I ran 100 miles!

For the first time in a very long time, I ran 100 miles. No, not at one time (although some folks do that), but for the month. I knew this would be the perfect motivator to get me back into half marathon training shape. After having my son, I would always barely get up to 10 miles before he would get sick or my husband would have to work and I'd have no sitter. So all of my hard work went away because I could never rebound. Now baby girl rides in the stroller and my son rides his scooter or his bike while I run.

Now, it is NOT my preference to bring either of them, but I've learned that you've gotta do what you've gotta do. Most times if I'm running with them, pace doesn't matter. Only distance. This in turn helps because I'm still getting an easy pace workout in. I'll do fartleks, run/walk intervals, and hill train with them. When I'm solo, I always want to run as fast as I can to get it over with and not really stick to a plan (I'm impatient). On one of my ten-milers, we had to stop so many times to give our son a break. So, yeah...I usually try not to bring them if I need to do over 4 1/2 miles. How do "they" have so much energy inside of the house, but when you take them outside to burn it, they're "soooo tired"?

I ran short runs 4-5 days during the week and scheduled long runs on Saturdays & Sundays depending on my husband's work schedule. I ran them with one of my running groups, which also really helped. Being a mom of a 9-month-old and a 6-year-old, you MUST find a way to become disciplined if you have any personal fitness goals. This is why I choose to post my runs/workouts online, run with friends, and enter challenges. That's just what helps me stay accountable myself. Be careful not to compare your journey with others, but most definitely use others to help you achieve what you're trying to achieve.

Before I had kids I was all over Atlanta running with Black Girls Run and then became a group run leader for them. Then came children. That's why it's been 7 1/2 years since I've run my fourth and last half marathon. So... this challenge came right on time.

I registered for the runningnerds Summer Heat Virtual Half Marathon. I ran the runningnerds Winter Virtual Half Marathon years ago. I think that was my 3rd half marathon? It was virtual, but I ran it with a group starting from West Midtown. I remember it was extremely cold that morning. Like I said in my previous post, I am up to 10 miles, so next week I am going to run 11-12 miles. My old running coach always told me to run a mile or two over the actual race distance, so that the actual race distance will be easy. It's nothing like running any race and that last .5 mile becomes a s-t-r-u-g-g-l-e. The thing is, I don't know if I'll have time for that. So I'll probably attempt 12 this Sunday, 9-10 the next and go into taper mode? I'll have to look at an official training plan before I make my mind up since I'm already at 10.

Wish me luck on my journey! The school year is soon to start aka busy season (and that's a whole 'notha case of foolery with what's going on), so this would be a great finale. I'll take a mini-break and then back at it for two fall races in October and November.

What do you do to help you stick to your goals? What are you choosing to focus on to help your mental state right now?

Time to Switch Gears

I'm thinking about making the "executive" decision to stop using the Nike+ Coach feature's half marathon training plan. As I previously posted, Week 5 did not go so well, and Week 6 hasn't gotten off to a great start because of that either. I've never missed a long run before.

As I sit here typing this at HOME, yes, at home on a Tuesday morning because my son caught pink eye from some grimy little kid at school, I am thinking I must not have been thinking well when I chose to try the Nike plan. 

I do like that I am already up to 8 miles by Week 5, well as of last week. So I felt like I would be ready for a 13.1 early, but the schedule is just not doable for me and my new lifestyle. The hubs agrees. My soon-to-be 11 mth old and I wake up by 5 am to be at work (also his school) by 6:30. I'm off by 2:30 and exhausted of course. Depending on the mileage and weather for that day, I run outdoors or on the treadmill. I then come home and cook dinner. Attempt to relax for a millisecond and then start prepping for the next day. I actually hate that I am devoting so much time to it and feel like it's taking time away from my son because those days I treadmill run he is in the Kid's Club when he JUST left daycare. So...yea, I think I just made my decision while typing.

I recently read a review on the Run Less, Run Faster plan that came right on time by Courtney at Eat Pray Run DC and I am thinking about giving that a try or using my real life running buddies training plan. I'll decide in the next few days. Her group is only up to 6 miles, I think.

Obviously I won't be running today because I really don't want to take my son out. His eye has started to clear up fast after we finally received the drops for his eyes. Omg, that's another story. I'm glad I am off today because I probably wouldn't of been any good to those kids this morning. There was an understandably long wait last night in urgent care.

In my self-diagnosed OCD fashion, I keep thinking about how a substitute teacher was supposed to start today to replace the other teacher in my class who is on maternity leave. I wonder is the class in shambles by now and how the are kids doing. I wonder if they are rambling through papers I already wanted to organize, as today is early dismissal for the kids so I the rest of the day was supposed to be my Teacher work day to get stuff together.

Well before this post gets anywhere else off topic, I'll just go ahead and end it here. I'll update my training by the end of the week. Hopefully I can get back on track. Usually a good Body Words Plus Abs class helps. Side note: I sooo wish I can go to one of my morning gym classes I used to go to when I was a SAHM.

Have you ever switched training plans mid training? 

Week 5 Recap

Week 5 was going so strong. I even ran that 6 miler I was so nervous about. Then all of a sudden I fell off...just yesterday. 

I was supposed to run 8 miles yesterday morning. I just knew it would be a good run since I'd done so well during the week. The bipolar weather here was just too cool to take my son out as early as I needed to get started. Note to self: I will have to buy one of those stroller weather shields. It was PERFECT weather for running, too. 

Following that disappointment, the procrastination happened for the rest of the day. The hubs had something to do at 10:30 that morning which is why we couldn't just start later in the morning. I also needed to run a few errands including go to the library. The stroller friendly trail we usually run on is not one I will be running on solo anymore in light of too many recent bad news stories. I don't think I've ever missed a long run during any of my other times training for a half.

So what will I do? I'm just going to chalk it up as a lost and continue with my training plan as usual. I choose not to sulk. Life happens. I actually could of gone today, but honestly I was not motivated. I spent a little time after church at Bed Bath and Beyond and one of my favorite places, IKEA shopping for a bay window curtain rod. Exciting. I know!

I'm getting things together and decorating around my home before my son's first birthday party next month. The party will be at our house.

Tomorrow is a new day and a chance to start over. Enjoy your week.

Has 

this ever happened to you? Did you find it hard to recover on your next long run?

Weeks 1-4 Brief Recap

It's been a month since I've last posted. I'm glad to report that I've finally found my groove or a routine that works while working full-time, caring for a 10-month old, and training for my first half marathon post baby. Waking at 4:30-5 a.m. is still challenging, but I just have to make sure I'm in bed and asleep by 9:30. Much respect to the moms who've been doing this for a while!

I'm on week 4 of my Nike+ half marathon training program. I chose the beginner's option since I'm training from "scratch" again. I would like to make a PR, but I don't want to add more pressure to myself than I have to. Although I will say, the difference between this training and my first time training for a half (which was my fastest half), is that I'm doing more consistent speed training this go 'round. Whereas for my first half, I just ran the miles Hal said while ignoring the other stuff, and I don't even remember cross-training much. Wow!

On the first 3 weeks of training, Nike had me focused on building my base and learning the fundamentals for the weeks that would come. As I start week 4, I am now focused on building my strength and endurance. I have an 8-mile long run scheduled for the end of this week that I will be trying my best to blog about. This will be a very meaningful run, as this is my longest run since having the baby and since my last half in January 2013. Knowing me, I'll probably be overwhelmed with emotions, lol. If you're a runner, I know you understand :-)

I'm so thankful that I have my husband with me on this journey. I know I've probably said that, but it makes a big difference when you have a running partner or a group.

I may not blog as much these days, but I do update my Instagram and Facebook pages more often if you're interested in following my journey more closely. Let's motivate each other!

Here are a few pics I've snapped so far. I'll get better... And, oh yeah, I turned 30 along the way, too. :)

How are you goals coming along?

A New Chapter: No Longer a SAHM

Well, although it hasn't been that long since my last post, so much has changed within the last 9 days.  I started a full-time teaching job, which means my son is now attending daycare full-time. All of that before the weekend we spent out of town, which means I fell off of Week 2 of the 4 Week Shape Up Plan easily. And to top it off, last week was stressful in it self because of a few unexpected things and to top it off, today is day 1 of my half marathon training. Everyone's excited except me. Everyone meaning my husband; probably because this is his first.

I'll back up. On the last post I was headed out of town to visit the in-laws and had packed all of these healthy treats. I did great eating-wise for the most part while out of town until the following Friday. Eating bad, plus no previous good workouts equals no bueno. All I did last week was 4-miles of speed training on the treadmill and a sorry attempt (in my opinion) at a leg and shoulder workout.

So here it is Day 1 of my 12-week half marathon training plan and I'm not very motivated because I feel like crap physically. I wanted to spend time between now and my last race building strength, but I fell off in the last week and a half. It doesn't sound that bad as I type this out, but I was on a roll for a minute to let one week stop me sucks.

When I tell you I went IN with the eating yesterday in honor of it being my "last" day to go overboard on indulgences, I went IN. I'm talking Krispy Kreme DoughnutS after church, oatmeal cookies at home, juice, and one of my favorite fried chicken spots...POPEYES. I feel so sluggish because of it, too.

Fortunately the hubs and I reactivated our mighty team work powers (lol) and planned our week out. He cooked the meals and I prepped me and the baby's clothes for the week. The only thing we may have to fix is our breakfasts and that will most likely be overnight oats.

Planning will definitely be KEY! 

The past few days and upcoming weeks are filled with major 'firsts'. My first time being a full-time working mom and first time training for a half marathon as a mom. 

My training plan only calls for 2 runs and 2 cross-training days during the week. I think this is doable. There are a few trails between my home and work so I've already started planning. I get off work kind of early, so I'll have to determine if the weather is too hot for my son to tag a long with me.

For my long runs, I have my husband, a friend, and we all have a few running groups we can join on Saturday mornings for extra motivation. Honestly, I do not want to run with a stroller unless I have to. So I'll be summoning my wonderful family members to babysit for long run days once I get up to 6 miles, maybe?

My dinner tonight was this smoothie. Let me tell you. I sat in the sauna this evening after my body works class and I started to feel sick...like the donuts were re-cooking in my stomach. Bleh! I couldn't eat anything solid if I tried. This will suffice. I'm hoping for a good first week. This journey will be interesting.

Do you have any fall fitness goals? How do you fit family and training for a major race in?

Upcoming Goals: Fall Half Marathon Season

Now that the Peachtree is over, I have a lot more confidence that I can go to my next challenge, running my fifth half marathon. I call it a challenge because, of course, I don't know how even less "perfect" training will be with a baby. Can't just get up and go, ya know.

My original big plan in the beginning of my pregnancy was to start training for my next half marathon 3 months post partum. This was supposed to be my motivation to get back to running. Good thing I didn't need that; I had clothes to get back into, and there was no way it was that serious to go running with my son in his stroller in the cold temps we had. I had him in October and wanted to run a half at the end of March, which means I would of had to start training in December/January. Umm, yeah, that was a little far-fetched. Not saying one couldn't do it, but I couldn't for so many reasons. I did run a 5k, though.

I haven't registered yet, but the race I'm thinking of is in November so I will start a 12-week program on August 18th. I really don't want to register until I'm at least half way though training. The price increases are only $5. Expensive is expensive period and I've already missed the much lower registration fees. Maybe I'll find a discount if it turns out I'm able to run it. Off topic, but in the past, I've never paid over $55 for a half marathon, but I've been wanting to do this race for forever. Sigh.

I've decided to try the Nike+ Coach feature. In the past I've used Hal's plan, but I want to give Nike a try for the extra motivation. I like that it prompts you that you have a run the next day. I already track my miles with it, so it will tell me if I am on track with my time goal, and I love the interface. A big plus, I don't have to constantly refer to a document or sheet of paper to check which day of training I am on. It'll all be on the app.

An even bigger plus is that my husband has accepted the challenge of training himself. This would be his first. So at least I'd have someone alongside me during those long runs. I can't make the group runs much, or rather the places they meet aren't really stroller friendly, so he'll have to do. LOL. J/k... 'cause he reads my posts.

My focus from now until August 18th is to build strength. I'm going to focus even more on incorporating weight and running less often. I just want to maintain a 4-mile outdoor run until next month. Yesterday's workout felt pretty good. I did a body works plus abs class at the gym and ran 2 miles on the treadmill hill setting. My next workout will be Wednesday... and it may have to be a Jillian Michaels DVD day.

Now it's time for Nike and I to have a conversation...

If you run long distances, do you follow a set plan or make up your own? What's your favorite way to cross-train? :-)

Race Recap: Rock 'n' Roll New Orleans Marathon & 1/2 Marathon

claimyourjourney.com

This time last year, I was starting Week 2 of Couch to 5k. I would've never thought only a year later I'd be running my first half. I was kind of emotional waiting in my corral, where I had too much time to think. I'm sure the people next to me probably thought I was nutty for wiping tears and the race hadn't even started.

Miles 1-3 were okay. Took a min to get in my rhythm with the amount of ppl and adjusting to the raggedy roads. Miles 4-8, I was feeling myself and thought, "this will be so easy". Mile 9-10, seemed to take forever and the battery on my phone was really low. That took my mind off of having fun and worrying about whether I'd have music to finish. Miles 11-13 were the worse...bathroom issues and legs were tired. I was disappointed that I had to run/walk majority of the LAST couple miles of ALL miles. My long runs before were near perfect compared. So why when race day comes, random stuff occurs?

 

Some kind of way I got a boost of energy to sprint the last few yards.
I set a time goal for myself, which I didn't meet, but overall I'm just proud I did it and finished. The best part of the race for me was being done and my husband (race crew volunteer) being the one to put the medal around my neck.

After New Orleans, I spent the entire week at the in-laws house. They don't exactly live in an area safe for running nor does their hoarding tendencies lack of space allow me to exercise on the inside. That was fine with me because I needed the break. This week was my first week being lazy as hell and not giving AF inactive in well over a year. It felt kind of weird. I ate and pretty much drank what I wanted, when I wanted all week, but I'm ready to get back my mojo back already. For this week, I'm thinking group runs, spin class, and a body sculpting class should get me back on track. We brought back the nephews to spend time with us during their spring break, so we shall see how this goes...

My 1st Half Marathon: 2 Days Before

A little late night ramble.

Well, the weekend has arrived. I will be running my first half marathon on Sunday. I ran my last long run this past Monday (12.5 miles) and have eaten fairly well (except succumbing to the Girl Scout cookie temptations). I have no regrets. I feel like I prepared 90% well and I know my body, so I'll be fine.

All week I have received nothing but encouraging messages from those who have known of me racing. As the days grew closer and during my last few runs, short and long, I teared up and shed a few droplets when I imagined my journey to get 13.1 miles ready, crossing that finish line, falling AND bawling into my husbands chest. I know it's going to be a monumental moment for me. I can't wait to tell our future kids. I pray someone gets good pictures too.

We left Atlanta a little after 9:30 this morning. I had eaten breakfast at home (bran cereal with 1% milk) and I didn't pack my lunch or snacks like I did for the last road trip. No worries, so I thought ... And this really isn't that much of a big deal, but I kind of told myself that I would eat super clean especially the last few days until the race. So anyway, we stopped for gas and there was Arby's. As you've probably noticed, fast food joints are offering better options. I ordered a turkey and Swiss sandwich (found out later, it was pretty high in calories) and medium-sized fries (also high of course). I could've switched my side to a salad, but I noticed too late and didn't want to bother them with switching (yea, excuses). I'm doing good on my water intake, so I feel good.

Picture taken from Arby's site.

This trip is making me wish I would've went grocery shopping though or something, geez. For dinner, we ate Subway. I got a 6" turkey on wheat with a variety of vegetables, lite mayo, mustard, and vinegar (no oil as usual=some progress). I didn't get a combo, instead I stopped by Wally World a.k.a. WalMart (so many characters in there, btw) for bananas and a gallon of water. So dinner was Subway, a banana, and water. I'm going to be real and say I am so ready for this race to be over so I can PIG out on some authentic "Nawlins" cuisine I tell ya!

I wonder how tomorrow will go. I think I'm going to go to bed after I'm done icing my knee, so I can get my mind off of wanting something sweet. I don't want my stomach to cramp during this race and I want to be full of energy.

So, it seems all I had was eating on the brain.

#RnRNOLA Half Mary Training Update...12 more days!

Last week I ran a distance PR of 10 miles on a treadmill. Why a treadmill? Because I was very unmotivated to go run outdoors alone in the cold weather, safety reasons, and I didn't feel like driving downtown where there are safe routes a plenty.
Yesterday (yes, Monday...another long run Sunday make-up day), I ran 10 miles for the first time outdoors, this time with company. Although I made sure to include inclines in my treadmill run and attempt to maintain the same pace as I would outside, I still don't think it was enough to prepare me for yesterday. Or maybe yesterday had nothing to do with that at all. IDK. The hills did not really get to me, and I made sure to hydrate properly beforehand, but I was still fatigued after mile-7.5. I'm also still experimenting with what to eat before my long runs.

Sunday's dinner: Jiffy (no, not clean eating), broccoli (seasoned with sea salt and  a little margarine), sweet potato (seasoned with a little margarine, Kosher salt, and pepper), drumsticks (pressure cooked w/chicken broth, seasoning salt, and ??)

This particular morning, I decided to go with a piece of toast, since Sunday's dinner was carb loaded. I just remembered I started to get tired on the treadmill around mile 8, but that's when I popped some sugar to get me through. Hmmm. I didn't bring anything with me on this run. I wanted to stop SO bad. My running buddy was THE ONLY reason I kept it moving. When I did get back to my car I scarfed down a protein shake, Gatorade, and water and felt good until I could get to some real food. My body was banging afterwards and not in a good way and I didn't have time to do an ice bath afterwards. I'm feeling good today, but I know next time to wear my geeky-looking fuel belt thingy with my jelly beans, instead of leaving it behind in the car.

We started out running part of the Publix 1/2 route, but ended up creating our own crazy route. Also, my time and pace are definitely off by maybe 5-10 min. I forgot to hit play after pausing at a traffic light. So that's why you can't see mile 9 or 10.  :-(

I didn't realize I was supposed to run 11 this week until I got home and looked at my training plan. I'm going to count the 1-mile walk back and forth to my car though and not worry about it. My goals for the next less than two weeks besides more running and strength training according to my training plan is to be as close to perfect as I can with clean eating and ignore the fact that I have 6 boxes of Girl Scout Cookies in the freezer, ha! But no, seriously.

So... How's the 1/2 Training Going?

My attempt at not following a 1/2 marathon training program was NOT going so great. My long runs were off and I was so unmotivated to strength and cross train. I was already up to 8 miles and after receiving tips from a couple seasoned runners, I thought I would be fine. It was suggested to me that I run as I normally do during the week (3 to 4 miles, 3 times a week), run long on the weekends, strength, and cross train. The long runs were supposed to be, 8mi, 8mi, 9mi, 9mi, 10mi, 10mi, and so on (not to exceed 11, 13.1 on race day) each week. I am no longer able to do my long runs with my running group due to a schedule conflict. This worked for maybe 2 weeks, but honestly, running long AND solo was so discouraging. My worst long run to date was last week. A very sad attempt at 9 miles turned into a 6 mile run/walk. It was horrible. I guess it just happens, but I have yet to understand how I can run 8 miles strong one day and can barely get through 4 miles another.

In the spirit of not wanting to waste my money =), I decided I NEED to go ahead and follow Hal's half program instead. My strongest, furthest distance so far has been 8 miles in December, so I chose the Intermediate program level. I started off with week 6 and it's really keeping me on track as far as strength and cross training. I was slacking in those two areas for too long and could feel the affects. I think that's why I would experience shoulder discomfort while running. 


My goal for my first 1/2 is to finish, yeah, but deep down I would like to finish with a good time. I'm thinking of a goal of under 2 hrs and 15 minutes. That's around a 10 min/mile pace with a little extra slack. The Rock 'n' Roll New Orleans 1/2 route is mostly flat. Most of my routes here have hills, so I think it can be done. I know I need to tighten up on other areas besides running...ahem, like my diet.

 
On the schedule for yesterday was 3 mi + strength training, but since it rained, I decided to do it today instead of the rest/easy run on schedule. After my 3 mile run, I came home and did the 30-minute Body Sculptor Nike Training Club Workout (free app on iTunes). Hopefully I can get a long run in Sunday morning while I'm at Callaway Gardens for the weekend. I only have to do 6.2 miles this week. But, we shall see...