Team Whimsy Succumbs to Minor Injury

A few days ago I posted that I had fallen on one of my runs and was just fine. Well, my dear mother was out on her long run and tripped over something and hurt her foot. Thankfully it wasn't very bad, but hurt enough to take some time off running and working out altogether. This coming Sunday we should be able to run together for the first time in over a month! I am really excited to run, hopefully there will be no falls involved on our next run!

We have a little over two months left for our training before the big day. I think I am a little ahead of myself with my long runs. I am already at 18 miles and I know according to some plans out there you only have one long run of 20 miles, but I think I am going to try for a 22 or 23 mile run before the race, because I am doing the Team Whimsy Training plan and I can!!

Happy Running!

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