Day 91 (1/29): 7 miles / 1:02:49

After a frustrating week, this is exactly what I needed to complete my second week of marathon training!  It was just one of those "I can do anything I put my mind to" kind of days...

I spent the majority of this past week sick with a cold.  I had a serious lack of energy and, unfortunately, the last minute details of my son's second birthday party took every last ounce of the limited energy I did have.  I was certainly disappointed to not get in a single run since Monday, but I had to accept the fact that my body just wouldn't have been able to handle it.  By the time I regained enough energy to run, there just weren't enough hours in the day to fit it in.

So, here I am... it's Sunday and the last day of training for this week.  I almost had myself convinced that I shouldn't go ahead with the long run I had scheduled thinking I should probably take it easy.  Then I remembered that I'd taken it easy all week and now was not the time to become a slacker.  So I bundled up in my winter running gear and headed for the great outdoors (well, I guess the sidewalks of my subdivision don't exactly qualify as the 'great outdoors', but I'll take anything over 7 miles on the treadmill).  The newest addition to my cold weather running gear is a pair of running gloves that my ever-supportive hubby bought for me.  I didn't think I'd like wearing them, but was surprised to find that they were absolutely perfect... just warm enough to keep my poor fingers from freezing and still light enough to keep them from sweating. 

I gave serious thought to running at a slower pace, but again, my lack of training this week made me feel like I'd earned the right to really push myself.  I checked my watch at every mile, mostly to make sure I didn't start off faster than I could handle.  I was right around a 9:30 pace for my first two miles and really felt like I could keep that pace for the entire run.  I was pleasantly surprised at the half way point when I noted my time was about 33:00 and that I still felt like I could keep that pace going.  I was pleasantly surprised that the second half of my run was even faster than the first.  I'm guessing that my insistence on increasing my speed when I'm on the treadmill has made this a possibility for me.  Of course, one might argue that it actually suggests I'm not starting off as fast as I should be, but it's pretty amazing how your body works and what you get used to and I'm a pretty big fan of finishing faster than I started.  It doesn't hurt the ego to have faster splits at the end of a long run :)

So, even though I trained for all of one day this week, I can honestly say that I still feel I did pretty well.  I'm sure that it doesn't make up for all of those missed miles, but I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm not at all disappointed with my week.  I gave my limited workouts all I had and I'll take that over a handful of uninspired workouts any day :)

And now there's just 16 weeks to go...

Day 90 (1/23): 3 miles / 26:30

Today I was pretty excited about mixing up my workout... partly because I'm finding that I enjoy doing different things from time to time and partly because a personal trainer I know was able to give me some tips to help alleviate some of my hip discomfort.  I started my workout with a few new stretches and exercises, then headed downstairs for my 3 mile run.

The only disappointing part of today's run was that I wasn't able to get outside like I'd originally hoped.  Today was another crazy warm day for January in Cleveland, but by the time I was able to run, the temperature had dropped back into the 30s.  Because I've heard too many stories of people getting hit by cars, I rarely run in the street and am completely unwilling to do so in the dark.  The warm weather had melted all of the snow on the sidewalks and I was excited about squeezing in an outdoor workout... until the dropping temp had me concerned that the rain on the sidewalks might get icy... and I just didn't want to take any chances.  As much as I would have loved to be outdoors, I'll take the safety of my treadmill until the sidewalks are clear.

So, to mix up my run, I decided to do some interval work... and was amazed at just how good it felt.  I started out running 1 minute at 6 mph, then 30 seconds at 8 mph, repeating the cycle for the first mile.  That actually started to feel a little easier than I had expected, so I kept the same pattern, but stepped it up to 6.5 and 8.5 mph for the second mile.  For my last mile, I set the treadmill to 6.5 mph and slowly increased the speed throughout, ending my run at 9 mph... which felt fantastic!  Of course, the very best part of today's run... I went the entire workout with zero discomfort in my hip.  Don't get me wrong... I know my hip issues aren't gone for good, but I am pretty excited to find that a few new exercises could make such a difference. 

Needless to say, I plan to continue working on building up my hip strength and, who knows, maybe I'll get this thing taken care of after all...

Day 89 (1/21): 6 miles / 1:00:19

Today's run felt pretty good... for the most part.  There's no question that not smoking makes a big difference in how I feel.  But, unfortunately, I think this problem with my hip is one that I am just going to have to deal with for the long haul.  With the time I've taken off so far, I would have thought that whatever injury I was dealing with would have been taken care of.  Sadly, this is not the case.  Instead, I believe I'll need to deal with it as I go and attempt to keep it from getting worse.  Of course, I will continue with lots of stretching, which seems to help a great deal.  From there I'm guessing I'll need to rely on ice and pain relievers.  I'll also continue to try to find new ways to alleviate the discomfort.  At this point I'm willing to try just about anything.  It's not so much that the pain is unbearable... I'm more concerned with the fact that it will be a very long 26.2 miles (as if that's not already a long way to go) if I have to deal with this discomfort the entire time.  Wish me luck!

Day 88 (1/19): 3 miles / 35:19

Today's goal was to keep my run at a leisurely jog... just a little time to myself to reflect on my day, enjoy some music, work up a little sweat, but go easy on my hip just to make sure I'm not overdoing it in my first week of training.  The hard part: figuring out how to do that.

The only plan I could come up with was to cover all of the treadmill screens so that I couldn't focus on the numbers.  I even covered the speed and decided on my pace solely based on how it felt.  Obviously, at some point, I was going to have to keep an eye on how far I was going so that I was sure to get in my full 3 miles, but I was determined to wait until I thought I was at least half way through my run before checking my progress.  I was very proud of myself... the first time I checked, I had already run 1.66 miles.  Not only was I impressed that I'd held out as long as I did, but also that I was able to so closely guess when I'd reached the half way point.  After that, I managed to only check my distance occasionally.  I'm pretty proud of that accomplishment alone.

In the meantime, with no numbers glaring at me, I was able to focus on other things.  I mostly just listened to my music and my slow pace actually allowed me to sing along to my favorite parts (my husband's Thursday bowling commitment was suddenly a blessing in disguise - I have no doubt my horrendous singing would have been grounds for divorce) and my crazy mix of music even allowed me to bust out some sweet dance moves from time to time (and by 'sweet' I mean 'scary'... I imagine anyone watching might have been concerned I was having a medical emergency and would have likely called 911 if there wouldn't be some question as to why they were watching me through my basement window in the first place). 

Anyway, a few months ago I had put together a running playlist and, after today's run, there's no question that it needs some work.  I always put it on shuffle and, with my ipod in my arm band, I don't have the ability to skip songs... here's what I got to listen to today:

All Star - Smash Mouth
(one of my favorites from my running playlist)
Chasin' That Neon Rainbow - Alan Jackson
(seriously? I mean, I like country, but this is just silly)
Boot Scootin' Boogie - Brooks & Dunn
(a little embarrassed to even claim this one)
Lighters - Bad Meets Evil
(love the song... terrible for running)
American Girl - Tom Petty
(not too bad I suppose)
Cooler Than Me - Mike Posner
(oddly enough, I actually love this one)
Ridin' - Chamillionaire
(who's playlist is this anyway? so not me)
My Body - Young the Giant
(a friend's recommendation and by far my favorite from this playlist)
Are You Gonna Go My Way - Lenny Kravitz
(hmmm... I'm not even a Kravitz fan...)
Down Under - Men at Work
(love this song... but I have no clue why)
Super Bass - Nicki Minaj
(kinda love this one too)

Needless to say, this playlist could use a serious makeover.  There are definitely a few I really like, but with more than half of these being questionable, I'm thinking I need to spend some time working on a playlist I might actually enjoy for my entire run... especially if I plan to use my music to get me through some of my longer distances.  Suggestions welcome.

Day 87 (1/18): 3 miles / 26:51

Well, I guess that'll teach me...

I started out with the intention of simply running 3 miles on the treadmill... no pressure, just get in the miles and call it a day.  The problem, of course, is when I get half way through my run and start thinking 'hey, I feel pretty good... maybe I should be going a little faster...'  Which is fine... until I start thinking 'maybe I can beat yesterday's time... maybe it was just an off day and today would be a better test of my current fitness level...'  So, off I go to better my time.  I was so sure yesterday that I could have gone faster, so let's see what I can really do...

Seriously?!?  2 seconds?  That's it?!?  That's all I managed to shave off my time from yesterday?  I'd tell myself to take a deep breath, but I'm bent over and sucking wind so hard I can barely pull myself together.

So this proves it.  Regardless of how fast I want to pretend I can go, this is most definitely where my current fitness level is... just shy of a 9:00 mile for a 3 mile run.  One might think that, based upon my disappointment in yesterday's time, I would also be disappointed in today's.  But, truth be told, I actually feel much better.  After 2 days in the same conditions and with the same goal, it turns out that a 9:00 mile is about as good as it gets right now.  I have no reason to be upset with that.  I'd say that's consistency at its finest. 

With that out of the way, it will be my intention to simply run 3 miles tomorrow.  No more competing to improve my time.  Just log the miles and enjoy the workout.  Now we'll just have to wait and see if I can actually follow through on that :)

Day 86 (1/17): 3 miles / 26:53

So, it's officially the first day of Marathon Training... a very scary thought.  You see, I've gotten pretty darn good at starting things... and really good at telling people about them... haven't always been the best at following through.  I found it easy to tell friends and family that I was running a marathon this year.  It occurs to me now, however, that there are a few things to consider with the official start of my training... I can no longer tell people that I will start training in January, because January is here.  I can no longer explain that I'm planning to follow an 18 week training program and that, for now, I'm just doing a little base training, because base training is over and it's time to get serious.  I can no longer simply tell people what I'm planning to do, because it's time to start showing them.

Don't get me wrong - since the very moment this idea came to my mind, I have had every intention of following through.  This was never something I was just going to talk about.  The problem is that I no longer have time to talk about it... it's time get this plan in motion.  I'm officially training for a marathon.  Wow!

As far as my run was concerned, I put on some headphones, jumped on the treadmill and ran it as fast as I could.  I really wanted to get an idea of where my fitness level was at the start of training so I could better track my progress.  While I do believe I would have run faster outdoors, it was, unfortunately, not an option with the man of the house out of town for work. 

And here's where my struggle begins... as I sit here to write, I find there's a mini tennis match happening somewhere back behind my eyeballs... that I can't decide how I feel about today's run.  Initially, I think: sure, it wasn't my fastest 3 miles, but I'm comfortable with where I am right now.  An 8:58 pace is pretty darn good.  Then it occurs to me that, if I'm being completely honest with myself, I was really hoping I could have run it faster.  Then a third thought comes to mind... "Could I have run it faster?"  That's a stupid question... of course I could... in a race, with people around me, an actual finish line... who really has the ability to give 100% on a treadmill?  It's the reason most treadmills become overflow closet space... it's boring and monotonous and hard to stay motivated.

So, here's where I'm at... I truly did push myself and feel that I got in a good workout, but I know I can go faster.  This is the beginning of my training and I look forward to my times improving from this point forward.  And, of course, I'm planning to get myself outdoors to run every chance I get... because I'm bound and determined to keep my treadmill from becoming an extra closet.

And I look forward to seeing where I end up in 18 weeks.  As far as this new chapter in my life is concerned, I'm nervous, excited and anxious all at the same time... but I think I'm mostly excited... or maybe nervous... no, definitely excited...

P.S. - In addition to being my first day of training, it seemed as good a time as any to call it quits on the smoking... so it is also my first day without a cigarette and, thus far, seems to be going better than I would have expected.  Hopefully, if I manage to get through the next 18 weeks without one, maybe I'll be able to make it a permanent change after all.

Day 85 (1/10): 3 miles / 27:03

Although accurate, the time for these three miles is a little misleading.  After thoroughly enjoying changing up my workouts over the past couple of weeks, I decided to try something different, yet again.  With only a week to go before my official marathon training begins, I wanted to get a feel for what else might make a good workout for me so that I can stick to the training schedule while also mixing things up from time to time.  Today's plan was to mix in some intervals. 

It's been so many years since I've done any kind of real training... any time I've run since high school, it's just been plain old running.  Since I wanted to make sure my hip was up for it, I ran my first mile at a comfortable pace (6.2 mph), then took a quick break for a little more stretching.  Back on the treadmill, I decided to try this... I went with my comfortable pace (6.2 mph) for two-tenths of a mile, then bumped the speed up to 9 mph for one-tenth and back down to 6.2 for two-tenths.  I repeated this five times with my last fast-paced tenth of a mile ending 2.5 miles into my run and ran the last half mile at 6.2 mph. 

This made for a very interested workout.  I loved the way it felt to push myself a little harder and not allow myself to come to a complete stop to catch my breath.  I'm sure this will come in handy on marathon day as it's my goal to not only finish, but hopefully to do it without walking.  And while I have no intention of sprinting during the middle of the marathon, I do feel like pushing myself in the middle or at the end of a workout makes a long distance run seem that much easier... it should certainly be easier to keep a steady pace than it is to throw in sprints from time to time.  I guess I'll see how I feel about my crazy training techniques when I actually complete the marathon.

Yoga

So, I had originally said I wasn't going to post on non-running days, but I felt today's workout warranted some attention.  I decided I would get in a good run tomorrow, so rather than run today, I went with yoga.  Granted, I'd tried it a few times before, but this time it was with the intention of really trying everything I could and sticking it out for as long as possible.  Again, the only yoga dvd I have is the p90x dvd... and, boy, am I going to feel this tomorrow...

In prior attempts, I'd only lasted about 20 minutes.  Today I hung in there for 40.  I'm sure I looked nothing like the people on my tv screen, but this is where not having an audience really comes in handy. 

I have to admit that, prior to now, I found all of the names for the poses to be a little silly... I suppose it was because I'd never really done them.  But today I realized that some of them really are great names.  Among my favorites are Warrior I and Warrior II, Runners Pose and, oddly enough, Downward Dog makes me smile... maybe I just don't get that one yet, but it feels good just the same.  They somehow made me feel empowered... of course, they were also among the easier ones for me to do.  I completely fell over doing Twisted Chair and finally threw in the towel at the Side Arm Balance (I'm sure there's a cooler name out there for that one, but I'll worry about learning it when I figure out how to do it).

And since, as I sit here, I'm feeling my muscles slowly tighten up, I guess I'd better get in a little more stretching before I call it a day.  Here's to what I will consider my first official day of yoga... I can't say I'm hooked, but I can definitely see myself getting there.

Day 84 (1/7): 3 miles / ?

For this unseasonably warm January day, I decided to hit the road for today's 3 mile run.  I also decided not to bother wearing a watch.  I really wanted to base my run on how I was feeling and figured checking my time would only cause me to ignore any pains I might have in an effort to achieve a better time.  Unfortunately, I failed to charge my ipod and was without the pleasant distraction I'd hoped for.  I had been planning on a thought-free run (I was hoping to avoid the usual To Do list filling my head as I find that sometimes causes me to run faster thinking I'll have more time to accomplish my goals by finishing faster), but without a constant stream of music in my ears, I was left singing songs to myself.  I wish I'd heard better music throughout the morning... jogging to the greatest hits of The Fresh Beat Band isn't quite what I had in mind... although the fact that my son gets a kick out of them and tries to imitate their dance moves whenever they're on tv, I did have a good chuckle to myself imagining him dancing along to the songs in my head.  No doubt I had some stupid smile on my face and I'm sure I looked pretty silly to everyone I passed by.

Other than the few moments I took to help a neighbor catch their dog who'd escaped (he appeared to be out for a jog to enjoy this beautiful day as well), it was a pretty uneventful run.  Without a time for comparison purposes, all I can say is that I felt really good and very much enjoyed the fresh air.  The snow will be back in no time, so I'm just glad I got out while I had the chance.

Day 83 (1/5): 4 miles / 36:19

Yesterday was such a frustrating day trying to get in a workout without running... between the DVD player not working properly, then having no sound at all, I tried to do what I could remember and ended up too irritated to get in the kind of workout I wanted.  So, today's workout was meant to make up for that while permitting me to think as little as possible... I have to say, I think my plan worked out pretty well.

I'd originally set out to run 3 miles on the treadmill, but half way through my first mile, I decided to repeat what I'd done a few days ago with breaks between each mile to mix up my workout.  I started at a 6 mph pace and continued to increase the speed throughout the first mile finishing at 6.4.  I hopped off the treadmill, did push ups, some ab work and some mountain climbers (yeah.. those aren't fun at all), then got back on the treadmill for mile 2.  That mile started at 6.4 and I worked my way up to 6.8.  Another "break" for push ups, ab work and a few other random exercises I could think of on the fly, and back to the treadmill for what I intended to be my last mile.  I decided to give this one all I had, starting at 6.8 mph and finishing at 8.0.  I felt pretty darn good about that last mile... until I looked down at my treadmill to a little magazine cutout I'd managed to hang on to since high school that says "One More Mile"... so that's what I did.  I knocked the speed down to 6.5 and, even though I thought I'd given my third mile everything I had, it turned out that I still had a little bit left.  Of course, I was pretty beat by the time I finished, but it felt great to give a little something extra at the end that I wasn't sure I had in me.  And, of course, the fact that I was completely free of any discomfort for the first time in months, made me feel like a million bucks... a winded million bucks, but a million bucks just the same :)

So, now I'm down to just over a week before my official marathon training schedule starts.  Of course, I have no intention of pushing myself any harder than my body permits... but I am hoping to follow the schedule as closely as possible... no need to run a marathon being completely unprepared.  I'm pretty sure I'm already in way over my head... and enjoying every minute :)

Day 82 (1/2): 4 miles / 44:03

Today I set out for a nice long 4 mile run... not that 4 miles is particularly long, but I felt it would give me a decent amount of time to reflect on 2011 and look to the year ahead.  I started out an easy pace and, after 3 miles of running in comfort, I picked up the pace for the last mile, which I ran in 8:48. 

And, since I spent the entire time doing all of this 'reflecting', I will warn you that, if you're only interested in reading about running, you can go ahead and skip the rest of this post... I don't believe I'll mention it again... :)

After ringing in the New Year with too many drinks and hours of dancing, today seemed like a great day to reflect on 2011, so I settled in for an easy run on the treadmill and gave some thought to last year's resolutions.  I can honestly say that I consider all of my 2011 resolutions to be accomplished... even if it's not necessarily in the same sense I originally intended when those resolutions were made.

My first resolution for 2011, and the one whose success might be considered a bit of a stretch, was to do a better job cleaning.  I was never a big fan of cleaning and didn't necessarily appreciate the effort once the job was completed.  For me, cleaning was just something I did when absolutely necessary.  Don't get me wrong, I certainly wasn't living in some hoarder's dream house... I simply didn't find it necessary to have every inch of my home dusted at all times.  But, in the spirit of improving my skills as a wife and mother, I decided I was going to spend more time on doing just that.  Unfortunately, that lasted about 3 weeks before I lost interest completely.  One might think this resolution of mine should be considered a failure, but, in November we decided to treat ourselves to a cleaning service and we've never looked back.  With all of the things going on in our lives, we agreed we just couldn't keep up with everything that needed to be done around the house.  As much as I'd love to pretend that I can handle it all, the fact is that there just aren't enough hours in the day and we were unwilling to live in a complete mess all the time.  Part of the reason I consider this resolution to be such a success was my ability to admit to myself that I simply wasn't able to do it... it still got done, just not by me :)  I realize, of course, that this luxury of ours may not last forever, but I can tell you one thing for certain, I'm going to appreciate the hell out of it while it does.

My second resolution was to spend the year decluttering the house.  I'm proud to report that this resolution was a huge success, ending last week with the complete clean out and reorganization of the basement.  Of course, that last project would not have been at all possible without the amazing handywork of my husband, who spent his vacation time building shelves and a work bench and organizing all of the stuff we keep stored down there.  But I did help out where possible on the project and finally forced myself to go through some old junk I'd been hanging on to for far too long.  It felt good to get rid of the things we never use and make room for the new junk we'll likely accumulate over the next several years.

My final resolution was to read one non-fiction book each month of the year.  It had to be something motivational, inspirational or on a topic that I didn't know much about.  I was determined to learn a few new things this year... about myself and anything else I could find a book on.  This is probably the resolution I'm most proud of and, even though it will not be a formal resolution for 2012, I do believe it will be something I'll continue to do, just because I enjoyed it so much.  I started out reading things I thought I would enjoy because I could relate to the subject matter in some way.  I was surprised to find that I was far more inspired by books about things and people that I didn't think I'd have anything in common with at all.  Of course, as I mentioned early on in this blog, my most inspirational book was Winning Every Day by Lou Holtz.  Sure, it had a lot of football references, which was why I don't think I ever would have picked up the book on my own, but I found it to be so motivational and, as it turns out, is what encouraged me to not only start running again, but to start this blog as well.  Another great book for me was my last book for the year, which was about the five secrets to learn before you die.  Of course, most of the information in that book was common knowledge, but gave an interesting perspective on what older people felt was most important to know in order to live a fulfilling life.  My favorite section of that book talked about looking at each big decision in your life from the perspective of an old person sitting in a rocking chair on the front porch reflecting on their life.  What decision would the older version of you tell you to make?  I felt it was a good reminder that, when all is said and done, odds are pretty good you're going to wish you'd taken bigger risks and remembered to live the life you want to live instead of always focusing on the influences around you.  It's not always easy to be true to yourself, but when this short life of ours comes to an end, one would hope to have lived to their full potential.  I love the idea of starting the new year with this thought in the back of my head.

Prior to 2011, my New Year's resolutions were always something silly or not necessarily something I'd even wanted to do.  They were the usual 'lose 10 pounds', 'quit smoking', etc.  Don't get me wrong... those were not silly resolutions... but they weren't MY resolutions.  This last year was the first time I'd set my mind to something to better myself because I wanted to and actually felt like I'd learned something from it in the end.  Setting a New Year's resolution finally has a different meaning for me.

As I thought about all of the things I've discovered about myself in 2011, I tried to come up with something equally fulfilling for 2012.  Unfortunately, thus far, I haven't come up with anything quite like last year, but I have decided on a few things that I don't intend to do.  First of all, I have no intention of setting any running goals for myself.  While it is still my intention to run the marathon in May, I consider that to be a fulfillment of last year's goal, so while I will be working towards that goal in 2012, I don't want to pretend that it's something for this year.  And while I could certainly set some other running goals for this year, I realize that I'm just starting to get back into the running routine and I'm pretty sure the marathon is big enough for this year.  Maybe next year I'll strive for doing something beyond that, but for now I'm satisfied with just this one race :)

So, as boring as it may be, my resolution for 2012, at least for now, is to take better care of my teeth.  I'm sure that sounds kind of ridiculous.  I almost feel silly just writing it.  But, since this blog is meant for me, and because some day I plan to go back and revisit every post just to see how far I've come, I realize it doesn't make much sense to pretend my goals are something more than they are.  The truth is, I brush twice a day... but that's just about where my tooth care ends.  My goal is to see the dentist twice this year for regular cleanings (anyone have a dentist they recommend?  I'm embarrassed to admit that I don't even have one), to floss regularly and, as much as I really hate to admit it, to quit smoking.  I would love to pretend that my quitting a few months back had stuck, but it simply didn't and, over time, I went back to being a full time smoker again... not something I ever posted about, but I'd only be lying to myself if I pretend otherwise.  So, since it is something I want to do and it is most definitely something that would be better for my teeth, I'm lumping it in with taking better care of my teeth this year.  Of course, this was not a 'quit on New Year's Eve' thing... but I'll get there... eventually...