Update on my training plan

I suck.  No, not really... but I decided I suck at following a training plan.  There are many reasons why this is true.  Being that I am a wife and mother of three children, my life can be so crazy and change from one day to another.  I'm not sure that the training plan I am using most suitable for me.  I also do not have a specific race I have in mind... which makes me less likely to follow my plan. 

I have no idea what my training plan had on schedule for today, but I felt like running 8 miles.... so I did.  I decided to try out Powerbar Energy Bites as my fuel during today's long run. 

Everything was going great until mile 3.  My stomach started to act up.  I cleaned the pipes before I left, but apparently not enough.  I knew before long I'd have to make a pit stop.  I was able to hold out until right at mile 4.

Emergency pit spot at mile 4.  You do NOT want to see what is behind the dumpster.

I had a difficult time getting back into my groove.  My heart rate was uncomfortably high, so I had to slow down a bit.  The last few miles were a little bit of a struggle, but I was determined to finish what I set out to do. 

Freeze Your Thorns Off 5k Race Recap

So I just came to the realization that I pretty much already posted about this race yesterday on dailymile.  Damn.  Whatever... I'm going to write about it again.  If you're not interested in reading about it, move on along : )

I've had this virtual race on my calendar for a couple of months now.  A paid training opportunity came along and it was scheduled for the same day.  I couldn't pass up the training.  Luckily, the training got done an hour early which made me very happy... especially because that meant I got an another hour of daylight to run in!

As soon as I arrived home, I was ready to run.  Sitting in an all day [boring] training made me anxious.  Our friend, Phil, wasn't up to running with me.  The thought of skipping my run did cross my mind.  I kind of wanted a running partner.  Surprisingly, my husband volunteered to run with me.  We have never ran together before.  It was really nice to share this experience with him.  He still is not a fan of running, but enjoyed the quality time together.

I'm lame and didn't get a picture when we were done.  Just as we were approaching the end of the run, I totally almost sharted!  I left my husband, sprinted home, and made it just in time : )

Words of Wisdom

Beth over at SUAR wrote something that I needed to hear and it was the perfect time to read it:

"When we over-think [yep, that's me] we self-sabotage.  When we over-think, we tend to forget to keep it simple.  I am convinced many aspects of life do not have to be as involved as we make them out to be.  In order, to keep it more simple, it's time to let go of some elements of perfectionism." [I would add control to that as well]

I'm sure this quote can ring true for many people.... especially women.

My question... how does one who has been an over-thinker all their life, become less of an over-thinker?

Oops...

Has it really been almost 2 weeks since I last blogged?!?!  Shame on me! 

Life has been SO ridiculously busy on the school AND home front.  The end of the semester was two days ago which means I get a new set of 8th graders on Tuesday.  What that ALSO means is that the students that I used to have were frantically trying to complete their missing assignments to get their grades up... and holy smokes they were working hard!  I mean... I had to bribe them to get their grades up with cupcakes, but whatever works, right?  So that means I have been grading, and grading, and grading... non-stop!  I have been able to still run, but not nearly as much as I would have liked.  For instance, last week I ran less than 10 miles?!?!  That's one of the lowest mileage weeks I have had in a LONG time.  My daughter's 4th birthday was last week as well.  We decided to have a little party at the house.  Holy crap!  I had no idea how much time and energy is involved in planning a 'small' party for a 4-year-old. 

Things should be slowing down now which means I can focus more time into... RUNNING... and spending time with my babies too : )


Rewards

Run with Jess wrote a post about rewarding herself in her weight loss journey.  I have always rewarded myself with food and/or new clothes (which really isn't much of a reward since new clothes are a necessity when the old clothes look like a sloppy mess).  One of the major issues I have is spending money on myself.  I ALWAYS feel guilty for doing it because I feel I should be spending it on my kids.... but I know I deserve to spoil myself when deserved.

I thought long and hard about what my rewards could be for every 5 pounds lost... and here are the possibilities:

**I'm WAY overdue for a haircut... but I have a hard time spending $50 to get it done (and no... I refuse to go to Great Clips or similar location).

This is where I get my haircut... as well as spa services.  Love this place!

**I LOVE coffee and have been eyeballing a Keurig machine for some time now.  

**I REALLY want my SUV detailed inside and out.  It has been neglected for too long.

 **I've wanted to get my teeth professionally whitened FOREVER... but could never bring myself to spend that kind of money.  If I can consistently stay at my goal weight, I think I deserve this!

Here's my weight loss status:

I have lost 10.4 lbs.  I think I would be satisfied if I could lose another 5 lbs but would like to try to lose another 9.4 lbs, but I'm not sure how realistic that goal is... we will see!

Let's talk running... at church?

Day 2 streak -- 5 miles in 57:11 (11:26 min/mile average)

________________________________________________

 I went to church today with my husband and children because one of my awesome friends, Emily, was singing at the church this weekend.  My husband and kiddos attend church on a regular basis, but I do not.  I always wanted to go to church when I was a kid (like my friends did), but it was not part of my upbringing.  Fast forward to adulthood and the thought of going to church gives me anxiety.  I feel incredibly uncomfortable.  But my family attends Canyon Ridge Christian Church which seems to be pretty chill.  I'm kinda digging this church.  I like how they spread their motivational and inspiring message while slipping in a little God talk.  I don't feel uncomfortable when I'm there.  I like that.

Kevin Odor, the senior pastor, started a new series today called:

From what I got from his message, he said that we need to try to slow down and enjoy life.  One of his analogies had to do with running... which OBVIOUSLY sparked my interest.  He asked the crowd how many people ran in the RnR Vegas Marathon & 1/2 Marathon.  Being proud of my accomplishments of a runner, I definitely raised my hand.  He discussed how some runners start out much faster than they should and try to keep up with the pace of others around them... and then lose all their steam before the finish line (bonking... been there unfortunately).  He explained that a runner needs to stay at their own pace in order to make it to the end just like in life.  Isn't that what all runners preach?  Love it. 

Mr. Odor--Keep talking running and I'll keep returning to Canyon Ridge.

On another note, they made a HUGE announcement today:

How cool is that?!?!

Crappy day and crappy food

Yesterday... was frankly, a shitty day.  I haven't had a day like that in awhile.  I kept thinking to myself... all I want are multiples of these:

lots of these:

and some of this:

The only thing that would have made me feel better was stuffing my face with bad food and beer.  This is how I handled my emotions in the past, but I cannot allow food to change how I feel anymore. 

I ended going to happy hour after school and had ONE beer and NO bar food.  If I was not as focused on losing weight like I am right now, I would have had several beers and consumed that food above.  I could have... but I had enough willpower to say no. 

I came home after a couple of hours, ate a small salad, and went up to my bedroom... and fell asleep shortly after that.  I woke up this morning and realized I messed up my streak... I got so frustrated with myself!  With all the crap I had to deal with yesterday, I forgot to do some form of physical activity yesterday.  My streak ended after a measly 5 days... so weak! 

I went for a run today -- 4 miles in 42:20 (10:35 min/mile average)

I didn't want to push it too much as my shins were still a little tender from Thursday night's speedwork. 

Alrighty stalkers (LOL!)... time to watch a movie with the husband.

Training plan

I completed my first speedwork session.  One of the ways I can tell I have a really great workout... is how bad I smell afterwards. HA!  You should feel really sorry for my family : )

The last time I used a training plan was when I was training for my first half marathon back in December 2006.  When I got serious about running (primarily for weight loss after the birth of my youngest son) back in June 2010, I did not follow a training plan.  My dad and I decided to run the RnR Vegas half marathon in December 2010 and I chose to continue to not follow a training plan.  Same thing in 2011... I ran 3 half marathons and several other races all without a training plan.  Reason:  I didn't feel like committing to anything and wanted to run whatever felt most comfortable on any specific day.

I finally stopped being stubborn and decided that I need to follow a training plan and need to incorporate strength training and tempo runs... two things I've been resistant to do in the past [umm... could this be the worst run-on sentence ever?].  I know I need to do all of this in order a stronger, faster runner.

I used Hal Higdon's novice half marathon plan when I was training for my first half in December 2006.  I am trying to decide if I should use Hal Higdon's intermediate or advanced half marathon training plan.  My two goals: get faster and be injury-free (I know, duh!).  I know I could *easily* complete the intermediate plan, so should I use the advanced plan instead?  But if I want to get faster, shouldn't I concentrate on pace rather than distance?  I need your help!!

**Side note: If you have a blog and I have not "joined your site" let me know so I can follow you!!

Revision of 2012 Goals and a Hodge Podge

First thing... my husband has mentioned that I've been on the computer a lot lately.  My response was, "Umm... hello.  I'm blogging.  I'm getting famous and kind of a big deal.  You know, I have 17 followers.  My blog is quite popular in Russia and Malaysia (thanks to the stats option on blogger that tells me this).  Before you know it, people are going to start asking for my autograph."  He gave me one of THOSE looks... you know the 'you are crazy' looks.  Whatevs.

Speaking of my followers--if you are reading this and haven't hit that 'join this site' button over on the right, what are you waiting for?!?!  It'll make me feel better about myself if you subscribe so you should do it : )

Second thing... Resolutions get a bad rap.  As you read here, I made the goal to run more when I joined dailymile on January 2nd... and then made more goals once I knew what I could accomplish.    If resolutions motivate others to do better, be better, and work on different areas of their life, then it is a success.  If only a small percentage of people stick to their resolutions, so be it!

Third... I've always wanted to do a running streak, but in the back of my mind I know my shins can't handle it.  Over on Mom vs. Marathon she talks about the same thing (glad I'm not the only one!).  She decided she is going to streak... but on her own terms.  What a good idea... so good, I'm going to do it too!  I'm 4 days into my streak:

• Day 1--Ran 3.1 miles
• Day 2--Ran 3.5 miles
• Day 3--Walked 2.6 (incline 4.0-7.0) and 30 of stretching and strength training
• Day 4--Ran 4.05 miles

I'm feeling great and hope to continue my streak!

Lastly, I've been thinking about my 2012 goals I published a few days ago and realized I left some things off my list that deserved to be acknowledged (in red).
Goals:

• Sub-30 minutes for 5k races (for the realistic and attainable races)
• Average a sub-10 min/mile for all races 4 miles and below
• Run under a 2:15 for the half marathon distance
• Sub-28:00 for a 5k
• Sub-60:00 for a 10k
• Run at least 4 half marathons this year
• Run at least 1,010 (beat my 2011 record) but hope to run 1,200 miles.
• Become a half fanatic
• Incorporate strength training once a week
• Only eat 1 donut a month... at the end of the month (only if I deserve it)
• When baking cupcakes, limit my cupcake consumption to 2... maybe 3 : )
• When making coffee, I'd like to lower my creamer consumption from 4 to 3
• By the end of the year, I'd like to have built a comfortable savings
• Blog more consistently, but not jeopardizing family time

I know I'm not going to be perfect with my goals for 2012, but I'm going to continued to work at achieving them all year.

Do we have any similar goals?  What would you like to accomplish in 2012?

One Year Anniversary

Yesterday I celebrated a very important anniversary… I have been using dailymile for one year. 

At the time, I needed to do something to lose the last 15 stubborn pounds.  I signed up on dailymile on January 2^nd, 2011 and frankly… it changed my life.  I was a runner before joining DM, but I did not run consistently… I only ran when I had time and IF I felt like it.  My goal was to make this part of my lifestyle.

When I started using dailymile, I was immediately in awe over how awesome it was.  DM is very similar to facebook, but it is geared towards athletes.  One major difference between the two… you can add complete strangers on DM and its fine, but it’s something I would not do on FB (just my opinion).  I have over 220 friends on DM (which is way more than I have on FB).  Some of them live in the Vegas area, but most are located across the country… even around the world!  It’s so great to have support from people who don’t think I’m crazy for running.  I have met and established friendships with many of my DM friends in real life.  I would have ever imagined that social media and my passion for running would help me meet new people online and then eventually in person.  How times have changed!

In the first month, I made it my goal to run 1,000 in 2011.  I had faith in my fitness that I could do this.  I knew I could run 100 miles in one month after seeing how close I was to 100 miles in January.  That became my new goal… which I was finally able to achieve in March.  Woo hoo! 

**On a side note, I managed to lose 12 pounds in my first month of using dailymile.  I was focused on my running and nutrition. 

Then the infamous San Francisco ½ Marathon on July 31^st happened.  I injured my left shin.  I had to take 8-10 weeks off from running… that was HELL.  I managed to gain 10+ pounds.  I was still eating like I was running 20-30 miles a week.  This injury completely devastated me. 

I eased back into running at the end of October and managed to still hit my goal of 1,000 miles by the end of the year!

 

I am thankful to have found this website.  I have met (in person and online) so many people that support and inspire me every day.  It changed my life.

Thank goodness!

I didn't plan on doing a blog post about today's run, but it felt SO GOOD and I felt it deserved its' own post.  As some of you know, I have been struggling with pain in my right shin.  I wore my old Adrenaline 11's rather than my new Adrenaline 12's on the past few runs.   

I wore my compression socks with my 11's (which is not out of the ordinary)... but I decided to pop a couple of ibuprofens a couple of hours before my intended run.  I focused on my stride and slowed down my pace.  I'm sure all of this helped make my run [almost] pain-free. 

My son joined me again... this time I remembered to take a picture!

After finishing our 3.5 mile adventure

Final Stats:

3.5 miles = 35:46 minutes (10:13 min/mile average)

Is it weird that my Adrenaline 11's that have over 400 miles feel so much better than my Adrenaline 12's that have less than 150 miles on them?  I'm pretty confident that my Adrenaline 12's are causing the shin pain that I have been experiencing for some time now.  I won't be picking up new shoes until after the LVTC Championship Series 10k because... Red Rock Running Company is offering to match participants entry fee with a gift voucher for a pair of shoes at their store!  Super awesome!

I've got another blog post in the works... a very important anniversary is today and deserves to be discussed.  Time to finish watching Real Housewives of Beverly Hills!

New Years Virtual 5k

Today I participated in a New Years Virtual 5k hosted by Kiley over at Daily Vitamin F.  I enjoy participating in virtual races just as much as "on location" (is that what you call it?) because: a) they are free and b) I can do it when I want (well, kind of).  I am a new follower of Kiley's blog and luckily I saw she was hosting this race earlier this week. 

When my husband and the little kids headed to church, my older son and I decided to head out for our 3.1 mile run.  My son wanted to ride his new electric scooter while I ran.  Before we set out for our adventure, my stomach was hurting.  I finally figured out why... I only ate a cup of puppy chow (aka muddy buddy) and 1/2 of a banana since I woke up at 8am (it was 12:30pm went we heading out the door).  I ate another banana to try to calm down the stomach.

I decided to wear my old Adrenaline 11's to see if it would help alleviate the pain in my right shin.

Man, I look sleepy still!

We were off on our adventure.  Secretly, I was hoping to run a sub-30 minutes for this 5k today.  I decided to take a different running route today... one I haven't taken in almost a year.  See with me... once I find a route I like, I stick to it.... for every single run.  For months.  It was so beautiful today.  Another t-shirt and shorts kind of run.  LOVE IT! 

At the half way point (1.55 miles), I decided to stop and take this picture.

Why you ask?  Because these feet and legs have been put through a lot this year... They have moved over 1,000 miles in 2011.  They deserve recognition for being able to make it through so many miles!

We went back on our running adventure and I was pushing for that sub-30.  Did I make it?

Ugh!  So freakin' close!  Maybe next time....

Race Schedule & Goals for 2012

Race Schedule:

I've spent most of today thinking about what races I want to run this year.  I compiled a list of races I have on my radar.  I highly doubt I will be able to run all of these races, but here's to trying!

1. New Year’s Virtual 5k Race (1/1/12)
2. LVTC Ryan the Terrible’s 4.4M Birthday Run (1/7/12)
3. LVTC Championship Series 10k (1/14/12)
4. Freeze Your Thorns Off 5k Virtual Race (1/28/12)
5. Mardi Gras 10k (2/11/12)
6. For the Love of the Kids Virtual Run ½ Marathon (2/14/12)
7. The Color Run (2/25/12)
8. Six Tunnels to Hoover Dam 5k (3/17/12)
9. Guns ‘n Hoses ½ marathon (4/22/12)
10. LVTC Celebrate Education/National Run a Mile 5k/IM (4/28/12)
11. LVTC Mother’s Day Run (5/12/12)
12. Wet ‘n Wild 5k & Kids Run (6/16/12)
13. Running with the Devil 5k (6/23/12)
14. LVTC Christmas in July (7/28/12)
15. LVTC Legends of Cross Country (8/4/12)
16. Minnesota ½ Marathon (8/4/12) or Gopher to Badger ½ Marathon (8/13/12)
17. Disneyland ½ Marathon (9/2/12)
18. Manhattan Beach 10k (10/6/12)
19. Vegas Ragnar Relay (10/20?)
20. Really Big Free ½ Marathon (11/3/12)
21. LVTC Predict Your Time, Win a Turkey 5k (11/10/12)
22. LVTC Run the Turkey Off (11/24/12)

Goals:

• Sub-30 minutes for 5k races (for the realistic and attainable races)
• Average a sub-10 min/mile for all races 4 miles and below
• Run under a 2:15 for the half marathon distance
• Sub-28:00 for a 5k
• Sub-60:00 for a 10k
• Run at least 4 half marathons this year
• Run at least 1,010 (beat my 2011 record) but hope to run 1,200 miles.

It's as simple and difficult as that : )

I'd like to know what races you have on your 2012 calendar.  Post a comment and/or leave a link to your blog post below.

Christmas...

Yeah, yeah, yeah... I know.  Christmas was a week ago and I'm SUPER late on this post.  Oh well.  Life goes on : )

I must have been especially good this year!  I got some AMAZING running gifts this year.  First up...

Jill from Run with Jill hosted a blogger gift exchange.  It was a Secret Santa kind of thing... I thought it was a great idea and decided to participate.  I got paired up with Michelle from Runn Princess Runn.  I perused through her blog and quickly noted that she LOVED Lululemon.  Easy... I ordered her a giftcard and she received it with a couple of days.  She sent me a message and said she was SO EXCITED when she saw it! 

I checked my mail everyday waiting for my Secret Santa gift to arrive.  Anyone who knows me knows I do not this.  I'm lucky if I check my mail twice a week.  Nothing exciting ever arrives... except bills.  A week went by... no gift.  I was starting to think I wasn't going to get a gift... until the door bell rang one afternoon.  I was napping (hey... it is Winter Break from school... and I need my nap!).  I thought about just ignoring it, but I decided to go downstairs and check the door.  Luckily I did.  The mailman left me one of those notes stating I missed my delivery and would need to go to the post office to pick it up!  Even luckier is the mailman was still in his vehicle in front of my house!  I picked the package and realized it was my Secret Santa gift.  So excited!  I quickly realized why it seemed like it took forever to arrive... because it came all the way from SOUTH AFRICA!!  No joke.  How awesome is that?!?!

She made me a notepad with a cupcake and my name on it!  It is SO AWESOME!!  I don't know how she did it or how she made it look so cool.... but I love it.

Next up... my awesome buddies, Kaplan and E-Rod, and I decided to exchange Christmas gifts this year.  E-Rod got me a new 7-quart slow cooker because she knew my last one took a dump. 

Ignore the dirty countertop

Kaplan heard through the grapevine that I wanted a Team Sparkle Running Skirt:

I've been eyeballing a Team Sparkle Running Skirt for a few months now and I finally got one!  Can't wait to break it in in 2012!

My dad surprised me with my first wireless (bluetooth-capable) headphones. 

Motorola SD-10

I wore them twice... and wouldn't turn on again.  I returned them to Best Buy with hopes of finding a different brand... but no such luck.  I decided to get the headphones below (found on Amazon).  They have AMAZING reviews (which is something I always look at):

Last, but certainly not least, my husband and kiddos bought me something I've been wanting for several years.... A Kitchenaid stand up mixer!!!

No more 1970's rusty hand mixer... hello 2012 Kitchenaid stand up mixer!  Score!

I hope the holidays were fantastic for everyone!