Training Recap: May Week 2

Below is the Another Mother Runner's Half Marathon: Finish It Training Week 6. Since Week 5 didn't go as well, I should have set that to repeat but instead I was using this week to taper a bit for the half marathon I thought I was running on Mother's Day (I'll touch on this again later). Maybe I should restart Week 5 today, May 13th.

Monday: 3 Miles + Strides or XT
The weather Monday was completely nasty, but it didn't matter since my running friend Katie (from Corral G) would be in town! We had talked about going for a run or dinner, then decided on a Hot Yoga class. The class was Be Hot and was 75mins in length. The instructor focused a lot of the class on balance, Katie and I have LOTS of room for improvement in our yoga skills. It was so nice seeing Katie, and it was so great of her for coming back to the house for dinner where Abigail covered her in stickers and she got lots of unwanted attention from Brewer.

As I walked her out, I checked the mail and my first StrideBox arrived! Through a Twitter chat sometime in April I heard all about StrideBox, it's a monthly subscription for runners to try "cool stuff". My box cost $15 and 9 items arrived, very wonderfully packaged, and I was very impressed. I had purchased/tried JellyBelly Sport Beans before but never this specific item and the same goes for the Stinger chews, I have tried another one of thier products but never these chews. I was most excited about The Klitch footwear clip! I never knew something like this existed, and I pulled it up on Amazon.com and this same item retails for $16.95.

 

Tuesday: 6 Miles
Food Truck Tuesdays has returned to a local park during dinner time, so I knew if I wanted to go I had to get my miles in early. I ran 5mi in 58 minutes, an 11:35 pace. I would have tried running a bit more but the gym's childcare closes from noon-4pm daily.

Somehow we never made it to any of the Smyrna Food Truck Tuesdays last year. Abigail & I drove straight over after her dance class, we enjoyed a popsicle each from King of Pops. Abigail chose Strawberry Lemonade and decided to indulge in their Chocolate Sea Salt! Abigail still devoured all her mac & cheese (The Mac Attack) from the Happy Belly Truck. Since it was the first week, we're hoping more trucks will rotate through each Tuesday.

Wednesday: Rest
I had a morning meeting which led to Chick-Fil-A lunch with friends. Abs & I came home to play with Brewer in the backyard before we headed to her swim class. After swim I was on a mission to find the new Chobani Flip I have heard so much about! They are currently only stocked at Target so I took a mini cooler bag to stock up. I found three flavors: Key Lime Crumble, Honey Bee Nana & Raspberry Choco Fix. I got extra lucky because Target had two of these on sale for under a dollar! I had the Key Lime Crumble for dessert and I was super surprised I had to fight Abigail for my yogurt. She loved the "sprinkles" of graham cracker crumbs and white chocolate chips and I'm thrilled, not only did she try it, but she really liked it! We'll be going through lots more Chobani in our house now!!!

Thursday: 3 Miles Speed Training
During Abigail's swim class I decided to search for race details Mountain Momma Half Marathon, my Mother's Day gift! Upon pulling up the site, I saw the race has been postponed until 2014. What? How did I not get notified? Upon further investigation, I discovered I never registered for this race! How did I miss this? Turns out only 19 people registered for this race. The race contact I spoke with said next year they plan to also allow men to register and it will not be held on Mother's Day in 2014.

I hadn't planned on running today, since I had been tapering this week for the half marathon on Sunday. When Abigail & I got home from her gymnastics class, Matt suggested I go for a run. (Well, I didn't think I was pouting.) I wasn't completely in the mood, maybe I was pouting, so I decided to use the VFuel Gel that came in my StrideBox. The flavor was Peach Cobbler and it was very yummy! Unlike other fuels, VFuel is made with only real ingredients. I have never had tummy issues from other fuels, I know other runners who have had some terrible experiences, but had a great run with the help of this VFuel. I ran 5.75mi in 60min, a 10:26mm average pace. I would absolutely LOVE! to sub-1hr at The Peachtree Road Race so I was very happy with this training run!

Friday: 3 Miles or XT
Before we headed out of town for the weekend, the mail arrived with my FREE Quest Bars compliments of Hungry Girl! I got two of Hungry Girl's favorites, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough & Apple Pie and I am so glad because these are two of my favorites too. Sometimes I warm the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough for 10-15 seconds in the microwave (I suggest you do this on freezer paper), and it tastes like a warm cookie straight from the oven. I am so glad Marcia & Lena introduced me to Quest Bars, they have become my new favorite go to bar over the last couple months.


Saturday: LR: 9 Miles
Sunday: Rest
There was zero running this weekend. Even though my race was cancelled, we still spent the weekend in Pigeon Forge. Matt & I used to make trips at least annually to Pigeon Forge but it's been THREE years since our last trip. I will post separately about our weekend getaway. Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

QUESTIONS:
-Do you subscribe to a monthly subscription box service like StrideBox?
-Have you tried Quest Bars and/or gotten your two FREE yet?
-Have you ever had a race get cancelled because of low registration?

Training Recap: April Week 2

Starting a new week on a high from the previous is such a great feeling! I had a successful April Week 1 of "my" new training plan and I really enjoyed my scheduled rest day at Turner Field with my family on Sunday. In case you missed my training blog post, I am using Another Mother Runner's Half Marathon: Finish It Training Plan. While I have now run a full marathon and 3 half marathons, I have run all of these using run:walk intervals. My goal to run an entire 13.1mi without intervals at the completion of this training plan.

Knowing Matt & I are registered for the Warrior Dash on Saturday, I really swapped around my training this week.

Monday: Fun work-out

I decided to run some treadmill hills to also start training for the infamous "Cardiac Hill" of the Peachtree Road Race, which I will be running on July 4th. I checked out the course elevation map and it looks like right before Mile Marker 3 runners will start up a 100' climb. 

I created my own plan for this treadmill attempt...

.25mi 3.0 Incline at 3.5mph, .25mi 5.0 Incline at 5.0mph, .50mi 0.0 Incline at 5.0mph

.25mi 3.0 Incline at 3.5mph, .25mi 6.0 Incline at 5.0mph, .50mi 0.0 Incline at 5.0mph

.25mi 3.0 Incline at 3.5mph, .25mi 8.0 Incline at 5.0mph, .50mi 0.0 Incline at 5.0mph

I didn't want to push myself too much since I still had a full week of training still to go. I felt comfortable with this hill training, it was a bit of a challenge and I will continue to increase the incline, distance of incline and will hopefully be able to increase my speed as well. I really want to be prepared for the PRR Cardiac Hill.

To incorporate some "fun" into today's training, I attended the Active class at Gold's. The class gets your heart rate up with Step, switches over to some weight training and finishes off with a bit of core. I timed this class with my Polar FT7, it lasted 52 minutes long and I burned 540 calories!

Tuesday: 5 Miles

Instead of 5, I decided to do the 7 mile long run since we'll be at the Warrior Dash. I have followed other bloggers who are training/have trained for full or half marathons and they will just add a run to their race day. I will probably do this at some point in my training. I am not familiar with the location of the Warrior Dash so I wanted to get this long run under my belt for the week and not have to worry about it on Saturday.

I struggled with the first 2 miles, not sure if I would be able to complete all 7. Somewhere between 3-4 I got into a groove and cruised through the rest. (This is very normal for me and I hope somewhere along the line, this will just be a crazy memory instead.) I kept my pace steady at a 12mm (minute mile) so I could avoid the run:walk intervals. With under a half mile to go, I increased my speed to challenge myself. My total time for these 7mi was 83min (an average 11:51mm pace). 

Wednesday: XT; or Rest

I chose to return to the Wednesday Power class at Gold's. My lower behind or upper thigh area (couldn't decipher where exactly) was a bit sore last week for a couple days after class. Nothing felt off during class, so I wanted another attempt to see if I could pin point which exercise caused this soreness. I kept the same weights as last week but went lighter for squats. I found that muscle area! The soreness was caused from "downstairs" squats, well that's what the instructor calls them anyway. I was able to avoid that uncomfortable soreness this week!

Thursday: 4 Miles

I have had an open invitation to swim laps while Abigail is taking her swim class for over a year now. It always seems like so much extra work, having to take my change of clothes in addition to Abigail's stuff. Well, until it's a regular habit, it will seem like extra work. So I took all my stuff to swim laps.

I swam the first 10 laps using a kickboard and flippers. My next 5 laps were on my back still using the kickboard and flippers. Then I put the kickboard aside and did 10 full laps freestyle. I'm proud of myself, I even did a few flip turns! I took breather breaks in between a few of the laps, I haven't swam laps like this since high school. Overall it was a great workout and I need to make sure I'm incorporating this into my training on a more frequent basis.

Friday: 3 Miles; or XT

Originally, I had planned to log some miles on Friday. Other responsibilities took priority and Friday ended up being a rest day. 

Saturday: LR: 7 Miles
I am looking forward to the Warrior Dash! We registered for this race with other couples from our community group. Unfortunately, the ring leader encouraged us all to sign up for Warrior Dash wont be competing with us Saturday as he'll be competing in The Great Urban Race with his wife throughout Atlanta. Originally, our race was scheduled for May but then the date AND location was moved, and while the location is now closer to us, it double booked this couple for Warrior Dash. If I remember correctly, they placed 2nd out of all the 2012 600 participants.  We will miss them but wish them lots of luck in The Great Urban Race!

Keep an eye out for a recap of the Warrior Dash this weekend! 

QUESTIONS:

-How did your training go this week?

-Is there a sport or hobby you used to play/do when you were younger and picked it up many years later?

Training Recap: April Week 1

I really underestimated the Sugar Detox upon first reading. I thought I could tackle this challenge without a hitch! What I failed to think through as we drove from FL to GA was how to officially execute this challenge. We had been out of town for 5 days I had nothing fresh in the house. How could I have started on the right foot without the proper food!?! As a reminder, below I've posted the details of the Sugar Detox Challenge.

From Laura's blog post MommyRunFast.blogspot.com...

Here’s what I’m proposing:

1. What: Choose Level One- eliminating all added sugars (honey, maple syrup, rice syrup, added fructose, etc) OR Level Two- sugars and processed foods, which often have the same effect as sugar when broken down in our system, including white flour/bread/crackers/energy bars, etc
2. When: Seven day detox, from Monday, April 1st to Sunday, April 7th (have your Easter Sunday final treat if you want to!)
3. For extra support, use the hashtag #sugardetox to connect with other participants on Twitter or Instagram
4. PRIZES! Sign up below, and (optional) tweet or share for an extra entry to win a few fun prizes, including ProCompression socks, a box of healthy snacks from NatureBox, a box of Bites of Bliss Superfood Bites, and more.

Monday
Like I said before, how could I start off on the right right foot without the proper food? I think I snacked on cottage cheese and a cheese stick until Matt returned from the grocery store with milk and banana. Abigail asked for cinnamon rolls for breakfast, and I usually indulge because it's easier than fixing two different meals. Oh and see the little icing container & lid, I have always licked these bad boys clean before throwing in the garbage. I guess with this challenge being fresh and new, I had the will power to toss them even with the icing remnants!

Abigail and I ended up rushing out the door for her swim lesson and I grabbed one of my Quest Bars. These protein bars are delicious and have no sugar, but I completely failed to think it through...as it's obviously a processed food. Speaking of "processed", NUUN doesn't have sugar so I'm allowing it this week, I know I can use the extra electrolytes while on this detox and to help keep me hydrated during my training. I also just picked up their new flavors last Saturday and am hooked! Watermelon & Cherry Limeade are sooo good!

Training called for 3mi plus 4 strides or XT, I chose to run. I have trained so much since November running intervals that running 3mi straight without walk breaks was a bit of a challenge. I took it easy and only ran at a 12mm (minute mile) pace. At the end I ran 4 strides, which is basically sprinting for 30 seconds, at 8mph (around a 7.5mm pace).

Tuesday
I knew it was going to be a rough day immediately upon waking to Brewer's insistent barking at 7:15am. I rolled out of bed with a pounding headache, the sugar withdrawal headache. Lovely. I trucked on with my coffee flavored milk (no fancy creamers), fruit and cottage cheese. The headache persisted through Abigail's swim class and through her dance class. I even tried a Starbucks Venti Non-Fat Latte (no flavor at all, I've liked it like this for years) in hopes the caffeine would help the headache, no luck. Then it was time for my run.

Training called for 4-5mi. I headed to Gold's and knew it was going to be tough running as my brain felt like it was bouncing in my skull.  This was definitely a challenge! I kept my pace slow, which took me longer to finish, but I knew I couldn't push my luck with the headache. After my cool down, my mileage was just over 5mi.

Wednesday
The sugar headache disappeared sometime during the night, thank goodness! Abigail and I spent our morning at MOPS and then her 4yo pediatric well check was in the afternoon. I had been dreading this appointment because I remember how much she hated her 3yo vaccines, but it's a necessary evil. Abigail had been very upset (cue waterworks) any time I brought up her needing to visit the doctor and never gave me a reason and upon lots of conversation, I asked if she wanted to switch to a female doctor and she agreed. The nurse was a young male, with lots of positive energy and she felt comfortable with him taking her blood pressure and helping me answer some routine questions. The pediatrician was wonderful! She was very personable and had pleasant conversation with us before starting her routine well patient checks, this gave Abigail time to warm up to her a bit which was nice. Abigail is finally 30lbs (30.2 to be exact) and is 40in tall. She had three vaccines, in which she screamed, but she picked out a "new friend" as a treat after we left.

Training called for XT or rest, and I decided to cross train. It's been a while since I've attended a Power class at Gold's, it's a group fitness class with weights all set to music. Since Thursday, Friday & Saturday all called for runs I decided to keep my weights low so I wouldn't be miserably sore. Setting up myself for success is important!

Dinner was interesting to say the least. We went to a local Mexican restaurant to meet up with a Mini Cooper group. I made myself a smoothie before heading out. (Smoothie: spinach, plain Greek yogurt, tart cherry juice, strawberries, pear, almonds & flax seed.)

LOVE Wish Farms Strawberries!

Thursday
I woke up a bit sore from Power, even though I took it easy and didn't get to heavy with the weights! It's been too long since I've attended this class and paid for it. I sat on the couch and watched a bit of the Today Show (after popping some Advil of course!). While this was probably smart for my training, it was not a smart way to schedule my day. Abigail had afternoon swim and gymnastics, then we rushed the gym so I could get my miles in.

Training called for 3-4mi as 10min warm up, sprint intervals (6 x 30sec) with 1min recovery and a 10min cool down. My total mileage was 2.97mi. I love that in the training plan it says "The mileage is simply a guide, so no need to run around your block one more time to reach three miles.". I'm sure as I continue my training and get faster I will surely total more miles.

Friday
To start off the day, I got in a 3mi run before the Centergy class at Gold's. Centergy is a unique group fitness class that incorporates Yoga and Pilates in fluid motions all set to music. It's a great class to stretch out and gain flexibility, both helpful for runners. I had a huge bowl of oatmeal and a smoothie for lunch. (Smoothie: spinach, plain Greek yogurt, tart cherry juice, mango, raspberries, almonds, banana.)

Another interesting dinner, as we went out for pizza with Matt's parents and our nephew. The garlic knots from St.Angelo's are a delicious combination of bread, garlic and Parmesan cheese. I seriously considered calling the Sugar Detox quits just for these. I had not had an urge to quit until this point. I managed to drink my water throughout dinner then eat when I got home. When we got home, I got a crazy chocolate craving. It was serious. I usually have a sweet tooth, but it's never chocolate. I went to sleep early instead to be completely rested for my long Saturday run.

Saturday
I originally planned to go run with a group from our church. Brewer didn't seem to like this and he had a nice surprise for Matt & I to clean up first thing this morning. Because of this, I ended up also sweeping/mopping the kitchen, and doing lots of laundry. I was about to get ready to head out for a run on the treadmill at the gym (I hate running outside solo) and my friend Kristen sent a text inquiring if I had run yet. Her timing couldn't have been more perfect. We decided to meet at The Silver Comet Trail to knock out my 6mi.

We ran intervals of 2:30:1 and I practically had to beg for all those interval walks. At the halfway point I paused my watch, Kristen said she had a surprise for me. We proceeded down this tiny paved trail through the trees and then I saw the old, abandoned mill. It was beautiful, the remaining stone walls and steal infrastructure. We took a wrong path back up to the trail, so we had to back track some so our total hike "break" was 33min. Instead of turning around, Kristen instructed there were water fountains close. After a quick drink we turned back and continued intervals. Since we didn't turn around at the halfway point, we got a nice cool down walk back to our cars & it was nice to have conversation without my huffing and puffing.

AB April
Somehow I managed to keep to the training plan but completely forgot Wednesday and Saturday "Improve Your Plank Workout" assignments. Good think I have another three and a half weeks left to April to continue to improve my planks.

I am really happy with this first week of my new training training plan and my success with the Sugar Detox. I would like to try to stay away from a lot of the sugars I gave up in this detox but I really must allow a bit occasionally, like some dark chocolate with sea salt and almonds (not to be specific or anything). This Sugar Detox and excluding processed foods made me realize how much I snack on Abigail's food throughout the day, no bueno!

Questions:

-Have you ever done a Sugar Detox? What did you like/not like about it?

-How did your week of training go? Is there a specific goal you are training for?