June Mileage Totals:

Mileage Totals: Up to May

January: 56.8
February: 61.39
March: 52.49
April: 53.5
May: 65.43 *highest mileage month so far! Woop!!
June: 26.2

Grand Total: 315.81

Today's Run...Not Much Yet

Today I ran 1.5 miles. I have been sick all week, and it has been a really slow road back! Yesterday I tried hopping on the treadmill only to quit after having just walked a bit, since my head was still so congested and my equilibrium was still so off. Today was better but my strength is not fully back. But...I did complete 1.5 miles. And that is better than nothing!

Three Miles Inside and a Headcold

Workout for today:

5 minutes treadmill walk warm-up
10 stairs
10 burpees
stretch
3 miles/26:08 8:42 splits
5 minutes cool-down
10 push-ups
30 mountain climbers
40 crunches
15 tricep dips

Like my title suggests, I have a headcold. I thought after Sunday's weeding it was just a touch of allergies, reacting to all of the weed pollen we released. But 2 days later I'm still stuffy, nose-running and my head is quite foggy. I'm functioning just fine though. I have a final tomorrow so I am spending the day at home doing some cleaning and quite a bit of studying (cramming!).

I don't know what the rule is on working out when you are sick besides just listening to your body and not overdoing it. I felt like I needed a good sweat this morning. In the interest of taking it easy, I stayed indoors. Working out felt sooooo good. Besides that, I'm drinking tons of water, Gatorade and green tea and eating lots of watermelon and strawberries and taking my vitamins. Besides making sure to rest, that's all you can really do!

I have 2 buttcheeks, not 4...

Just a goofy note. Don't you hate it when your underwear seams cut your buttcheeks in half? This happens to me all of the time and it drives me nuts! I am constantly checking in the mirror to make sure the seams aren't too tight. I don't need 4 buttcheeks!! That being said, Lululemon makes a great thong that is actually comfortable enough to run in (hard to believe, right?!?) yet it does not show seams. 

It is supposed to look like this...

Not like this!!! :-(

Eight is Great, But Hot Dogs Are Not...

Ok, so just for the record...

 +

 +

does not = good fuel for the day before a long run...

Saturday was an all-day baseball tournament for my 12-year-old son. I packed a large lunch for us so we wouldn't have to eat out (which is expensive with 3 kids!) and while it was an economically savvy idea...it wasn't the best eating day for me.  It was probably one of my worst on record. I ended up eating a large amount of those three things above. I did pack a few healthy snacks (oranges, apples, string cheese) which I also ate, but they did not override the junk food. I should have packed a simple sandwich and salad for myself. 


When I headed out for my 8-miler on Sunday, my body felt totally confused by the fuel I had put in it. It was probably confused also by my level of exhaustion at the starting point. Nonetheless, here was my run:

Run/Workout: 8 Miles Long Run
Location: all around Seaside
Run Time (if applicable): 1:12:44, 9:04 average splits
Run Start: 8:15
Temperature: 55 degrees
Weather: partly sunny

It was overall a good long run. It was a little weird, my body was kind of stiff from the day before (just the exhaustion of taking 3 kids to a baseball tournament 1 1/2 hours away all day). I started out real easy, then gradually increased my pace, but not by much. I grabbed a drink twice at water fountains along the way and I had to use the bathroom right at the start and at mile 7. I'm thinking the bathroom breaks were thanks to my horrible diet the day before. And I had to use my mental toughness a lot this run because I was tempted to shorten it a few times. What I do in this case is I run further from home that way the only way to get back is to run back. I need this t-shirt:

So that's the excitement for the day! I spent about an hour after my run weeding the flowerbeds and I am either suffering from some acute seasonal allergies or I have caught a mild head cold. I'm thinking it is the former since we were knee-deep in a serious amount of weed pollen yesterday.

The Lunchtime Run IS Possible!!

Today's run consisted of a 5K run right after my 11am class.  I am usually NOT a lunchtime runner because I am such a big eater! I love food! Plus, I figure I need the time to sit down and decompress from my class. But as my life changes and I look ahead to next year's schedule, I realize more and more how flexible I am going to have to be if I want to keep up a good running routine. I have heard of people who go run on their lunch breaks but I have always kind of scoffed at them and said I'd never be able to do that. I mean when does one ever eat if you run on your lunch break?? It's not so complicated after all.

I ate a good breakfast which consisted of an egg, a banana and a blackberry chocolate protein 8oz. smoothie. I also filled my 40 O.Z. (lol gangsta talk...) full of water which I sipped on all morning. For a later morning snack during study group, I had a granola bar, a small homemade banana oatmeal muffin and some carrots. By gradually eating throughout the morning, I never felt stuffed yet felt plenty fueled for my noon run.

I headed out right after class to my running route. I didn't warm up which I usually do, but today was an "easy" run so I just took it easy and ran at my comfort level only (splits were 9:00, 8:45, and 8:30 respectively). My run took just under a half an hour then I headed back to school and ate a quick, small lunch. No problem!

It's great to feel like I've overcome a preconceived notion. It opens up a world of possibilities! Now I just have to wrap my head around when to (or when not to) shower...

Good Lord Woman, Pace Yourself!

Wow, 7 minute first mile! But the rest...hmmmm....

Run/Workout: 5 Miles Race Pace
Location: Astoria High School Track
Run Time (if applicable): 39:29, 7:53 average splits
Run Start:11:15 am
Temperature: 58 degrees
Weather: sunny and beautiful, some wind
 
Let's talk pace today folks. Today I went out to do a Pace Run. This type of workout is also called a Tempo run. It's where you go all out and aim for your race pace in order to build stamina and condition yourself to running faster. I have noticed that the distances are much shorter than your target race however. I can say with certainty that it really targets your lungs, your intercostal muscles, and your mental stamina. For me it also tests my ability to control my breathing and form. Temp runs are not very fun. They are hard!

One thing that I failed at today is controlling my pace. I don't know what my deal is. I went all out because that's kind of what you are supposed to do, right? You run as fast as you can for as long as you can and hope you get a good time overall?...well not necessarily. This mindset is dangerous because you risk using up all of the glycogen stores in your muscles and crapping out early. This is precisely what happened to me today. While overall I did get a good time for the distance, I was disappointed at my inconsistency. It would totally be awesome if in a race I could hold a 7 minute mile for a 10K, but I'm not there yet! So instead of "going all out" it is important to pace yourself somewhat. You can always push it further on your last mile. <----That is what I am going to be telling myself from now on, and hopefully it will help!

Ok, I like to end on the good...

I did run fast today. I didn't puke (although I came close between miles 1-3). Even though I considered it a few times, I did not quit! I kept telling myself to just keep going, I would be really disappointed in myself if I quit.

The sun was shining and I burned some serious calories. My body feels great.

Easy Peasy 5K

Run/Workout: 5K/3.1 miles
Location: Neighborhoods on top of Astoria, limited hills
Run Time (if applicable): 31:81, 9:53 average splits
Run Start: 9:00 am
Temperature: 54 degrees
Weather: cloudy

 I took 4 days off!! That isn't really like me, but I have been busy! Last week I found out the good news that I was accepted into my college's nursing program! My family is as busy as ever as well as the school year winds down. I kept saying I would catch up and run over the weekend but that is never likely, and I was sooooo tired! I took an extra long nap on Sunday.

By today I couldn't stand it, I had to get out and run!  I worked it out so I could run near the college and not have to drive away and lose a great parking space (parking is a nightmare here). I enjoy running through neighborhoods. In Eugene and Portland races you often run through neighborhoods and that was what it reminded me of.

I knew my run wouldn't be very long. Three miles is never very long, so I just tried to enjoy it. My body felt sluggish though :( But overall I still enjoyed my run and felt satisfied when I was done. I finished up with some abs and arms in the gym. That's it!

I just started a marathon training plan. I can't believe I'm at this point. I do have to say that ever since I have lost 5 lbs I feel healthier than ever, and I have never felt more ready to take on my first marathon. Training schedule-wise, the good thing is that my school starts around week 17 of my marathon training plan so odds are, even if I get super busy with nursing school (which I'm sure I will), I will already be well-trained and ready for the Portland Marathon October 7th.

Also...I was invited to a Ragnar Relay team on July 20-21! I have never ran on any of these longer distance relays so this should be fun!