Week One of Marathon Training

 Check.  I got my 8 miles done today, 17 weeks to go.  I waited until the baby's morning nap to go so it was late morning by time I actually got out.  I forgot my sunglasses, couldn't find my Nuun.  I believe that this little 16 month old thief took it out of my bag, her new favorite thing to do is remove things from any bag or purse she sees.

Hard to believe she can be a menace

So, I had a little rough start but felt better after I got moving.  It had stormed last night so it was really muggy. No I didn't run through a sprinkler, that is all sweat:)

photo bomb by the baby

Oh and Laurie, I hope your kiddos are feeling better!  I hope you end up having a great vacation!

Three Things Thursday

1. I actually completed all three weekday runs as planned.  I did speedwork on Tuesday with Big River.  It was a ladder of 1200 at 5k pace (6:12), 1000 at 2 mile pace (5:04), 800 at 2 mile pace(4:04), 400 at 1 mile pace(1:47), and 200 all out.  I hit fairly close to the times I wanted.  I was a tad slow on the 1000 and 800 but I was really tired and did not sleep well that day.  Oh, and I put my running first this day because I skipped a bridal shower, yes it was on a Tuesday,   I made the decision that in order to successfully complete the marathon, I will need to make running a priority for the next 18 weeks.

2. Wednesday was an easy recovery run of 4 miles, I left the watch at home so I could just take my time. The weather is awesome here this week so I have even turned off the air and opened the windows.

3. Today I met with my running group.  I was pushing the double stroller with 60 pounds of kids and the weight of the stroller, I am struggling with that.  It is also pulling to the right so I have to push the handlebar  a little harder with my right arm to keep it straight.  I found the instruction manual and it has how to adjust it so it will track right.  I just have to do it when I am not about to run.  I always forget until I am on my way.  I took a few walk breaks up the hills but we still covered 5 miles in like 56-57 minutes.
 
On tap for this weekend an 8 miler.  Also looking forward to our neighborhood putting on a great party! It is Pridefest weekend so for all those getting out to their local parades and celebrations,

HAPPPY PRIDEFEST!  
  
Have a good weekend!  Good luck to all the racers,  especially all those running in Seattle Rock 'n' Roll!

Marathon Countdown Begins

I came up with all sorts of posts while running yesterday, but when I sat down at the computer yesterday, not one thing popped back into my head!  So,  Happy Belated Father's Day to my hubby and my dad.

Today I officially begin my marathon training for the St. Louis Rock 'n' Roll Marathon!  It is a rest day, ha! But really, 18 week plan starts today.  I posted a new page on the blog so you can see the plan HERE.  It is Hal Higdon's novice plan that I will adjust to work for me.  The first thing I changed is I made a 19 miler a 20.  I want to do at least two 20s.  I will also switch the long runs to Sunday, I can't do long runs after working the night shift Friday nights.  I will continue doing speedwork once a week with Big River Running, as well.  So, I will be tinkering with it a bit.  I like that it is only 4 days of running.  I figure I will use it as a minimum amount of training.

I have lost a few pounds leading up to this point.  I am hoping to lose five more to lighten the load, so to speak.  I am down to 115, but I would like to be closer to 110 when I run the marathon in October.  Before you freak out, I am only 5 feet tall, yeah I mean 5'0".  So that is not underweight.  My weight now is fine for daily life, I just like to be a little lighter when I am running full marathons.  Less pounding on the joints, less energy burned just getting from point a to point b.

I am still struggling with staying hydrated enough to run with the heat indices reaching 100 and breastfeeding.  I need to drink more throughout the day, not just when I am running.  I got chills at 4 miles into my run yesterday.  It was a drop back week so I was only going 5, so I just slowed the pace and drank the water I had with me to finish.   I ran late in the day and we had been doing errands and running around prior to my run.  I had an americano from the coffee stand at the grocery store.  So, I will be working on that piece of the plan.

Oh, and the course was announced last week.  It goes within a couple blocks of my house!  Yay!  It goes by 8-9 parks and all local parks I run in and around.  It will be close to family and friends' houses as well so I am hoping to see lots of people along the route.

Well, for not knowing what I was going to post when I sat down, I sure did come up with a lot.  So much for being productive with the baby's naptime;)

Any suggestions for hydrating?  Do you use a sports drink?  

Wussed Out

Yep I wussed out on the trail run Sunday.  I am glad I did though.  My four year old kept kicking me, bothering me all night so I did not sleep well.  My awesome hubby got up with the kids at 7 and I went back to bed ALONE and slept for 3 hours.  How awesome is that?  My knee was a little achy when I had gotten up to meet my parents and sister so I figured some more stable ground was probably better for the knee.  I woke up and had some quality family time, playing outside with the kids and the neighbors.  It was a fun morning.
My mom called me on their way back.  It was a challenging hike.  They ended up doing 10 miles in less than four hours. (They are training to do Rim to Rim at the Grand Canyon in the fall)  I did get my 7 miles done in the afternoon.  The heat wave finally broke and we are having some cooler temps.  The knee felt better after I started running.  It is slowly feeling better, just achy.  I am still icing a few times a day.

I finished reading My Life on the Run: The Wit, Wisdom, and Insights of a Road Racing Icon By Bart Yasso.  It was REALLY good.
Any other suggestions for inspiring running books?  I am gearing myself up to start marathon training in 2 weeks!
Have a great week, I'm off to work so no editing!

Sitting around on a Saturday Night

Hanging out watching American Pickers on Netflix. I am thinking about doing my first trail run tomorrow. My parents and one of my sisters are going hiking at a trail that is supposed to be good for trail running. So, I was thinking I might carpool with them. I could run ahead for a little and walk with them if it was too hard.
My knee has been a little cranky the last couple of days. I have been icing it like crazy. It feels much better after that, still a little creaky so we'll see. I took two rest days, I was going to do some strength stuff today but never got to it. Didn't get much sleep after working last night. The hubby ended up taking the kids to a graduation party, I stayed home and was going to sleep a little more but ended up sorting laundry and reading. I am on book number 2 on my goal of reading ten books this summer. I am currently reading Bart Yasso's My Life on the Run.  It is really good if you haven't read it yet.  I'm already half way through, it is a fun read.  He recounts many of his running adventures while working at Runner's World over the years.

Have you ever done a trail run, any last minute tips is I decide to go in the morning? 

TPNA 5k Race

I ran the Tilles Park Neighborhood Association (TPNA) 5k this past weekend.  I worked the night shift, changed at work, then went straight to the race.  Luckily, I picked up my bib number the day before so I was in no rush.  I got there in plenty of time then realized how flipping hot it was.  There was a heat advisory in effect and it was steamy.  It was already in the high 80s/low 90s by time the race started a 8:30.  I'm not going to lie, I did not warm up at all, it was way too hot.  I was questioning my sanity at being there at all. But, hey I wasn't the only one there.
This is a fun little race through a local neighborhood.  It is race #2 of the South City Racing Series.  It starts by going around Tilles park then wraps around, up, down the neighborhood.  It is a fairly small area and they keep you off the main roads so lots of turns, lots of little hills. It was well marked and the roads were blocked to traffic.  They had lots of volunteers and due to the weather they even added a second water stop.  Everyone was friendly and encouraging.  I knew I would not be running faster than my 5k four weeks earlier due to the heat and being up all night.  That one was 27:07.  So I planned on hitting around 9 minutes for the first mile than seeing how I felt, if i would try to push the pace to just below 9.  It was a group start and so I clicked my watch when the gun went off and again when I crossed the line.  9 seconds.  I hit the first mile at 9:04.  Perfect, not too fast, didn't feel bad, so I picked it up a little.  I ended up at 28:28, my time, 28:37 official time.  I was hurting that last 1/2 mile.  I cleared my watch and for some reason didn't write down my other splits:-/
Upon looking at the results, everyone had slowed down from the first race.  I talked to several people who said it was one of their worst 5k times.  It was due to the early heat wave we are having.  We don't usually hit these temps until July or August. So, I am happy with my time.  No complaints here.
They had a free kids race afterward and gave ribbons and prizes to the kids.  They had attendance prizes for the adults and a nice spread of bagels, bananas, and orange slices.  It was a fun morning and will plan on doing this one again next year.
Next race in the series is The Macklind Mile on the Fourth of July.

I'm Blogging!

Yup, I know I have not been blogging. I have been busy with kids,work,life.  You know, the usual stuff.  I have been keeping the kids busy.  Now that the baby is 15 months, she has FINALLY been sleeping through most nights.  I am starting to feel like I am getting out of that "survival" mode and into actually enjoying the life again.  I was feeling so worn down and crappy with her getting up sometimes hourly at night.  Preschool has been out for two weeks already so I have been planning daily outings just to keep everyone from having meltdowns from nothing to do.  Nothing major just trips to Grandma's, the library, playground, etc. in between the baby's naps.  The girls have been playing together more so that has been helping.  I signed up all of us for the summer reading program at the library.  I am doing the adult one, I need to read 10 books by August 8th.  So I have a few books on my list I am trying read instead of my computer/t.v. time.  Any suggestions to add to the list? Doesn't need to be running related. In the fiction area I usually like quick reads like chic lit or mystery novel. Or something free on kindle:)
  
I have been running some, fairly low weekly mileage. I have run the last 5 days in a row,   I guess I am on a streak, ha. But none of it was over 4 miles.  Just trying to get out for 30 minutes or so a day, more for stress relief than actual training. Speaking of training,  I have plotted out my plan leading up to the October marathon, yikes.  I am at 21-22 weeks out, I think I am going with Hal Higdon's Novice II plan.  It seems reasonable, given my mileage.  The one thing I will do is make the 19 miler on the plan a 20 so I can get two twenty milers done in training.  I need that extra confidence going in.  Unless I find a plan that fits better in the next couple of weeks.  My sister has been rehabbing her knee and will be training with me.  She is up to 5-6 miles with no pain.  Yay!

I have been having difficulty acclimating to the heat.  I am guessing part of it is hormonal.  Whether it is the late 30s hormones or the breastfeeding hormones I don't know.  Yes,  I am still nursing that baby. I just purchased some Nuun  and I am going to try that and see if it helps, worth a shot anyway.   Here is a pic of me and the girls going for a ride.  The baby did not like the helmet so we did not ride for long.

Happy Running and Riding!