Marathon Training the Seattle Way

Today I did my long run of 18 miles. I was doing really well until I turned at my half way point to come back. I had my gels, my water, my Nuun, everything was going as planned. Until I started thinking about food constantly, and my toe was killing me from a blister. I stopped and fiddled with my toe and popped the blister which made it feel much better. I still could not get food out of my head and my tummy was getting very hungry, and then I started thinking about coffee.

I brought $10 with me just in case and I ended up stopping for a sweet treat and a latte! Yum! It hit the spot and helped me power through the last half of my run! It took me forever to finish since I took a coffee stop but it was well worth it!!

Now I am hoping Starbucks will be adding a coffee stop come race day!!

Happy Running!

Long run tomorrow...ooops!

After putting off my long run on Saturday and again today, it will have to happen on Monday. I did a breast cancer walk today with my friend who is training to walk the half marathon that we are doing in mid-October. We did the 5k walk and then did 4 miles after that and got lunch. By the time I reached home it was past three and didn't want to start running so late in the day. I cannot put off this run another day, I wan to do it, but there's no time in my day to start and finish it.

Our walk today benefited the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer organization. It was fun, but I would definitely rather be running than walking, it took way too long!!

Tempo run blues!

So yesterday I tried a 3 mile tempo run. I've never really done one before and I am trying to do all I can do go faster than my mom at our marathon. Sorry mom, I'm 32 and your are going to be 59, so I need to go faster!

Anyway, it was a bit hot yesterday and I decided to go on my run in the late afternoon. I didn't bring any water, because I thought it's only three miles I don't need any water! I used my heart monitor as well I wanted to keep my heart rate up at 85-90% for the entire run.

Things I learned from my first tempo run:
1. Warm-up first. I kept stopping because I felt horrible. With a short warm-up I would have been fine.
2. Bring water. It's OK to drink water when it's hot and you are only doing a three mile run!
3. I don't need to stop!

I ended up running the three miles in 26 minutes with stopping, so I know I can run it much faster without stopping. This is the fastest I have ever done this loop!

Training: 8-9 mile run this afternoon. abs class and Zumba class this evening!

Happy Running!

No real training plan anymore...

Both my mom and I love to start things and then never finish them! We started out this whole marathon thing thinking we could follow the Jeff Galloway training program. We started out strong for a few weeks and even tracked the progress of each run. Well, that was very short lived.

I know when I do tris I don't really follow a set training plan, I look at a few plans and get an idea of what I need to do and then do my own thing. The same holds true for this marathon. I know one thing that is certain; it's that I have never done so much running in my life!!! That must mean I am going to get a rockin' time at this marathon and beat my mom right?? Because I am actually ahead of her right now in terms of longest runs. However, she is still faster than me!! She better watch out though I am what they call an "Outside smoker" the swimming world!

Yesterday I did a 17 mile run sans Team Whimsy running partner. It's been hard for us to get together every weekend as you know that thing called life and making money can get in the way of the things we would rather be doing! It was a tough run yesterday, it took about 3 miles for me to feel good and then at mile 4 I tripped and fell. My mom isn't surprised as I am very klutzy!! I got up, dusted myself off and continued running. I felt really good once I got going again. I brought along 2 Hammer Gels with me and I really noticed a difference in how my body held up during the run. The last two miles were really tough, but I finished!

When I got home I downed a 12 oz. Endurox R4 drink to aid in recovery. It didn't taste great but I did notice some difference this morning in how I felt when I woke up. I went to Zumba tonight and plan on doing some sort of speed work tomorrow, maybe a tempo run or intervals. I'll see how I feel!!

Happy Running!

Amica Insurance Seattle Marathon 2009 Shadow Run in Baghdad

From the Seattle Marathon website www.seattlemarathon.org : (I thought this was very cool that this is going to happen on race day!)


Date/Time: Sunday, November 29, 2009 @ 6:00 AM
Local Baghdad Time (10 hours ahead of Pacific Time) Location: Victory Base, Baghdad, Iraq Start Times:
Full Marathon Run - 6:00am Half Marathon Run - 8:00am Note: There are no walking events.

The Story Behind The Race Mark Piccone and some of his fellow service members stationed at Ft. Lewis, WA wanted to run the Amica Insurance Seattle Marathon 2009. The problem: They are currently deployed in Iraq. The solution: Bring the Amica Insurance Seattle Marathon to them! MORE

Official Event Shirt $2 from the sale of each shirt will be donated to the Wounded Warrior Project .
DETAILS
PURCHASE
EVENT DETAILS The Amica Insurance Seattle Marathon 2009 Shadow Run in Baghdad will be as much like a stateside run as possible, including a pre-race pasta party and entertainment along the route! The pasta dinner will be held in the Victory Base Dining Facility for runners and volunteers and will include a special room for the runners. There will be bib and race packet pick-up and inspirational running videos during the meal. Official Race Items provided by the Amica Insurance Seattle Marathon and its sponsors The Seattle Marathon Association, thanks to generous donations from Amica Insurance and its other sponsors, is providing official race items at a greatly reduced entry fee of $20 per runner. Official items include:
Finisher Certificates
Finisher Medals
Age Division Awards
Race Results posted on the SMA website
Participant Shirts
Filled Goody Bags
Volunteer Shirts and Certificates
Video from the Amica Insurance Seattle Marathon 2008
Event Guides
Results Issues
Event Poster
Runner's Bibs
Banners to hang at Shadow Run
Space Blankets
Powdered drink concentrate provided by Gatorade
Energy gel packets provided by GU In addition, Amica Insurance will be providing special care packages for each Shadow Run participant.Event Size Shadow Run organizers are anticipating 150-200 half marathon runners and 50-100 full marathon runners. Race Organizers For more info on the Shadow Run organizers, click here. Volunteers 50+ volunteers are expected to help with the race, including firemen stationed at the base. Race Day Temperatures Average high and low on November 29th is 73/52 degrees F. After the Race Shadow Run organizers will send the Seattle Marathon Association a video of the finish, the elite athletes, etc. Because of the time difference (Baghdad time is 10 hours ahead of Seattle time), we are anticipating being able to show the video and post race results on Race Day in Seattle.
THE COURSE
The course will be a 13.1 mile loop around Victory Base and Camp Liberty and will include Lost Lake, the Al Faw Palace and the palace where Saddam was held by U.S. forces after being captured. On the course we will have our unit band providing live entertainment (including a bag piper) at 4 different points including the start/finish line. Volunteers will provide traffic control and water stations.
THE CAUSE
Show your support of the troops with your purchase of an official event shirt. $2 of the proceeds from each shirt will be donated to the Wounded Warrior Project, a nonprofit organization that honors and empowers injured service men and women through its direct programs and services. For more information, click here.
Course Highlights: Victory Base and the Al Faw Palace




Someone wanted a swim workout, so here it is:
From USMS Swimmer Magazine, September/October Vol. 5, No. 5

Warm-up
500 Free breathe every 3/5 by 5, long push-offs on each turn
200 kick- no board streamline (50 on your side/50 on your back, repeat)
100 drill of choice

IM Set
1x300 IM
4x50 fly 1:05 swim strong with relaxed face
1x200 IM
4x50 back 1:05
1x100 IM

Freestyle Set
4x (3 x100 Free) swim each round at the same pace- no breaks. Keep focus on the black line and relax your back and shoulders. The challenge is, as the interval decreases , to maintain the pace without starting too slow.

Round 1: 1:40
Round 2: 1:35
Round 3: 1:30
Round 4: 1:25

Easy 100 Free

Hypoxic Set
12 Doughboy 25s-no breath- with 20 seconds rest. Breath control with relaxation. (The Yogis say fall down seven times, get up 8, so if you need to take a breath just start again)

4x50s easy, then the hot tub!!!

I haven't had a chance to do this yet, but will be the workout I do next when I hit the pool. I've been running too much to have a chance to swim!

lazy days

I have done nothing this week. Food poisoning on Sunday. today finally working out abs class and spin class. Daughter doing fantastic racking up lots of miles. I am so proud of her. We are running together on Saturday. I think we will do 17 miles. I hope I never get to old to run, I would be impossible to live with. tata

Shhhhhhhh! Don't tell my mom...

I think I enjoy running more than ever since I started about 5 years ago! I'm not sure why this sudden change, maybe it 's the heart rate monitor, maybe it was how good I felt on my first 15 mile run? I don't know! But it's nice to have a change of heart and maybe this change will lead to some faster times and perhaps a skinnier me!

Training: Went to a dance class and abs class yesterday. I also did some minimal speed work on the treadmill. I had to pee so bad and I knew if I got off the darn thing I would not want to get back on. So only 2 miles of running yesterday.

I think I am going to do another 15 or 16 miles this weekend for my long run. I am also going to be walking 6 miles with my friend on Sunday. Swimming today, my goal is 4000 yards. I found a great workout in my USMS Swimmer magazine. Possible short run Thursday or Friday.

Happy Running!

The Spirit of the Marathon and Heart Rate Training!

My husband bought me a new heart rate monitor and how cool and simple are they to use!!! I ran 15 miles yesterday and it calculated my average heart rate, my percentage of my maximum heart rate and even calories burned. Oh how I love this little piece of technology.

I read a great article on the Runner's World website that gives some breakdowns of what percentage to be training at for a particular distance. I tried this on my run last night and I was AMAZED at how great I felt and how long I could go! I think I am officially ditching the Jeff Galloway method. Sorry Jeffy!! I just can't do it anymore. Here is the link to the article. http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-238-267--1039-0,00.html

I also watched a fantastic movie that was recommended by a poster on a Health and Fitness message board that I love! The Spirit of the Marathon. You can find it on Hulu.com
I was so inspired by this documentary. It features every day runners attempting their first marathon, to runners who have participated in multiple races and elite runners trying to win the Chicago marathon! I loved it, maybe that's why I was so motivated to run 15 miles yesterday. I think ANYONE can do a marathon, just watch this movie and you to will want to run, no matter how fast or how slow!

Happy running!

Half marathon with my besty!

I convinced my best friend to sign up for a half marathon that takes place in October. She has never done any kind of running/walking race in her life! I think it's so awesome that she is doing a half for her first race! She will be walking, I will be running and our other friend will be doing a combination.

It's been difficult to try to get her to come out and start walking with me. But today she came out for a walk around Greenlake! We ended up walking real slow but I enjoyed our conversation. She asked how long it took us for 2.8 miles, and it was 53 minutes. And she said, "Holy **%&&! It's going to take me 5 hours to do this race!!!" I told her next time we need to walk a little faster and go a little longer! I think she will be more than fine and maybe I can convince her to become a runner!! We'll see about that one!! Of course every Greenlake adventure ends with a trip to Starbucks!!

Training: I was going to do 13 miles today but ended up walking with my friend instead. Going to move my long run for tomorrow. My poor mom is sick today, throwing up and all so she of courses is taking today off! Get well soon mom!!

32 Today!!

I feel better and look better at 32 than I did at 25!! Go getting older!!!

It feels like Fall!

I walked down to the pool today and it felt like fall, already! The picture above is what I get to look at on my walk down and during my swim, I'm going to miss it over the winter! It was cold, dark, and a little on the breezy side. The pool was packed for the second to last masters workout of the season. There are two lanes assigned for masters and there had to have been 10 people in each lane. Thankfully the water was nice and warm.

oops!

Daughter has been bugging me about not blogging. I am too busy training to blog. Half-marathon on Monday. bought new running shoes today. We ran today but only about 3 miles then of course made a stop at Starbucks. that always makes the run worthwhile. The weather sounds perfect for the run a high of 61 and maybe some rain. My daughter has been working hard to improve and I think she will be able to set a personal best this time. The whimsical journey continues.......

My future's so bright I gotta wear...

Shades!! I just ordered some new sunglasses today which has been a long time coming. I have the worst eyesight as confirmed by the doctor today. I have a really bad astigmatism. On a scale of 1-10 the good doctor gave me an 8! I even have to get high index lenses (a thin lens) so I don't look like I am wearing Coke bottles for glasses.

My current shades are so beat up and scratched that I can't stand it any longer. I must run and bike using my sunglasses as my regular glasses would just annoy me, slipping off my nose from sweat, and bouncing up and down from running! It just does not work.

So here are the new ones, both great for sports and for just wearing about town!

Training: I went on a long run on Monday and if my calculations are correct I could potentially run a 2:10 at our race next Monday. That is 5 minutes off my last half marathon time! I totally think I can do it!!