A sense of humour
All of this running has been empowering yet humbling at the same time. Some days I feel like I am on top of the world and some days I feel like dog poop on legs. A bad workout or a workout mishap has a way of knocking me down sometimes. I start off all hyped for my workout and something goes wrong and I feel like someone just wrote 'EPIC FAIL' across my forehead with one of those neon glitter markers. When the training is hard, it's important to look at slip ups and setbacks with a smile. You're running all out and you might squeeze out an symphonious fart. You skid in mud resulting in you prancing like Fred Astaire to find your footing. You're losing a toenail and are starting to feel self conscious in your sandals *cough cough* You've been going for hours and you know you're all flushed and sweaty with mad hair and you bump into that person you only want to see you at your best. What can you really do? Just laugh. All of it is good for you...even the Gatorade you spilled on your crotch.


Oh dear...I think I've picked up that blogger's ranting bug...

Week Three: Day Six

Today is Day Six and this would be the day that I would have done my speedwork on the track. When looking at my training schedule I couldn't get my head around what they wanted me to do exactly. The discription for today's speedwork was this: "2 miles at 10-K pace, 2 x 1 mile at 5-K pace, 2 x 800 meters at slightly faster than 5-K pace, with 5 minutes recovery after the 2-mile and 3 minutes recovery after the miles and 800."
After a long blank gaze and some head scratching I figured that the only way I could do this was on a track. One mile alone equals 4 times around a 400m track and honestly I didn't like the idea of my just running and running and running around the track seeing the same old thing over and over again. It wasn't the kind of workout that I would be enthusiastic about. I also couldn't figure out if the 2 5-K miles were consecutive followed by 2 consecutive 800 meter runs or was it 1 mile-800m-recover-1 mile-800m- recover. I'm thinking its the latter...but that was a lot of running in circles for me to be doing by myself with no headphones or anything.
I remembered reading about how important it is to incorporate hillwork into your training for any sort of running. My half marathon training plan didn't include any of it and I decided that I was going to deviate from the plan today and do my interval training up a hill instead. No running in circles! Yay!

I was supposed to get up at 5:30 today but I ended up getting out of bed at about 5:45. Not that big of a difference but I wanted to be on the road by 6:45 and I needed an hour to digest breakfast...so today was another breakfast smoothie day so I could still get out there early.


Strawberries, oats and almond milk smoothie with whey protein.











Today is also the first day that I've noticed exactly how much my legs have filled out. I now have to put Vaseline on my inner thighs when I wear my shorts because what used to be roomy running shorts are now turning into fitted pum-pum shorts and they are starting to chafe me. I bought them only a few months ago!

I planned out my route so that I could run straight from my house to the hill that I chose to use for my training. This route would take me over a few small hills to start before I ran down the steep one that I chose and there I would turn around and begin the interval work.
I made sure to stretch properly before my run. The first few minutes of my 'easy run' felt like the warm up mile of the tempo session before. I wasn't pushing hard but for a while it felt like I wasn't getting anywhere. When I reached the base of the first small hill I wasn't enthusiastic about running up it but I kept going and was surprised to see that my pace quickened slightly on the incline and I made it over with a bit more confidence. I was wondering if I should just do my hillwork there but the mean coach in me said 'No!'...Jerk. So I had to keep going.
I reached the second small hill which was more of a steady incline than the last and I wondered if I should do my hillwork there instead of the steep hill I chose for myself...but I had gotten this far and I may as well try to run up the big hill. Soon after that I found myself plodding down the steep hill of my choice and wondering how the heck I was going to do this.
My training was to be this: Ten 200 meter uphill intervals. I was going to run 200 meters up the hill as fast as I could manage and then walk or slowly jog my way back to the start and do that ten times. Standing at the bottom of the hill I wondered if I could even do it two times! But there was only one way to find out. I took a deep breath and bounded up the hill as fast as I could. I didn't time myself, but I'm happy with the speed that I worked at. The first 100m was the steepest part of the hill and I always did that the fastest. Once it leveled a little the incline was steadier but I always found that part more difficult. It wasn't the easiest hill but I was doing it.


This is the base of the hill. It curves up and keeps going and going...











This is just about where the first photo cuts off...










Where the other photo cuts off. I stopped about two telephone posts higher than this photo shows.
(taken from my car)






After doing it twice I began doubting myself again but this is where you have to tell your conscience to just shut up and do it...and it really wasn't so bad once I got to the fifth and sixth time. My body seemed to like the new workout and when I approached each interval I felt stronger and a slight indifference to how many more intervals were left. Maybe this is where breakfast kicked in.
I finished all ten and jogged back down the hill feeling proud of myself.
If I had to try to do more I think I could have managed about two more intervals comfortably and then it would have started to take its toll. Ten was enough though and I still had to jog a couple miles back home.
After running that hill over and over the flats seemed to glide under me like I was on a treadmill. The run back was so much easier than the way there and the small hills that I had to go over seemed like jokes. Of course, they were nothing compared to home stretch. I think I must be slightly masochistic. You see, to get to my house you have to go up a monstrously steep hill that a lot of people don't even want to drive up. I still went ahead and allowed it to be the last hurdle of my workout. I ran up to the bottom of my hill and for a moment I stopped and just stared at it. I contemplated walking up it...but my inner trainer piped up again and called me a chicken. And that just wouldn't do. I also realized that this hill was all that was standing between me and a shower, protein shake and a NAP!


The hill doesn't end there. The tree is blocking the last of it.












And yes...I made it up! Huffing and puffing like the big bad wolf I ran straight through my front door into my shower. The whole workout from beginning to end took me about an hour and twenty minutes. I'm so glad that I decided not to go to the track. It was well worth the challenge.

After my shower and protein shake I really wanted to take a nap before work. Just as I started to doze off I heard this very sad little whimper and I turned over to find this:



Play? Play now? Play now Mom? Now? Please? Lemme up then? Help? Can I come up? Now now? Please?










How can you ignore that face? He manged to jump up into the bed followed by the cat and they both proceeded to walk all over me and then harass each other so I had to get up and part them.
No rest for the wicked. Eventually they nodded off side by side. Lucky I had my phone handy.

The cat is plopped on his favourite sleeping place, my laptop. You can see a print out of my training plan under the Daily Bread book.

They slept more than I did...
But yeah...what more do you really need after a run than a heavy helping of pet cuteness?







Then off to work! I nibbled on some rye bread and peanut butter as a mid-morning snack and then lunch was more grocery sushi as I didn't have time to cook. The sushi was a plain salmon roll and then I had a large orange not too long after.

The power nap was just enough and I feel refreshed! On to the rest of day six!

Tomorrow is Day seven which is yoga yoga yoga!

P.S...my backside is on fire.

Week Three: Days Four and Five

Daaay Four. Back to running.
We didn't rise as early as usual for this run and I'm not sure why. We were scheduled to do a 5 mile moderate tempo run with a mile warm up and cool down. That's seven miles in total. Seven didn't seem so bad after the eleven miles but it's still a considerable distance.
I woke up to a light morning rain outside and I was hoping the skies would be good to us and save some of it for the middle of our run.
My breakfast was the same as the day before. I had liked the energy I felt during the bike ride and I figured I was go for it again today.


Yogurt mixed with protein powder with strawberries, banana and dried cranberries tossed into the mix.

Water with breakfast again.








We set out at 8:00Am and my running partner and I both felt that the warm up mile was way harder than it should have been. We just didn't have the give we felt we needed...and today was a tempo run! Our knees were slightly sore (they usually feel a little stiff at the beginning of runs though), our energy wasn't where it should be and we knew that we were in for a tough run.
The workout was that we ran a warm up mile and once we reached the mile mark we would then have to increase our speed to a moderate tempo and keep that pace for five miles. Yikes. It also dawned on me during the first mile that braininess me forgot to STRETCH before I started! Once we reached the end of the first "warm up" mile that felt like it should have been the last of the seven I stretched there. Neither of us were looking forward to the next five miles. We grumbled and groaned about it on the way there but once it was time to do we knew we just had to get it over with. Not the attitude that I like to have when it comes to exercise but my body was not cooperating.
I ran the five miles at the best pace I could. I knew that it was not as fast as my moderate pace usually is but there was no way that I was going to push harder. I wanted to make sure that I could finish and I was feeling it enough. We went a new route this time too which had a lot of inclines and what felt like too few declines. It was also searing hot out that day and I was feeling every bit of it. By the time I reached the turn around point at 2.5 miles into the tempo section I reeeaaallly wished that it was over already but I headed back to base with the encouraging reminder that the way back doesn't always feel as hard. I'll be honest and say that it was marginally easier. The longer we were out there the hotter it got and the elements were licking into me. The sun was beating down, I had to run straight into a strong wind that didn't seem to cool me at all, the pavement was steamy, buses didn't want to leave room for me and I had to dash off the road a few times resulting in my foot going down in a hole...which could have been very bad...and all in all it was just tough. I finished the 5 mile tempo section in 47 minutes. Honestly I thought that my time was going to be much worse. I dragged my feet all the way back on the last mile and I was so happy to see home base. Seven miles is no joke...even when you did eleven.
For the past few workouts I've been having a different protein shake other than the myoplex.



EAS AdvantEDGE Carb Control.
It comes in strawberry too <3












After that I headed home for a quick nap before lunch with my family. It was my belated birthday lunch and I was excited because that meant more sushi!!!


Spicy salmon rolls with tuna sashimi.
*drool*












Sorry about the quality of that shot. I take all of these on my phone and the exposure is hit or miss.

I was pretty worn out after that run. I had to nap again after lunch and get up in time for the afternoon sound check for a concert we were having that evening. Another long day and I didn't fuel up properly because from 3:30 to 9:30 I didn't have anything to eat because we were so busy and then the food spread after the concert didn't have anything I could eat (everything breaded and fried) except some fruit and veg that my stomach burned up almost instantly. I got home like a ravenous bear and commandeered the kitchen until I started to feel even remotely human again. I was so hungry I felt to throw up and pass out at the same time. I should have been smarter and put the granola that I brought in my purse and not left it in the car that I could not get to. I didn't feel better right away once I ate and I crashed face down in my bed in my clothes and didn't move until my stomach was begging for more food again an hour later.
Note to self: Stay human. Pack food.

Day Five I did some body-weight training followed by upper body weight training. I would have spent the day in a wheelchair to avoid the use of my legs if I could. Most of my workout targeted everything from the hips up. My legs needed to rest up for day six...speedwork!

Week Three: Days Two and Three

I woke up the day after the 11 mile run with what I am now dubbing a 'runner's hangover'. I didn't drink the night before but I woke up dehydrated, nauseated and with a headache. I spent most of the day crawling between my bed and the fridge, eating something, drinking water and then passing out on my face again. Its very frustrating when you spend all day drinking water after the run to wake up like that regardless. I think that the day of the run I need to drink more electrolyte enhanced beverages in place of some of the water. I really can't manage another day like that if I am expected to train. Its not fair to my body.
I dragged myself out of bed at 3Pm because I had to teach a class later in the evening and I needed to make myself useful before I left the house. I felt nauseated up until about 8PM no matter how much I ate. I did an hour of yoga with my students and that was enough. Then dinner, concert rehearsals until 10:30 and bed again.

Today is day three of week three and it was scheduled to be a moderate tempo run totaling to seven miles. My running partner and I didn't feel like we could do seven miles so soon after the big run so we decided to switch day three with day four and make today a cross train day.
We were going to go cycling!! WooOooOoo!

I still had the issue of my stubborn toenail still hanging in there and causing problems to deal with. My friend gave me the idea of rubbing the cuticle with Oragel to numb it and then using band aids to cover it. The Oragel was a pretty clever idea as it did numb the area and it didn't feel as awkward having the nail pushed by the shoe.



The joys of running...
The nails are blue because I couldn't stand the sight of the discoloured nail initially. This was before it I damaged the nail bed. I can't say that having the nail painted blue makes it look any more bearable at this point. :P












Today's breakfast felt yummier than usual. Maybe because I was secretly grateful to get a break from running after the disaster of the day before.


Plain yogurt with whey protein tossed with strawberries, banana and dried cranberries.

Just water with breakfast today.










I wouldn't call myself an experienced cyclist in the least. In fact, today would be the second time that I have been on a bike (that wasn't stationary) in eleven years. My running and now cycling partners are all very good and they gave me a crash course on the gears. My friends have really been wonderful by the way. The bike I was using belongs to a friend of mine who is away and he was so enthusiastic about letting me borrow it for training. Its just so kind of him. His sister and partner are my training buddies and they've really made this whole experience so much more enjoyable and FULL of laughs. I feel very grateful.
Once I managed to mount the bike without letting it fall on me we headed out for a ride that turned into a 19 mile cycle. It was amazing though. It's so different to running. There is no impact, the breeze is fantastic, and you feel so free whizzing about on two wheels. At first I had a little trouble with the gears and I ended up making my bike chain come off. My friend showed me how to fix it and then we were off again. Thankfully it didn't happen again.
The roads here are terrible for biking though. My novice skills didn't really help and I managed to ram into what felt like a million potholes. I also didn't know the art of cycling through puddles. I didn't realize that you had to speed up when going through them and one section of the road was particularly dug up and the holes were full of muddy water. I tried to slowly teeter my way over the ridge between two holes but went too slow and my bike tipped. *Insert girlish squeak*
I stuck my leg out to support my bike and I ended up getting my shoes all wet and muddy. Yuck.
It was pretty funny though. My friends had a good laugh at least. :P
A few miles in I was wondering how long I could keep up with all of this pedaling. 19 miles seemed like a long way to be doing something that I wasn't used to but once we turned around after about ten miles my adrenaline was flowing and I pedaled my tail off. It felt amazing. It was kind of hot though as we started later and I now have another set of lame-o tan lines from my vest and cycling tights. I was as happy as a dog enjoying a car ride with the wind in its face. I almost lost my hat a few times. I haven't quite developed the one handed hold on the handle bar skill so I had to fix my hat with hasty slaps to the brim and quickly grabbing the bars right after. I must have been a sight. :P
We got back with rosy cheeks, splashed with mud, empty water bottles and big smiles on our faces. So glad that we made the call to switch the activities today.

Lunch was another slap together as I was starving.


Morningstar Farms vegan burger, avocado, tomato and onion drizzled in garlic mayo that I made from scratch.
Baked spicy sweet potato chips.
Carrot and cucumber sticks (I ate all the cucumber and some of the carrots before I took the shot)







My muscles were stunned by the new activity later in the day but I'm not as tired as if I did a tempo run. We'll get to that tomorrow.

Tonight's dinner was a specialty of mine.


Roasted sweet potato gnocchi with green beans, watercress nuts, red pepper, broccoli, onion, sugar snap peas and carrots in a tomato, garlic, oregano and basil sauce.
It also has soy cheese melted on top.

I drank the green tea before I ate :P








What a great cross train day. I feel refreshed and ready to run again tomorrow. A well needed break I'd say!

11 Mile Haul

Day one of Week Three started off with a bang for sure. We were upping the mileage of the big run again by two miles. Something must be a little wrong with me because I woke up at 5AM completely excited for the run. It also happened to be my birthday and I thought that it was a wonderful way to begin a new year.
11 miles wasn't going to be over too quickly so oatmeal was my fuel of choice as I find it carries you a long way once you give yourself time to digest.


This is oatmeal with apples, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg.

The drink is vanilla almond milk with protein powder (too sweet for me! I couldn't get the plain almond milk)







I mentioned before that I was worried about losing my nail so I followed a friend's suggestion of wearing two pairs of socks and I decided to add a little extra padding by putting a thin bit of cotton over the toe between the two socks. I jumped about a bit to see if my toes had enough wiggle room with all the extra layers and it seemed fine so I packed up the rest of my gear and I was off!

My running partner was able to get us some gels for this run and we were really going to need it. We had a small selection but we both ended up going with the gels by Power Bar. The one I got was strawberries and cream flavoured! I tucked it into my shorts (saying a small prayer that the pouch would not explode while I was running) and we hit the road by 6:30 AM.


This was taken after the run. Mustn't litter you know...












So, I didn't feel as energetic for this one as I did on the nine mile run. We started out at a super easy pace for the first mile and then as per usual, we split up into our respective paces. I decided to run at a slightly faster pace than last time because I really kept it light for most of the nine mile run. I didn't feel like I was pushing hard but I knew I was going faster than before. Last time I was focusing only on finishing and this time, though finishing is the main focus, I wanted to at least attempt to finish at a good time. I was fully prepared to slow down if I felt it was too much though.
By about 2.5 miles I was a little bummed by my low energy from the beginning. I was nervous that I wasn't going to make the full eleven. Also my heart rate monitor strapped on to my torso was chafing me a bit and I had to keep tucking my sports bra over and under it to stop it from rubbing on my skin. No matter how much I adjusted it it kept rubbing irritatingly. My pace, though faster, was still easy so I kept going and decided to think about something else. We started much earlier today so we had a lovely morning light around us and the air was much cooler. Even though I have plodded through the area before it seemed more enjoyable in the morning. Before I knew it I had reached the 4.5 mile mark by the church and my endurance had kicked in. My doubts about not finishing started to fizzle away. Once you reach a turn around point where you begin to run back to where you started from, you gain a new sense of confidence. 'I've made it this far. This isn't so bad at all! I'm really doing this!'
I don't mind starting off doubting myself because it keeps me from trying to play superwoman and push myself to stupid limits. I think my brain has outsmarted my ego that way. :P
(the 4.5 point was the half way point of the 9 mile run which is why we turned back there. We were doing the same route except this time once we reached back by home base we were running past it in a different direction and back again to add the extra two miles)
So I'm on my way back, reaching about six miles and I look down at my display unit for my HRM on my wrist and happen to notice my shirt. I was running with Gatorade in my hand and at first I wondered if I had spilled Gatorade on myself. When I realized what it was I was in shock. Blood! My monitored rubbed my skin clean off until I bled through my shirt! I slipped the monitor down around my stomach and it still continued to detect my heart rate so that was fortunate but I couldn't believe how much blood was on my shirt. I was contemplating taking off my shirt and running in my sports bra but I decided that one would be less likely to abduct a bleeding runner than one running around with no shirt on. Once I had moved the monitor I thought that was going to be the end of my troubles. The shock of my discovery kept me plenty distracted for a while and I had covered a good distance when I started to pay attention to where I was again. I chocked down my hot PowerBar gel at this point. It was super warm and sticky though the taste was lovely. It was WAY better than the stupid banana I had the last time. Nearing the end of seven miles I really started to feel my padded toe hurting. I kept going, trying not to bang my toe too hard against the front of my shoe with each stride but then all of a sudden I felt a sickening pop and a strange pain at the base of the nail. I knew my nail had lifted off the nail bed and it was so uncomfortable running. It started to hurt more and more as I kept going and I was feeling very distressed. For the first time I really wanted to give up. I was considering stopping at the nine mile mark but even getting there was looking bleak as my toe started to hurt more and more. I stopped for a moment to shift my shoe around a bit to change the point where my toe was hitting and that helped a good bit actually. I kept going and the more I ran the less I noticed my toe. I used my heel a little more on that foot with each stride and it helped alleviate the banging. I was nearing the nine mile mark when the gel kicked in. I was tired, but I had reached nine miles faster than I did last time and the last two miles didn't seem so impossible. I felt optimistic up until the tenth mile. This part of the trail made us run past a beach and it was difficult to not just abandon mission and race into the sea. With 1.5 miles left to go my energy petered again and I slowed my pace. It became a mind over matter mission. You reach a point when running long distance where your body hits a wall and you...just...ache. This is where the discipline comes in. You're doing this and you have to finish it. And I did. I even quickened my pace in the last 400m and did a dash to home base. I sat down feeling as though I must be slightly insane to be doing a half marathon and I was disheartened to find upon taking off my shoe that my nail was still connected at the front but raised off the bed in the back...hanging on for dear life from the wrong end. I wish it just came off entirely because this was much more uncomfortable. I must admit though that I am HOPPING VEX that I am losing my nail because I really hate the sight of missing nails. *sigh*
This was definitely my most difficult challenge yet. I sat down poking my raised nail bed to stop it from stretching the cuticle (paaain), shirt still bloody though slightly washed out from the sweat and feeling like an utter wreck for the first 20 minutes. Once I had my protein shake I started to get my second wind and I was thankful that my toenail hanged in for my birthday night at least. :P It was incredibly hard though....and I'm still pissed about losing my nail. Yes, I'm vain like that. Haha



You can see where I slid my monitor down to. I had sweat a good deal at this point so the stain wasn't as bright as when I first saw it. But jeeze man!









To add to my fatigue, I had to go home and cook. I couldn't get my sushi stand-by as I was going to have sushi for dinner and I didn't want to spoil the treat. I went home and hastily slapped together lunch.

Morningstar vegan burger with soy cheese and veg wrapped in lettuce.
A baked potato.
Mixed melon salad.



I picked at a few things in the fridge after as I was still hungry.





After that I carried out my birthday ritual of watching The Little Mermaid although this was the first time that I did it with my foot in a bucket of ice. I actually passed out about 5 minutes into it. I swear, it's only after a long run you can fall asleep with your foot in a bucket of ice...
I woke up with my foot totally numb, just in time to catch the last ten minutes of the movie and ball like the goof I am. Disney movies make me cry to begin with. Add the enhanced emotions from my state of fatigue and I was doomed from the time I pressed 'play'.

Once I ate more I caught myself and went on with my day. It really was a lovely birthday and I went to bed feeling accomplished, (but still miffed about my toe :P) face hurting from laughing and feeling stuffed full of sushi. Good times.

Week Two OVER! (FAQ)

Week two feels like it flew by! I am now in day seven of Week Two which I will make a yoga day.

Yesterday was another cross train day. Thankfully I did not work until the evening because I was very worn out when I first woke up and I ended up sleeping in considerably. It was just the catch up rest that I needed because once I was up I felt like myself again and was ready to do some strength training.
My routine started off with a 10 minute warm up on the stationary bike and then about 30 minutes of finish-me-as-fast-as-you-can body weight exercises. From there I just did a few select weighted exercises for my legs to build mass and that was that. Went to work and came home and zonked out. Yay sleep.

So this ends the second week of training. Though my comment section is rather bare (hint hint. Haha) I have been getting personal messages from people asking questions about training, diet and such. I figured that since I don't have much to post today I will make it an FAQ page of sorts. These are the questions that you've been asking and here are my answers in case anyone else is wondering the same thing and is too afraid to ask!

Q: Are you counting calories?

A: No. I counted on the first day to make sure that I was eating about 2000 calories in my day but honestly its such a pain in the rear that I don't want to have to do it every day. After my first day of counting I got the general idea of what it takes to take in the desired amount of calories and after that I simply eat intuitively. I eat what I feel for, when I'm hungry. This doesn't mean that I eat a huge pizza because I'm craving it. When I say, 'what I feel for' I am speaking more in terms of portion size and type of meal. I ask myself questions like, 'Do I feel like I need more carbs?', 'Do I just feel for something light?', 'Am I really hungry or just thirsty?' 'What will I be doing in the next couple hours?'...things like that. This is what works best for me and allows me not to be agonizing over silly numbers and just enjoy my meal.

Q: Are you trying to and have you lost weight?

A: No way and no. In fact I am trying to put on muscle. And I have actually. I have put on about 4-5 lbs since I started it's all from muscle gain. This why I on cross train days I usually select strength training as my exercise of choice because I want to keep building lean muscle. This is also why I do not want to participate in a full marathon. I know that I would not be able to maintain a healthy weight putting in that kind of mileage. Don't think that if you decide to train for a half marathon that you will put on weight though. Remember, I've tailored the training program to my goals and I am eating in ways to ensure that I don't lose weight and that I can still build muscle while doing all of this running.

Q: What protein powder are you using?

A: BioPure 100% Whey Protein Isolate


Product info: http://www.vitacost.com/Biochem-Sports-BioPure-Whey-Protein-Isolate


















Q: Aren't you tired?

A: I'm human so on some days I feel a little tired of course. Especially on days where I have lots of other things to do along with work and training. It's funny though because I've cut out coffee and I have more energy for it. Once I make sure I am eating to support my day's activity then I can manage just fine without caffeine. Training in the sun has its effects though. I usually like to have a wee nap if I can just to recharge on the hotter days or days where I run 6+ miles.

Q: Are you going to post before and after photos?

A: I toyed with the idea at first but then after some thought, I decided that I didn't like the message that it would send. You see, the point of my endeavors is not to transform my body. I started this because I wanted to see if I could reach the level of fitness to run a half marathon. I know that my body is going to change from all of the new and added training and I'm excited to see the aesthetic fruits of my labour but its not my focus. I love to run. I feel blessed that I have the strength to throw on some shoes and break out in the open air with the wind in my face and just...run. It's exhilarating, liberating, inspiring and I can almost feel my heart stretching with a kind of enjoyment that I can't explain sometimes. Sounds melodramatic but I really love it that much. Mobility is a blessing, and even more so to be able to expand the limits of it. I took on this challenge because I wanted to take my blissful Sunday 'fun runs' to a new level, not turn into track star Barbie.
When you approach exercise, do it because you want to do something good for yourself and not because you want to attain the perfect body. We're all built differently and if you are one of those people with a photo of your face taped on someone else's body on your fridge, it may seem harsh of me to say but no matter how much tape you use, that's not going to be your body and that's a GOOD thing. Your body is built the way it is for a reason and it suits you perfectly. When you take care of your body with nurturing it inside and out with healthy food, exercise and a positive, loving and understanding attitude towards yourself...that's when you'll get the best results inside and out. Be good to your body and it will be good to you. It took me some time to learn this and now its my message to you.

Q: What are you going to do once the half marathon is over?

A: Honestly I have no idea. Make another blog? :P I just want to make sure that I finish this race to my best ability! One thing at a time! Haha!
However, I'm not going to stop running as long as I can help it!


So...these are the questions that have been coming up more than others. If you have any more, please feel free to contact me with them via email, comment, Facebook...whatever. I don't have to answer them on the blog and I'm happy to answer whatever you may want to know.

I'd just like to thank EVERYONE for their support so far! You've been brilliant! <3

Tomorrow: Week THREE beings. My birthday! And an eleven mile run...

Week 2: Day Five

Day five...was brutal.

Yesterday was a rest day and I managed to get a wonderful, leisurely evening nap after work and before I went out to choir practice. The evening ended up being a combination of loud karaoke, tylenol and sugary sorbet and for a hyperactive person that resulted in me not exactly sleeping much.

I woke up this morning after very little sleep, not tired but not exactly refreshed. I've had problems with insomnia for years so my body is used to very little sleep. If I was physically tired I would have skipped today's speedwork but I felt pretty good so I hopped out of bed at 6AM ready for another training session.

I really wasn't hungry this morning and I wanted to get to the track by 7AM. Since the rule is that I need to wait at least an hour before running after a mini-meal, today's breakfast of choice was a smoothie. One can generally run 30 minutes after a liquid breakfast.


Banana, cherry and oat smoothie with whey protein and about 1 tbsp pecans.












Today, just like last Sunday, was speedwork so I headed out to the track again to do my first session of 'Yasso's 800s'.

This was similar to last week's only that I would be running 800 meters 7 times, trying to make my best time as possible. The running would be just like my last hard tempo run. The agenda was, warm up for 10 minutes, run seven intervals of 800 meters taking half the time that it took me to complete the interval to recover. (So if I ran 800 meters in five minutes I would get to rest for 2.5 minutes before I ran another 800 meters).

The track was a bit busier today as there were some men being trained as referees. I stopped to watch them doing their flag drills just before I started my stretch. I had on my heart rate monitor again today and I warmed up at an easy 140 or so bpm (beats per minute). Then came the speedwork. I gunned it around the track for the first interval. My heart rate monitor was showing a flashing 194 bpm by the time I had reached the 200m mark. I didn't feel like I had pushed myself any insane amount until I had to try and do it again 1.75 or so minutes later.
The second interval was not as fast at the first but by the third I was wondering if I could really do all seven. I think I graced myself with a sliiightly longer recovery time than half of my intervals but I figured if that's what it took to complete today's task then so be it. I could feel that I wasn't my strongest today though and it's simply from lack of sleep. I really need to wise up and not stay out late when I know I have such an early rise to train. Oh well.
I made it in the end. I approached the seventh interval with great relief since by this point I was really starting to feel each lap. One thing about running though is that you have to discipline yourself to push through such discomfort. You don't run on a sprained ankle but when you feel like you want to cop out before the finish you have to remind yourself that you can do this....because you can. Its hard work but this is how you find out what you are made of. You may surprise yourself.
I ran my last 800m as fast as I could (which still wasn't as fast as the first) but when I reached the last 100m mark nearing the end of the last lap I thought, 'Okay...we have to at least beat your last interval time...' and I ran like my underwear caught on fire until I made it over the finish line, my heart rate monitor happily beeping away, telling me what was painfully apparent to me by the third interval: I was definitely working over 180 bpm. I looked down and was shocked to see that in my last sprint I got up to 202 bpm. So I now know my maximum heart rate is higher than the standard 200 bpm.
I walked a recovery lap which felt more like a victory lap and then slowly jogged two more to cool down. In my cool down jog I was joined by a gentleman who works for FIFA and he was curious about my training. I actually bought it for a moment that he was interested in my running times but it turned out that the only numbers he was really after were my age and phone number. He was nice enough to at least glance at my interval times and make a few kind remarks. :P Oh well...I'm not exactly on the road to be discovered as a track star or anything so what do I really expect? :P There was also an annoying amount of girl and boy scouts on the track blocking my way during the last quarter of my session. Some of the girls were even so irksome as to walk linked arm in arm across the track in a red rover line and I had to keep asking them to move to the side of the track. This annoyed me because the added effort of talking constantly during the speedwork had me feeling a little more out of breath than I liked. Oh well...I can securely say that I did my best.

My interval times were pretty good considering:

1st 800m: 00:03:21

2nd 800m: 00:03:31

3rd 800m: 00:03:37

4th 800m: 00:03:37

5th 800m: 00:03:44

6th 800m: 00:03:41

7th 800m: 00:03:39

Next time I am going to aim to get all of them below 00:03:30.

After getting yelled at for asking the man in the truck who hemmed me into my parking spot to kindly move, I made my way home and crashed out on my bed for an hour. I had already had my protein shake so I wasn't hungry. I still had a lot to do today so I could only afford an hour's rest before I got up and ate another mid-morning, mini meal. I still wasn't really hungry but I wasn't about to go out for a couple hours and risk feeling faint so I made it another light one.


Banana, peaches and yogurt with Japanese green tea.












The next stop was church. Its important to me to make sure that even though I am putting all of this time and effort into training that I still remember to make time for my source of real strength. Its so easy to get consumed in all of these fitness regimes and think you're a superhero because of all that you are physically achieving. The thing is, I know that I wouldn't have the strength to do any of this without my faith...so if I can drag myself out on a track after three hours sleep, I can go at attend mass after four hours sleep. But the deacon did take too long during the homily so I left early but yeah...its the thought that counts.

After: some more racing around and a quick lunch.

Brown rice stir fry with red beans, carrots, parsnips, spinach, lentils and egg whites.

No I did not eat the plant.











Then I had to hightail it down to a promotional photo shoot for choir where we all parked up on the side of a hill by the sea with a FANTASTIC view and did some small group shots and then everyone joined together. Part of the charm of the photo was that there was to be lovely uncut grass blowing in the breeze around us. I happened to miss this memo and still had a bit of a run-buzz and was unabashedly hyper. Once our group shot was taken I made the mistake to trudge up the hill through the grass in the frame making a neat little Anna trail through the untouched grass. Sin of sins. The photographer looked like he wanted to roll me down the side of the hill. Whoops! I was wondering why everyone was going up the long way...
Needless to say I calmed down a bit after that. Shame is a wonderful sedative!

The view!!














Then this photoshoot made me shamefully late for work which I rushed to at warp speed and is where you find me now, rather tired, contacts dry and sticking to my eyeballs and ever so slightly groggy. Okay who am I kidding...I'm grogzilla. So tired right now. Can't wait to go home and sleep!

Tomorrow...day six!

Also...my nail is bruised from my shoe and I am worried that I may lose it! The nail is short as it is so I don't know if cutting it any shorter will help. Ugh, it's like ballet all over again! I wonder if I wear my old gel toe pads from ballet if that will help...I think it may mess up my stride though. Pooh. Will have to keep a close eye on that or start shining up all my closed in shoes!

Week two almost over already...wow.

Week 2: Days Two to Four!

I woke up on Day Two, the day after the nine mile run, with a monstrous headache. I couldn't believe that I was dehydrated! I spent the rest of the day after the run drinking water constantly up until 11:30 at night and I still woke up feeling all dried up. I spent most of the morning nursing myself into a human from my raisin-like state and then once I did my stretch I felt great! Did a quick cross fit session in the evening to get the juices flowing again and decided to save my upper body weight training for Day Three.

Day Three started with a 6:00AM rise after a not-so-restful night but I still felt prepared for the day's challenges ahead. Before I even got out of bed I had to test my Resting Heart Rate with my new Polar Heart Rate monitor. I'm not sure how accurate the reading would be considering my lack of sleep but the reading was 77. When testing for your RHR (resting heart rate) its best to do it on three different days and then take the average. This was my first day testing so since I did not know my exact numbers I figured that I would work with the general outlines for someone my age. That would be a Maximum Heart Rate (meaning how many times your heart can beat per minute) of about 200 and then work within the percentage zones during the workout. I'll explain more later.

Today's run was a 'Tempo' run and not as long so I didn't feel for a heavy breakfast this time.



This is a banana and egg white omlette (don't knock it 'til you try it) with cinnamon and a slice of wheat free pumpernickel bread.

The drink is almond milk with whey protein powder mixed in.









We want to start our runs earlier and earlier these days because the heat has been unbearable. We did some light stretching and then were out on the road by 7:30.

Today's mission was a 'hard intensity Tempo' run. We were to start with a warm up mile and then once we finished that we began the tempo section. During the warm up mile I would want my heart rate monitor to indicate that my heart is working between 120 and 140 beats per minute. This is about 50%-60% of my Maximum heart Rate (MHR) and is considered the energy efficient or recovery zone and it's pretty much where you want to be for a warm up or cooling down after working at a high intensity.
My heart rate monitor is worn around the torso just under the bust line and I think I'm going to need to pin it to my bra as I'm kind of small and the strap only just fits. The display unit is a neat little watch!
















The tempo section of the workout would only be twenty minutes but it's twenty minutes of vigorous effort. Not 100% maximum burnout and almost kill yourself effort but about 80%-90% effort. If I ran at an effort any higher than that I would only be able to hold that speed for probably under a minute at most. Think explosive sprinting.
Now back to the tempo section. Basically after the warm up mile I would have to run my tail off for 20 minutes trying to keep the same pace and working within my 80%-90% MHR zone. Sounds easier than it is. We decided to run out from the mile mark for 10 minutes and then turn back to complete the other 10. I set my Target Heart Rate alarm to go off on my watch if I went above 180 beats per minute which I thought was my 90% mark but I discovered during the run that it was actually about 190. Remember I was just working with the general numbers and not my own personalized zones. I'm going to have to take a VO2 test I think...
Anyways the beeping worked out because I knew that as long as it kept beeping I was working where I should be.
So we finished our warm up mile and stretched quickly. Then we proceeded to run as though we were escaping a zombie attack. The first five minutes weren't so bad but once I reached ten I realized what a challenge it really was. I've always been running on feeling and guessing at whether I kept the same pace throughout but now that I had this little sucker beeping away on my arm I would have to catch myself and push harder when it went quiet. I did well keeping the steady pace though...even when my heart rate monitor slid down a bit and wasn't detecting my heart beat I managed to keep a good pace while fixing it. Once it caught my beats again it was at 167 so I just sped up a bit again now that I wasn't wriggling the strap up under my bra and including a few bunny hops to help it on the way. I ended up at the mile mark almost exactly at the end of the 20 minutes (I was about 10 seconds off) and we had another mile cool down before reaching back at home base. After calculating our mileage it turns out that I did about 3, six minute miles. Of this, I am proud! Haha!

I had my usual protein shake, taking care to SIIIPPP it this time and by the time I got home it was too early for lunch so I had a post run snack.



Granola, banana, cherries and skimmed milk.













I had a nap and woke up feeling very fatigued. I wasn't sure how I was going to get all of my errands done plus my weight training but once I actually got up, moved around and ate some more I thought, 'Oh hello energy.' I ended up finishing everything I had to do and powering through my strength workouts doing better times and steadier reps with shorter recovery times (indicated by heart monitor) than I ever have...all in time for a little love from the sun. I'm loving the effect that all of this endurance training is having on my strength workouts. It really goes to show how important it is to mix things up!


Giving my poor feet a little rest and trying to correct my ridiculous pants tan that has made my legs three tones: Pale on the upper thigh, darker on the quads and bronze the rest of the way down from the tops of my knees. Sheesh.

Great way to cool down after a busy day.








And so ended day Three!

Today is Day Four and I am taking it as a rest day. Its a scheduled cross train day but I have speed work tomorrow and I am going to give myself a break after all of that work yesterday!

Pity I am 'resting' at my office desk. :P
Ho hum...

More tomorrow!! x

Week Two Begins!

And so Week Two of my Half Marathon efforts begins.

Last night I got a call from my running partner that deflated me somewhat. He said, 'Okay so I have good news and bad news. The good news is that we are still on for 9 miles tomorrow. The bad news is that we miscalculated last week's 'Big run' and we only ran about 5 miles instead of six...'
**^%$#@*%**#^AAAAAaaah!!!!!!!!!... >.<

This was really a kick in the teeth because:

a) We were now behind in our training and since we only did about five miles in our last 'Big Run' we would be increasing our mileage 40% instead of the recommended 30%

b) All of our time and pace calculations were wrong so we were actually slower.

c) I'm not as bad ass as I thought.

So this was all pretty disheartening and I began to doubt if I could even finish the nine miles. I initially wanted to decrease the run to eight miles but the course was already cut and you know what? Yeah, we made a mistake and miscalculated, yeah we are a little behind...but so what? You just have to roll with the punches. It's better than we find this out NOW instead of cruising along through our training thinking that we're putting in the right distances and then get a nasty shock on race day.Business as usual! We were going to do the nine miles at our best effort!...with a hearty pre-run helping of humble pie. Haha!

I woke up a bit earlier than usual because I wanted to have a slightly heavier breakfast before the run. I was going to need all the energy I could get! However, I had absolutely no caffeine.

This is a medium sized baked apple drizzled in agave nectar, nutmeg and cinnamon and stuffed with granola.

The drink is almond milk with whey protein mixed in.







I had this meal an hour and a half before my run which turned out to be a good idea as I felt very full after eating it but once I hit the road I felt loaded full of energy as though I could have power run the whole thing. Not the case (or advisable) but that's what it felt like. This is my favourite pre-run breakfast so far. I also think the lack of dairy helped a lot too. It didn't really dawn on me until today that even though I can handle skimmed dairy products in moderation, it still affects me and I shouldn't be putting any extra strain on my body when I am expecting to perform at its best for such long periods. That's hard enough!

Another thing is that it's advised that you eat something after seven miles of running. When I first heard that I thought that they were nuts because the last thing that I want to do when my core muscles are all tight from continuous running is try to choke down food! Then my friend explained to me about 'running gels' that are basically just carbs that you can carry on you. Of course when I went to get us some gels they were all out so we had to go with the second suggestion of a small banana.
I don't run with a pack or anything so we were trying to figure out where I was going to put my banana...


Can you find it? :P


















How about now? :P












Okay so I didn't really run like that but it was a good way to laugh off the pre-run jitters. Another friend of mine was dong the course on her bike and she was nice enough to tote my banana for me. :P

We made our move just before eight o'clock and started our first mile at a very easy pace. Once that was over I sped up to a comfortable pace that I initially intended to keep for the first six miles and then increase to my 'goal race pace' on the last three. I wasn't as concerned about my time this time around to be honest. I just wanted to make sure that I was going to get through these miles and get through them without causing any harm to myself. I chugged along and after doing two miles at that pace my confidence started to build due to seeing that I still had a bundle of energy. Maybe this wasn't going to be so bad after all! At the end of the first half of the run I had to circle a church that is right by the sea twice, and the end of the loop was a downhill. The combination of the view of the ocean, the scent of the sea breeze, the quiet of the church grounds and the helping hand of running down an incline was somewhat empowering. I can't really explain it but once I had done my final loop and was making my way back...I just knew I could do it. I asked myself...can I do that distance again and the answer was a clear 'Yes.' I wasn't fatigued at all yet.
The only thing that annoyed me immensely on the run was the truck drivers. I don't know if they were trying to say 'Hi' or just scare me but on more than one occasion they were nice enough to BLEAR their horns in my ears as they passed me. I nearly jumped out of my skin the first time. Then there was one other ignoramus in a truck that thought it would be cute to drive up behind me on the right side of the road when he was supposed to be on the left and follow me for a small distance. I gave him such a stink eye you can't imagine. I mean come on...was that really necessary?
My friend on the bike passed me my banana about six miles in and I really did not want to have to eat that thing. I considered neglecting to eat it but then I told myself that I either eat the banana or my body will chew on my muscles. Easier said than done. With my contracted stomach muscles it was difficult getting the banana down and once I had finally finished it I got instant cramps and I felt really dehydrated. I had to cram my fingers just in front of my ribs and sip some gatorade and after running a bit more it finally eased off. This was also at the point where I was supposed to be picking up the pace. I went a bit faster at first but after doing a little distance I couldn't see myself doing a half marathon at that pace so I dropped back just a little bit. I was going marginally faster than my initial pace so I figure that I pretty much did my goal race pace for the entire run. Unfortunately though, at this point the heat really started to kick in. I felt like I had a huge hand of heat just pressing against my back for the last two miles and it made it considerably more uncomfortable than it needed to be. I had to pay attention to my posture because I found myself leaning forward too much as if I actually was carrying weight. Then the last mile came and with the banana drama well over, I still had a little energy left but I didn't push it. I kept the pace though that demanded some pushing at this point and I finished at one hour and forty four minutes.

Ideally I'd like to do the whole half marathon in that time...but hey, that's what this training is for. I made it through my miles, I was able to speak the whole time so I know I didn't overdo and...well...nine miles man. WOO!

I learned something very important after today's butt tote session though. When I got back to home base I was extremely thirsty so I drank some water and went to the fridge and pulled out the protein shake that I brought. I believe that I drank it too quickly as I was so thirsty and I guess the combination of the temperature and the dairy had me doubled up with pain for a few minutes. My whole stomach was cramping up and it felt like it was being stretched. Not fun.
I had to sit still and sip water for a bit until it stopped. Next time...room temperature shakes and SIP IT.

Needless to say I was a bit drained so I was not about to go home and cook lunch. I decided to treat myself to my favourite food in the world, and it makes a great recovery lunch too


.

Salmon and avocado makimoto sushi! <3












After lunch I put on The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring and watched pretty much none of it as I completely (and ever so slightly ungracefully) passed out on the couch for an hour. Woke up, drank water and was good to go!

Tonight's dinner was a chunky sweet potato, carrot and lentil soup and I'm going to have some yogurt and granola in a minute.

To end today's post, I'd like to address the subject of my yogurt of choice. My 'dessert' yogurt is usually Dannon Light n' Fit as it's 80 calories and fat free. I consider it dessert and a treat because it has artificial sweeteners in it. Anyways, October is breast cancer awareness month and Dannon is giving a ten cent donation to the National Breast Cancer Foundation every time someone takes one of their marked yogurt lids and logs on to www.cupsofhope.com and enters the code. You need to enter the code online to activate the donation. It doesn't count if you just buy them.

This is what the lids of the marked products look like.


The Activia products, plain yogurts, drinkable yogurts and one or two more all have these special lids. You can see the list on the site.










So please everyone, if you're a yogurt lover or just want to lend a hand...buy a cup or two and enter the codes. Ten cents doesn't sound like much but every bit counts and you'll be making a difference for someone somewhere. We shouldn't leave anyone to fight alone in the battle of cancer.


That's all for today! Tomorrow, STRETCH and upper body strength training if I feel up to it.