Overall, a success!

Yikes, I have been slacking at posting! The good news is that I am on top of my half-marathon training scheme! Somehow it is easier for me to think of my training more generally, like a scheme, rather than a detailed plan. ;)

Last Thursday I completed my first 10 mile run! I finished it, but it was not pretty. Normally, I never take walk breaks but somehow the wind convinced me it would be better to take walk breaks and complete the distance than to shorten the run. It was fine, the breaks were short but way too frequent the last two miles.

My biggest challenge right now is finding a route that is long enough so that I am not running two loops over and over again. I have a really good suggestion that I need to check out, I just have to get over/handle my fear of running on a non-residential street. Oh, and I have to complete my long runs between school drop-off and pick-up for Cally. No more waiting for slightly warmer temps and 9 am to roll around. Or I just have to become. fast runner, that should be easy! ;)

I also solved my cramping/painful calf issue! After reading lots of running calf pain Q&As on the Internet I ruled out any serious issues and realized I was most likely not hydrating enough. I guess with more consistent and higher weekly mileage I needed to up my diet soda intake. (Those who know me well will know if I am joking or not!) It is a huge relief to be running comfortably again!

My scheme for this week is to run a 5 miler (I did that today), 3 miles (tomorrow), 11 miles on Thursday and cross train on Friday. I love having a rest day in the middle of the week, I get to help in my daughters' classes at school. I also love taking the weekends off from set workouts. The flexibility is perfect for family activities, especially with spring's nicer weather making an appearance every now and then here.

How about you? What is your running/fitness schedule like?

Great coupon code and other random mumblings...

I can't be alone when I say that sometimes sticking to a training plan feels like an appointment that you don't really want to keep. Or maybe I am alone in that feeling? I think this is why I have about three half-marathon training plans that I am 'following'. I must be on track for at least one, right? ;)

I am actually doing ok with my training. I have been struggling with the weird calf issues that I dissected in my last post (two long weeks ago...) but have seen improvement. I ended up going back to wearing inserts for plantar fasciitis. For some reason I was really committed to not wearing them anymore (even though I have worn inserts for 2 years) but after having bad run after bad run followed by even worse runs I figured that maybe somethings are ok after all.

Still, though, I am struggling with my right calf. I get about 5 minutes into a run (after warming up by walking and dynamic stretches) and my calf is so tight that I have to slow down to a walk until I can run again (at a very slow pace). Today it took nearly 2 miles of this before I was able to run without any tightness/pain). The last 5 miles of the run felt great and I never have any pain or soreness after a run. I am kind of clueless about this sort of thing, any suggestions??

In more exciting news, I am going to be brave and try ProCompression's marathon socks. I have wanted to try them for a while but I have been dragging my feet because well, they are pricey and I am not exactly an elite runner who requires fancy socks. ;) But after seeing coupon code after coupon code for 40% off and free shipping, I decided to go ahead and try a pair. The code expires tomorrow (nothing like waiting until the last minute!) but there are usually a few running blogs with a code to offer.

Random running tips and other cool finds

Brr, it is really cold here! My personal threshold for running outdoors in the winter chill is about 15 degrees Fahrenheit. I looked around the world wide interwebs for guidance on what I should be wearing to stay toasty. I found a pretty detailed explanation at Runner's World.
Here is the chart, straight from the article (which has other great tips).
30 degrees: 2 tops, 1 bottom. Long-sleeve base layer and a vest keep your core warm. Tights (or shorts, for polar bears).
10 to 20 degrees: 2 tops, 2 bottoms. A jacket over your base layer, and wind pants over the tights.
0 to 10 degrees: 3 tops, 2 bottoms. Two tops (fleece for the cold-prone) and a jacket. Windbrief for the fellas.
Minus 10 to 0 degrees: 3 tops, 2 bottoms, extra pair of mittens, 1 scarf wrapped around mouth or a balaclava.
Minus 20 degrees: 3 tops, 3 bottoms, 2 extra pairs of mittens, 1 balaclava, sunglasses. Or, stay inside.

According to the chart, I dress for no less than minus 10-0 degrees when it is 30 degrees out! Well, I do stop short of wrapping a scarf around my mouth. I find 3 tops  and two bottoms (running tights and a second workout pants) to be my comfort zone. I wear mittens that I can peel back and bare my fingers after I warm up, but I always keep my ears covered.

Other note worthy tips for cold weather running included, changing out of running gear as soon as possible when you finish and to warm up indoors prerun.

I have a basic training plan in mind but I can't seem to stop searching and reading other plans. A neat plan that I found uses the Runners World website again. Their smart coach training plan is free and pretty easy to customize. It uses your goal and a past race time to calculate average paces for your training runs and helps guide you to a specific finish time for your upcoming race. This plan really made me realize how I need to actually race when I run a race rather than coast by at my usual training pace. What I really liked about this tool is that you can select your long run day and the tool adjusts your training week from there. 

My last cool find is a treadmill pace conversion chart! Like I said above, I have no shame in hitting up the treadmill for temps below 15 degrees. Personally, running on a treadmill doesn't inspire me to up the ante and use the incline feature. In my mind, I am a winner for not just going back to bed so it is not likely that I am going to challenge myself too much on the treadmill. This chart is a great motivator for me to either push my pace or try to increase the incline for at least part of my treadmill runs.  

Just life...

I had a pretty good training week last week. I hit all my goals and only had to hit the treadmill for one workout. I even got lucky enough to have a huge fan blowing on me for the entire 4 miles. Usually I feel like I am going to burst into flames 2.5 miles in on the treadmill.

This week has not been a glorious training week. In fact, I have not been able to make a single run so far. I wish I had a crystal ball so that on Monday, when I chose to put off my run because it was FREEZING, I could have known that Tuesday would be spent with my sick-at-home 1st grader. The poor thing has her second case of strep throat for the 2013 calendar year.

I can still take control of this flop of a training week and squeak 3 runs out. Keep your fingers crossed!! How do you recover from plans that get thrown out the window? I have to really talk myself into going with the flow. Change comes hard...

Training Season!!

Yikes! I have been a bad blogger! Now that winter break and the holidays are over I am happy to be getting back into training mode. I always work better under a deadline, even if it is a manufactured deadline, I need the pressure to get motivated.

Currently, I am signed up for a 10K and two half-marathons. The 10K is in early March, the first half-marathon is in early May and the second half is in late August. I am strangely excited to finally be training for a half. I wanted to last year and just could not make it work with my schedule. This year I am getting promoted to the big 3-5 and it feels great to have such a concrete goal as my prize.

My challenges for training will likely revolve around the weather, the health of my kids and my husband's work schedule. Right now our weather is cold but manageable. However, I am really not going to get out and run on snow and ice covered roads. I know some runners do and I applaud them, but I am not as coordinated or sure enough on my feet to brave icy roads. So far my route has been in great condition and I hope it stays that way.

Sick kids and and a non-traditional work schedule for my husband will just have to be handled as they happen. My plan for dealing with those obstacles is to allow extra weeks in my 13 week training plan. Or send my kids to school hopped up on Tylenol and run fast enough to out pace the Tylenol wearing off. ;)

This week's training plan is pretty basic and focuses on getting used to running 4 days a week again. I ran very little (once a week) while the girls were on winter break. I ran 3.15 miles on Monday and 3.30 today (Tuesday). Wednesdays will always be my rest days and I plan to do my long runs on Thursdays with Friday being a slow easy recovery run or cross-training. This Thursday's long run will only be 4 miles and Friday I will run 3 miles at the insanely hot gym.  

I hope to share my training each week and hopefully keep my self accountable through this blog. Next week I plan to post my training schedule. It will be a mixture of a Hal Higdon's schedule and the Train Like a Mother's Finish it half-marathon schedule. I can't have any weekend runs and only can run 4 days during the week so I am trying to work out a happy medium between the two plans.

What training plans do you like best? What are the biggest obstacles to your training plan? DO you have any special goals or prizes in mind while you are training?

Plans schplans!

Truthfully, I am not great at sticking to a training plan. I think I felt my way through the last three weeks of the couch to 5k training plan my first go through with it. The second time I did it, I glanced at it every few weeks to get a second opinion on where I should be. After being able to run for over thirty minutes straight, I just kept adding minutes. Sure, I sometimes had to slow way down to keep from walking, but soon those minutes added up to an hour.

Eventually, I realized that to improve my speed (and I am not talking elite runner status!) I would probably need to consult a training plan. Not only consult a training plan, but actually stick to it the entire time, not only when I felt like it. I searched and searched for one that would fit my schedule. Well, one that would fit the child watch schedule at my local Y at least! Once I found  my training plan, I signed up for the run, and blabbed to enough people that I felt truly committed to the plan and the run.

Here is a link to my 10K training plan, http://www.runningplanet.com/training/10K-training-program-recreational.html. For those too enthralled to look away from this post, in short the training plan has 4 days of running. Two of those days are shorter easy runs, one is a long easy run and one is a speed or hill workout. There are 3 rest days, one rest day is an optional rest or cross training day. I took the rest day every single time (ans sometimes more than once ;))!

My next challenge is to take the cross training option. I have decent endurance, but am pretty short on strength and defined abs and arms. While running has helped my legs get toned, my upper body is not enjoying the same benefits.

One day when I was feeding my obsession with the Hood to Coast relay, I came across a runner, Jess, whose blog really inspired me to commit to increasing my strength. I would be lying if I didn't say that I am intimidated and more than a little fearful of being sore but I am excited to give it a shot. Here is the link to Jess' blog and fall fitness series, http://blondeponytail.com/2012/09/gnc-get-strong-lean-home-workout/#comments. I love that it is not time-intensive, doesn't need fancy equipment and instead of dreaming of toned abs and arms I will be working on toning them!

What cross training do you do? What is your favorite half-marathon training plan? I would love to hear from you! I am ready to quit talking about doing a half and just get it done! :)