Half Marathon: Week Four

This has been a frustrating week. After almost completing the first stage of my half marathon training plan I am left unable to run more than a mile or two, on a good day, due to my achillies tendonopothy. I will have to seriously revamp my training plans for the upcoming half and full marathons. This is frustrating and disheartening. But, this is all a learning process to determine how to work with my limitations in order to reach my Boston goal. It seems a little threatened and potentially unattainable - we shall see!

I realize that after taking two weeks off from exercise after my 10k race to let injuries heal. I may have jumped back into too much of a weekly mileage increase. I will have to take a step back and slowly transition into full time running with a lot of cross training between now and then.

Tue 30min cross+strength- Split my cross training between the stationary bike and elliptical and then did my two usual circuits of weights.

Wed 4mi run- I went to the gym to cross train since my legs feel really tired and sore. I tried to run a lap around the gym basketball court but couldn't bare more than a few steps. I biked for 40min to give my legs a break from running-like activity.

Thr 2mi run+swim- I went to the gym and used the elliptical for 20min in order to get some more time on my legs for the week. The session was nice and practically pain free.

Sat 3mi run- I did the 3mi run around Mount Holly with a fair amount of success. I did have achillies pain during the run but my legs felt recovered and happy after the run as well as the next morning

Sun 7mi run- In an effort to not further aggravate my achillies as my long runs the past two weeks seem to have done, I decided to postpone this long run until tomorrow when I can do most of it as cross training on the bike and elliptical.

My body has been feeling more and more tired over the last month. We have been very bad at going to bed at a decent hour and I've been getting only 5-7hour of sleep for the past few weeks. I think this is catching up with me and not allowing my body to recover from my training.

Half Marathon: Week Three

Mon 3mi run- I did the lake loop with Wayne. This was the first trail run since resuming training my training. I was a little nervous about running on the uneven surface but my Brooks again prove their worth in conforming to the contours of the trail. I'm still training too fast if I'm trying to race the half and full marathons at 8min pace. I need to study the pace calculators again.

Tue 30min cross+strength- I realized when I got to the gym that i'd forgotten to look at my calendar to see that todays cross training length sould be so I added just a bit of extra time. I added an extra 5min to my ellipticaling today and did the usual 15min upright stationary bike. Doing two circuits in the weight room is becoming easy again. I really need to work more upper back/core/hips/knees or just change up the routine for more running specific exercises. I might be to a point where I could start the Iron Strength routine.

Wed 4mi run- I took my new watch on the run at 8:57pm. It is pleasantly cool that late in the evening but it quickly gets dark after 9pm and it was certainly nice and dark when finished my run. I'm still running faster than my planned 9min pace. Having the watch and keeping my pace slower means I don't feel as fatigued as usual after the run and my achillies tendons feel better today.

Thr 2mi run+30min swim- There was no massive mob of a swim team out this time! We did have several recreational swimmers that snuck over from the Flat Water dock to just putz around in the shallow. My only qualms this time where from swimming by a couple who stood and chatted by one of the bouies marking the lap distance. Since the river water is too cloudy to see through while swimming I almost swam into and probably did splash them several times.

Sat 6mi long run- I started out on the parkway and then finished with a few laps around the channel. Tried to keep pace relaxed but I did slow noticeably on last mile. My achillies tendons where really sore by the end of the run so I changed my running form a bit to maybe accommodate. I don't know how the running form difference affects my efficiency/economy. I would pronate and run more toward the mid-rear of my foot instead of the fore foot, I focused on moving forward more than bouncing up and down. learned belly breath! hips and knees a little sore.

Sun 3mi run- My achillies where super tight today but they do feel much better after the run. I think I'm using my ham strings more with the different running style. I'm concerned if this different form will still build strong efficient and effective running muscles. It seems to not be putting as much strain on my calves but I also don't seem to be using my quads as much maybe. I ran negative split miles and am hopeful that this implies good news for the future, in regard to the half and full marathon race paces I'd like to achieve.

This is the first week of my half marathon training that I've run Sunday instead of Monday. I'm guessing that my body will like the fact that I won't have 4 days in a row of exercise this week.

I'm running the Disney Marathon for Charity!

I have finally chosen my first Full 26.2mile Marathon! I am busy planning and training for the Walt Disney World Marathon on Jan 10th, 2016) but, I need your help to get there.

I am running this race to raise money for some good causes. I'm hoping you will help me raise some funds for St Jude Children's Research Hospital which helps people fight cancer and other diseases at no cost to their patients. As well as, a small donation to the Mount Holly Farmer's Market that's helping our local community live healthier lifestyles.

Thankyou for all your love and support toward helping me check this important goal off mybucket list and supporting good causes. Please consider sponsoring one of my race miles with a $26.2 donation (or any amount you feel willing to give!) at http://www.gofundme.com/FaysMarathon!

Half Marathon: Week Two

We'll se how my training feels this week with four days of training in a row since I postponed my run from Sunday to Monday.

Mon 3mi easy- postponed yesterday's run till today in order to feel a little more rested and recovered. I opted to only do an easy two miles around downtown Mt Holly. Ran in my Brooks shoes.

Tue 30min cross+strength- split my cross training evenly between elliptical and upright stationary bike, then did two full sets of weights.

Wed 3mi pace- I realized on my return from this run that I forgot to do a small loop at the end which caused me to cut the workout about 2 tenths of a mile too short. Another benefit of having a GPS watch soon. Pacing is something I haven't done in a long time and it was an interesting experiment to see how well I could govern a pace by feel. Again I ran faster than I thought/intended. I hit the first mile at 8:19, the second mile in 15:42(7:23mi), and then finished the last .8mile at 22:32(8:30?pace). It makes me feel good to know I can run faster than I'd thought would feel comfortable. I'd planned to do 9min, 8min, 8min/see what happened. My feet and ankles seem to be evening out more but the left recently sprained one is sore and clicking just a bit after the run today. This was my first middle of the day summer run. I had a nice layer of sweat glistening on my arms when I finished.

Thr 30min swim+climb- My mom's cousin Bennette and her daughter Sara came to visit the Whitewater center today. They did some of the Hawk Island activities and then went adventure rafting. I got to eat lunch with them after I got off work. It was really nice to see them!
I went swimming early at 6pm instead of the scheduled 6:30time. It was nice to have the water to my self and not have to compete for space with the swim team kids that have been coming out. I felt like my swimming was more relaxed but also more effective. I also got  to do several m ore difficult climbs. I finished a 5.10 that I've been working on for a while and got some of our staff to play a game of Plus One.

Sat 5mi run- Ran the whitewater parkway and two laps around the whitewater channel after work. I set out at 8:50pm so it was rather dark on the way back in on the parkway. It made me a little nervous running in the bike lane on the parkway road so I'd usually get up on the grass shoulder when a car went by but then I couldn't see the divots in the grass and was afraid I'd tweak my ankle again.

Sun 3mi easy- Postponed my run until tomorrow again in favor of having a large Chinese takeout feast and homemade chocolate chip cookies.

Half Marathon: Week One

So, the plan is to run the first 5 weeks of the Hal Higdon Novice 2 training plan in order to slowly work my body back into running after my two recovery weeks off. I'm doing a bit more cross training than the plan calls for but that is also part of my transition since the 10k plan I used prior to this was almost half cross training. Then, we'll see if I feel well enough to do the Intermediate plan after that.

Tue 30min cross- Split btwn 15min of elliptical and stationary bike plus leg and back extensions and wider grip pull ups

Wed3 mi run- An easy pace out and back on the whitewater parkway

Thr Swim/Climb- I did 30 min of swimming in the Catawba river. I had not previously thought about the fact that the river would have a current and would be too silty to see through the water. I ended up swimming downstream and then frog kicking and back stroking up stream. I suppose the cross training is worth it as long as I keep moving for the entire 30 min. I set a climbing goal of 10 routs climbed. I met this almost completely with the exception of a 5.10a rout that I only did two thirds of.

Sat 4mi run- Today I did a loop around the whitewater channel and then ran the parkway. I'll take note for next week that it is not easy to run through mobs of RiverJam guests. I decided to time this run on my watch and was very surprised upon my return to see that my watch read 33min32sec. This is much faster than I'd expected. All the more reason to get a GPS watch so that I can pace properly.

Sun 3mi run- Opted not to do the run this evening, but will run tomorrow instead.

My first week of training has left me a little more tired than I'd hoped but, C'est la vie! You have to be a little sore and tired in order to get stronger. I could probably do a little better at getting more sleep and hydrating more at work. That may help a bit.