Today's Accomplishments

1. I ran 4 miles. (longest run since my injury)

2. I ran negative splits. (something I never do, but am trying to work on)

3. I ran in the snow. (technically flurries, but that still shows how cold it is out there)

Maybe there's hope for me yet!

This Week

This week's stats:

Total miles run: 19
No Spinning, No Yoga, No Weights... it's been a rough week.

New songs added to my running playlist:
Teeth (Lady Gaga)

My 8 mile run today (1:22) on a treadmill was preceded by an 8 hour work day that required me to get up at 5 am. Not a fan. There were really only 2 things that motivated me to do it.

#1. My new sneakers.

Honestly though, the first run I did in those puppies definitely shouldn't have been my 8 miler. I was well aware of that before the run & even more at the completion. I was just so excited about them. My feet definitely weren't ready for a change of that magnitude. Oh, well, I'll live.

#2. Jellybeans.

I kinda made a deal with myself that these would be me reward... and they were! Yum!

And now my day is complete.

Five AM wake up call + Eight hours of work + Eight miles of running + One hour of daylight savings time + another Five AM wake up call tomorrow = an Eight PM Saturday night bedtime.

Kick in the Ass

I've been watching the show I Used to be Fat on demand on MTV. It's addicting. Not as addicting as Teen Mom, but what is?! Anyway, the episode I just saw had a girl who weighed >200lbs & her goal was to get a 10 minute mile. Her trainer told her that she could physically do it, but she was just holding herself back- mentally. After a couple months she overcame that mental barrier & did it... without ever really running much before. It kinda made me feel like a loser (for lack of a better word) since I've been hovering around 10 minute miles for my entire life (pretty much), but don't consistently do them.... at least for any reasonable distance. I've decided that it's ridiculous actually.... I ran a 10K last year at a 9.12 pace, but when it comes to turning that damn treadmill to 6.0 I hesitate.

Let me use today's run as an example. I ran 4 miles in 41 minutes. My first 2 miles were run at 5.6-5.7 mph. The third mile was 5.7-6.0. My final mile was 6.0-7.0, and most of that mile was kept at >6.5 mph. So, I'm obviously capable of running at 6.0 or greater all the time, it's just that number that psychs me out when I know I have to maintain it for >3 miles.

Thus, I have determined that this whole running thing is a mental challenge for me. Sure, I have days where my calves are too tight to continue, or the arch of my foot is stopping me from running (my 2 classic "injuries"), but on 97% of the days I'm just fine to be running at a reasonable (ie >6.0 mph pace). All of this led me to bust out my training journal from last year. I was absolutely flabbergasted when I started to look at my runs. A huge portion of my runs had me running miles & miles at 5.0-5.5 mph. Seriously. No wonder my husband repeatedly told me last year that I wasn't challenging myself enough & that I was capable of running better & faster. In the end I finished my half marathon in 2:13, even with my lousey, inadequate training! In defense of my training last year, all I really wanted was to finish the half. I never had a goal time during my training, and even the day of the race I only wanted to finish it in 2:30. Well, now that I've got that under my belt it's time to take it to the next level!

So, I've decided to kick myself in the ass & get in gear. In my head I've always thought my goal time for finishing a half marathon is 2 hours. I've never said it out loud 'cause I was afraid that I couldn't do it, and I didn't want everyone to realize that I did not attain my goal! Whatev. Now I've said it & hopefully announcing it will make it more real & I can start to take my running seriously.

Here goes nothin'!

This Week in Review

Because we went away for the weekend I needed to tweak this past week's workout schedule. I ran Monday & Tuesday, and did Yoga on Wednesday. I was supposed to run again Thursday & then do my long run on Friday, but my body wasn't too excited about that idea. My legs were pretty beat from strength training and my right calf & hamstring were bothering me for most of the week. In light of all of these factors I decided to walk my 3 miles on Thursday so that my long run of 6 miles on Friday would be a good one.... and I'm so glad I did. I felt great running the 6! It took me 64 minutes, which is not my best, but I am improving.

Still no outside runs due to my schedule & the weather, but I'm hoping this week will change that.... well, actually, I KNOW this week will, since I have a race I'm doing in Buffalo. Saturday is the 5 mile Shamrock Run that I somehow agreed to..... hopefully I'll get outside before then, but only time will tell.

This weeks stats:
Total miles: 17 (14 run, 3 walked)

Spinning: 0 classes
Yoga: 1 class
Weight training: 2x

New songs added to my running playlist:
None. I'm open to suggestions.

Capable of Much More

Today I ran 5 miles at the gym on a treadmill in just under 52 minutes. According to my training schedule I was only supposed to run 4 miles, but due to upcoming events which include the Shamrock Run, as well as my impending vacation, I figured it was appropriate to up my milage & I knew 5 miles would never kill me. My pace ranged from 5.5 to 7.0 mph. I definitely stayed far too long at the lower end of that range. I think that the treadmill plays a mind game with me. 6.0 mph on a treadmill feels so much faster than 6.0 mph outside. I'm constantly trying to push myself to run faster on the treadmill, because I know I'm capable of so much more than I'm doing. (Reason #157 why I can't wait for the weather to cooperate so that I can run outside!) I consistently run significantly faster outdoors.

Regardless, I felt really good running that 5 miles! I found a treadmill in front of E! News & finally escaped the Saturday morning shows that I'm normally stuck with during my long runs! Seriously, why would a gym tune all of their channels to cartoons, Hannah Montana, & infomercials on a Saturday morning?! This should not be acceptable, but this is what I've been dealing with! Luckily, I was out later than usual last night, so my run was delayed this morning & I was rewarded with mindless gossip to occupy my run! Yeah!

Since I've decided that I'm not pushing myself hard enough, I'm going to make an effort to really increase my speed for my short runs during the week. I know I'm capable, so I'm just gonna have to suck it up & do it.... and pray this snow goes away sooner than expected so that I can hit the pavement!

This weeks stats:

Total miles run: 14

Spinning: 1 class

Yoga: 0 classes

Weight training: 1x (definitely need to get back to 2-3x)

New songs added to my running playlist:

Yeah 3x (Chris Brown)

What the Hell (Avril Lavigne)

Also happy news is that I felt with my first 5 mile run in months under my belt I could reward myself with some Sports Beans. I don't make a habit of having them, and I only eat them after/durning LONG runs, but I decided to have my first of the season today... and they made me happy!

On the Run.... again

So, last week I found myself bored. Since I really couldn't go anywhere there wasn't much I could find to occupy my time.... I won't tell you exactly where I was during this boredom, but it's very likely I was being paid to do not much of anything...... anyway.....

I found myself surfing the internet & came across some fun to read blogs. It once again inspired me to come back to my blog that I keep leaving behind. So, here I am.

Most of the blogs I read were about fitness, running, food, and motherhood. I can really only relate to the first three, but find the fourth to be educational at times. Since I'm prepping for my second half marathon I got to thinking that maybe I could blog about it to keep motivated. Not that I could ever strictly blog only about one thing, but it seemed like a good jumping off point to get back to writing. So, in keeping with my new favorite blog topic, I have added a mile counter via dailymile.com. I always keep track of my runs/workouts on a special calendar, but I thought this could hold me more accountable... maybe... or maybe I just thought it'd be kinda cool. The number will be the total miles I've run this year so far