week 7

Tough week. Tired. So tired. High temps and humidity all week. Oppressive.

Sunday: X-train. elliptical, 60 min @25 elev. & 10 resistance. @ 50-60 rpm. (I have no idea what that info means, but I did a lot of sweating.)

Monday: 4 miles on path. Mostly flat, slight hill. Time - ? PM run...yeah, not a big fan.

Tuesday: 7 miles on path. Time=1:02. Slow, tough. Stopped twice. Boo. :(

Weds: 4 miles. 15 min on treadmill, immed. followed by road run. Time=? It was messy. I officially HATE the treadmill.

Thursday: rest

Friday: 14 miles on path. Time=1:58:02. Very pleased with the time. Heat and humidity were at all time high. Stopped once for GU and H2O, twice to let Lilly get water in the creek. Feeling a satisfied exhaustion. Really sore right lwr gluteus. Oh, and I attempted my first ice bath. Hated it. (Are you supposed to yell out from the chilling pain? Maybe I did something wrong.) Only made it 5 min. Haha. Pansy.

Saturday: planned 5K @ 5 PM. We'll see. Update to follow.

bonus - a rut?

So, it's Monday nite. Should have been a rest day, but I had to tweak b/c I decided to run a 5K race this Sat. nite, and that's normally my long run day. Issue: Feeling so tired!

So, yesterday was a x-train day. I did an elliptical w/o for 60 min. It was my first ever. It was a little boring, but not terrible. It felt like a good w/o, but I have no idea how to gauge it. It felt tough as I moved along, raised the incline and resistance...and I was pouring sweat.

Today rolls around, and I didn't run in the AM as planned. Had to wait until about 5:30. It was blazing hot and humid, and I really didn't feel like doing anything..but in my mind, I was so wanting to run. Body and mind were arguing. Well, they argued throughout the run, but the mind won out. I completed the 4 miles on mostly flat paved path. It was tough tho. And now...now I'm beat.

The thing is, I have 7 tomorrow and 4 Weds. I'm used to going a mile or so longer than the plan suggests, but lately, I'm just about keeping up. Drats. Rest day will be Thurs. and the 14 mile long run will be Friday. I'm really nervous this week that I won't make it on Friday. My mind and heart want it...bad!! I just have to motivate my body to do it.

Is this a rut? I hope to snap out of it, b/c I still have a long way to go till 11/9...marathon day.

Anyway..just wanted to include how I'm feeling now, b/c it's the first time I ever felt stuck, and well, it's part of the journey I guess.

Going to bed now. Hey, reader...wake up. It's over.

Week 6 - in Maine

We took a trip to Bar Harbor, ME this week, so it wasn't the best training week. My nutritional intake suffered greatly. Kept with the running, but tweaked it a bit. Glad I'm not going anywhere anytime soon. I need to get back on track, on schedule...I crave a little consistency.

Sunday - rest day (had to clean and pack...bailed on exercise. Boo.)

Monday - 30 min run (not sure of distance...3.5-4 ish), road

Tuesday - 4.2 miles in Freeport., road, some hills, rain. Felt good.

Weds- 6 miles in Bar Harbor. Carriage road, unpaved. Hills! (50:54)

Thurs - rest. Did ocean kayak for 2+ hrs tho. That was fun!!

Friday - rest. Rode home for 12 hrs. yuck.

Saturday - 10 mi., path, with Lilly. PR - 1:20:16. Tough, humid run. After a week of eating poorly, I expected not to have the best run, and was surprised at the time. I think it was due to Lil. She's a great partner!

Week 5 + some thanks.

Less than 40 days the the Lehigh Valley Health Network Half Marathon. I'm feeling pretty good about it. 12 weeks till OBX mara...taking it one day at a time. :)

Sunday - x-train: P-90X Yoga. I hate yoga!! I know it's good for me, it stretches me, strengthens my core, etc...but I just do not like it. Not sure why, but it's not my thing. It was for certain a great workout though.

Monday - rest. Ab ripper X...love the abs workouts!

Tuesday - 5 miles, mostly flat path. It was a good run, but the legs were still sore either from the weekend's long run, or the yogaX. Didn't time it.

Weds. - 7.5 miles, road, hilly (1:01). It was hot and humid, and my body was just tired. Not the best feeling run, but still feel great that I finished. Oh...walked a tiny bit.

Thurs. - 4 miles on the path. 30:34...I think that's a PR. Yahoo! Felt like I was exerting, but not to the max. Happy bout that.

Friday - rest. Walked 5.5 with KR. Leisurely, but I think it irritated the calf. Grrrr.

Saturday - 12 miles, road, hilly (1:42). Gorgeous morning! Great run!! I used GU for the first time. Strawberry...not too bad. I stashed a bottle of water and happen to have picked a great place, b/c I was able to have it after about 1 hour (just the time I had been hoping for). I'll definitely do that again. Hate carrying stuff w/me.

Lilly, the marathon dog, was along. We took a moment to hydrate and refuel, and pressed on. She ran like a champ. Didn't even appear to want to quit.

I felt great at the end, with the exception of the left calf which was kinda annoyed with me. Too bad. Iced, massaged, used The Stick in the evening. It's been something like 8 months that I've been dealing with the mean calf. Running with my Zensah sleeve saves me though. I <3>

Ok, well, this week was pretty good. I find that the more I train, the more I like it! Confidence is building (ever so slowly), and I'm at the point where I really believe I can reach the goal, complete this first marathon. NEVER before did I ever imagine I'd be in this place. I'm overjoyed and so grateful to a few close friends (TS, KR, EK), my twitter friends, and my family...for supporting me, believing in me, and being an incredible source of inspiration and encouragement every day. Thx!!

Week 4...late.

Home from vacation, and feeling like I needed another to rest from the first, the start of this week was tough. I kept the long run on Sunday for this week due to coming home from vacation. It was great to get out and stretch the legs (and arms and back and fingers and toes) after the 8 hour ride. Not much to say other than that b/c I didn't keep notes and I forget most of how I felt. Darn...Fail. Will have remedy that for the upcoming week.

K...here's the report:

Sunday - 8 miles (time??), mostly flat path. I rememeber feeling good on this one, as I couldn't wait to get to it after the car ride.

Monday - rest. Walked 5 mi.

Tuesday - 4 miles with Lilly (who overate and didn't run all week at Aunt Robin's. Poor doggy...she struggled a bit.)

Weds - 8 miles, road, very hilly, walked some, (1:12). I was disappointed with the time, so much that I've since ditched the watch on occasion. Became too obsessed over pace, and forgot to just enjoy the run. :(

Thurs - 4 mi., path, heavy legs. Sore and tired from the hills yesterday. Got it done though. Watch free.

Friday - rest

Saturday - 12 mi. long run. (1:41), mostly flat path. Farthest ever in my life, and I felt terrific! Lilly even made it. Most of the run I felt good, breathing steady, no pain. Around mile 10 I started to feel the calf aching, quads and knees talking to me. Last mile was tough, but I was so happy to know I was going to take the 12, that I didn't care. Rest of the day...I was high as a kite! Nothing could rattle me. Amazing feeling.