Big Sur – Week 3

So this is the first week I have not been spot on.  The weekend was beautiful I decided to take full advantage of it.

Monday – 3 miles

Tuesday – 2 miles @ 10.0 incline (ran 5 – 0.10 sprints).  Body Pump after that.

Wednesday – 5 miles.  It is the best I felt on a run in a long time.  All my splits were between 9:00 and 9:09. 

Thursday – Rest Day

Friday – 2 miles @ 10.0 incline (ran 4 – 0.10 sprints).  Body Pump.  Tomorrow’s long run isn’t ridiculously long, so I decided to lift again.

Saturday – 3 miles – it was supposed to be 12.  However, after my 3 miles I met up with Tracey and Michael for an 11 mile bike ride.  After a few bumps in the road (Michael had to change out the tube in his tire, I had shoe clips/pedal issues, and Tracey had brake issues) we were able to get in a pretty good ride.  It kicked my butt and felt great to get back on the bike.  It was 65 degrees, so running, biking and eating lunch on the patio with friends and a few beers was a perfect Saturday (although it wasn’t 12 running miles).

Sunday – Didn’t get out of bed until 10:30.  At that point, I knew I was having a lazy day and my 8 mile run wasn’t happening. Got up and cleaned the kitchen and then made all my food for the week (then cleaned the kitchen again)! Finally – since it was 70 degrees, I knew I had to get outside and take advantage of the weather.  I went for a 3.5+ mile walk.

Week 3 of training – 18.68 running miles and 11 biking miles.

So the weekend didn’t go as planned, but whatcha going to do…time to get back at it this week.  First race of the year coming up this Sunday!

What I ate all Week - Wednesday

Sunday I went grocery shopping.  All this food was under $38 and it was enough for me to make breakfast, lunch and snacks for the whole week, be able to freeze 2 lunches, and have some leftovers for dinners.

Breakfasts:  Whole wheat toast & PB, along with turkey sausage

Lunches: Pan roasted Chicken with Lemon-Garlic Green Beans and Chicken Minestrone Soup

http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/pan-roasted-chicken-lemon-garlic-green-beans-10000000780291/index.html

http://www.littlebshealthyhabits.com/2012/01/hearty-chicken-minestrone-soup.html

Snacks: Salt-n-vinegar Kale chips and celery & PB

http://nataliehodson.com/healthyrecipes/salt-and-vinegar-kale-chips/

Both the lunches are extremely hearty so I won’t need much in the way of afternoon snacks; just enough to get me through the gym/workout.

Eating habits have been good, I feel like I have been very disciplined.  Yes, it is girl scout cookie time and I have a few boxes, yes Mark loves junk food and keeps tons of it, and yes I have been feeding my sweet tooth every day, but in a limited capacity. 

I am back at my pre-holiday weight!  Woo hoo!!! 

Big Sur – Week 2

·        Monday – Scheduled for 4 miles, decided to try 5, and ended with 4.36.  It was in the 60s, but the breeze made it chilly.  I still have to walk quite a bit, but I was able to finish with under a 10:00 pace.

·        Tuesday – 2 miles on a 10.0 incline.  Body Pump

·        Wednesday – 5.75 miles outside.  I was scheduled for 6 miles, but was cutting it close timing wise and I had done a little extra on Monday, so it all worked out!

·        Thursday – 2 miles at the gym and then lifted arms.   Free weights = overhead shoulder press, bicep curls, and bent over row.  Machines = Seated lat pull down, triceps dips, and chest press.

·        Friday – REST

·        Saturday – 18.6 miles out at White Rock (30K).  Once I got out to White Rock, I realized I forgot to charge my watch the night before.  So the plan was to do 1 lap, and follow that exact same route the 2^nd lap, so if the watch died, I still knew how far I went.  Lap 1 was completed at a 10:00 pace.  Lap 2 I knew I wasn’t going to be able to do that, so I did a 0.25 run, 0.25 walk (repeat) the whole 9.3 miles.  I ended at just under a 12:00 pace.  So overall, 18.6 miles at an 11:00 pace.  Not my best, but still a lot of mileage and my watch lasted the whole time!!

      ~After the run, I met Jen for lunch at Snuffers and proceeded to dominated a thing of cheese fries, a salad, and a burger!  I think I replenished all the calories I burned quite well!

·        Sunday – Met up with Lauren at River Legacy Park in Arlington for 5 miles.  I was surprised at how good the legs felt and that we ran the whole way without stopping for breaks or to walk.  That is one of the first runs I have done in a long time without walking.

Week 2 of marathon training – 37.71 miles! Feeling pretty good about that.  In December I ran a total of 40 something miles (I didn’t track that last week or so), and this week alone I ran essentially 38 miles.  Also got in 2 days of lifting.

A lot has been going on concerning my spring marathons.  First of all, Nicole is coming down for Cowtown.  She is doing the full.  As of now, I am still planning on the Ultra, but may drop down to the full.  Undecided.  For Big Sur, Megan dropped the bomb that she is pregnant.  As of now, she is still planning on doing Big Sur (she has the Doctor’s OK).  I would understand if she couldn’t do it, but at the same time be very disappointed.  She was the one that talked me into this and there is no way I could afford it on my own.  If she doesn’t go, I don’t go and that would be a bummer!

Big Sur – Week 1

I am realizing just how out of shape I am.  It is going to be hard to get back to where I want to be, but I am determined to do it!

·        Monday – 3 miles.  It was a combination of running and walking, but the distance was completed.

·        Tuesday – 2 miles on a 10.0 incline – walked most of it.  Body Pump

·        Wednesday – 5 miles outside in 40 degree weather.  I kept my watch covered for most of this run and was surprised how consistent my splits were.  I was working hard and barely able to keep it around a 9 min pace (9:05).  Much harder than it should have been, but I pushed through.

·        Thursday – 3 miles at the gym

·        Friday – REST

·        Saturday – 15 miles out at White Rock Lake.  It was a GORGEOUS day!  It started off in the upper 40s, and was in the mid 50s by the time I finished.  So many people were out and about.  I kept the pace under 10 minutes and felt pretty good about the amount I was able to run in the later miles.

·        Sunday – 3 miles at the gym.  This was the only workout that wasn’t spot on this week.  I was supposed to do 5 miles.  It was in the 70s outside, but the 30+ mph winds made this a gym workout.  I was impressed by how loose the legs felt.

Week 1 of marathon training was a success.  31 miles in the books.  It was nice to get back in to a routine and get some motivation going into the next 15 weeks.

January..

Time to start the monthly goals again…

Goal 1: Get over this dang sickness

Goal 2: Run 85 miles

Goal 3: Make 5 Body Pump classes

Goal 4: Get up to an 18 mile long run

The first 3-4 months are entirely devoted to Big Sur training.  With this stupid sickness I have pretty much surrendered any hope of being ready for the Cowtown Ultra.  I am still going to complete it, but only for a long run for Big Sur.  January and February are devoted to increasing mileage again, and March is for hill training.

I am trying to decide my plan for Big Sur.  I know Megan is going to want to push it, and I am debating just how much I want to push.  Going all the way out there for one of the most scenic marathons I will ever run.  Kind of just want to take it easy, take 100’s of pictures and enjoy…decisions decisions.

2014

I am happy to report that I made it to midnight on New Years.  After starting to feel sick Monday, I made it through most of work on Tuesday and was extremely grateful to come home to a completely cleaned house.  That way I could spend the afternoon and early evening napping on the couch.  I was able to stay up until 12:00.  I'm not sure I ever noticed it before, but for some reason Mexicans fire off guns to celebrate the New Year.  Lots of gun shots at both 11 (NY ball drop) and 12.  Wonder if that only happens in Texas/the south?  I think I was out by 12:20.  God bless Advil PM.  That crap knocks me out!

Woke up feeling better, but not great.  I would say about 65%.  The weather was great, low 60s, so I had to get out.  I went for a 3 mile walk, just to enjoy the beautiful weather and on that walk I tried to think about what I wanted in 2014 and I really couldn't come up with much.  There is always losing that last 5 pounds, gaining muscle, etc.  But really I could say that every month.

I turn 30 this year, but that doesn't really scare me.  I'm pretty happy with where I am at this point of my life.  I think for 2014 my goal is to just keep doing what I am doing. 

Sounds like a good plan to me.