Days 15 & 16: Yeah, yeah, whatever

Lack of lustre for all things in life right now, writing included. I'm just so tired. It's like moving underwater. Probably from being constantly stressed out for the past... month? Two months? Whatever, I'm just being a baby.

Yesterday I actually used as a rest day like the schedule says. I did 15 minutes of yoga to wake up, and was going to do more in the evening, but after wandering around the Renaissance Festival in 90+ degrees and then coming home to do laundry, I could barely stand up. So I just turned in my rest day token.

This morning I had to get my run in before work. It's a step back week, so just 3 miles. First early morning run in a long time, and it was a sluggish start. But once I got going it was great. I ran in the old neighborhood to tackle the hills I've been avoiding since last season. It was tough, but even with those hills and my groggy start I finished in 28:19, so I think I'm in good shape.

I also had belly dancing tonight. Since I had been going nonstop since 7 and didn't have time for dinner before and at some point during the day my body developed into a giant ball of hives, I didn't go into it with the best attitude. Tired, hungry, and itchy is not the way to go to class. Of course today is the day we worked on the one move I cannot seem to get... it just doesn't make sense to me. So then I was even more frustrated. Ugh. But I know I worked my obliques hard, so my abs will thank me in the morning I suppose.

Tomorrow will be a better day... I hope... sleep and Benadryl should help.

Days 12, 13, &14: Loving the long weekend!

Holiday weekends make training so much more enjoyable. Mostly because you don't have to cram your workouts in around chores, errands, social activities, and sleep. There's plenty of time for everything!

Friday was a rest day, and I did just that. Saturday was a 7 miler. We met up with my coworker and some of her running company (there's like an army of them, I swear!) and did our first 4 in downtown Decatur with them, then finished our last 3 around Agnes Scott. It was nice to run with a different group and definitely nice to change up the scenery. It was a great run; our time was 1:08:23, and I felt really good afterward. Not too hot but definitely humid... the summer is rapidly approaching.

Today we enjoyed some time poolside like good Americans should on Memorial Day weekend, but we didn't spend too much time lounging. Got in a good swim... about a mile and a half in 35 minutes. Chris did great too! (I owe him a shout out cuz he was offended I gave him a hard time after last week)

Between two good workouts, finishing my paper for work, and a myriad of shopping trips and social activities, I'm exhausted. I'm so glad tomorrow's a holiday... gives me time for a true rest day. Although I'm not so certain that will actually happen...

Day 11: Fighting the treadmill blues

Thunderstorms and torrential downpours and flash floods don't really make for the best running conditions, so Chris came over and we ran on the treadmills in the gym at my apartment complex. Thankfully, our assignment today was a 30 minute "tempo run," so the time was short, and it actually made the task easier. I've never done a tempo run, and I was feeling a little apprehensive about it, but the treadmill is great because you set the speed. Takes the uncertainty out of it.

Basically, our run looked like this: 7 4:30 segments at the following paces: 11 min/mile, 10, 9:30, 9, 9:30, 10, 11. For minute 3 of every set we increased the incline to get a little hill work in as well; the percent grades were as follows: 5, 4, 3, 2, 3, 4, 5. The remainder of the run was at 1%, since apparently running on a 0% grade on the treadmill is actually like running slightly downhill. Don't want to make things easy.

Anyway, we went about 3.2 miles in 32 minutes and ended with a much needed stretching session. Overall a good workout.

P.S. My mom and her friend are thinking of training to walk the Disney Half Marathon this year when we run the Goofy! Wouldn't that be so awesome? I'll have my mom convinced to run races in no time! :-p

Day 10: Well-balanced workout

30 minutes cross training today, which I'll say I met with an hour and 15 min yoga class. My last class at Urban Body Studios on my Groupon. Super sad. I love that place so much... it's just too darn expensive for a starving graduate student.

The class today focused on balancing poses. Tough stuff for the legs and core. I seemed to be pretty well balanced (physically...) today so I pushed the limits a little where I could and it went well. Good end to this month's yoga adventure. Now on to other things...

Day 9: Baby, it's HOT outside

Holy heatwave, Batman. I'm not sure how many more 90 degree runs I can do. And it's only May! Chris may have to sacrifice a few of his leisurely days with nothing to do for some early runs, or we may die of heatstroke.

Four miles today, a "fun" run according to good ol' Hal. It actually was. I was super excited about work today (mark it on the calendars, kids) so I was already full of adrenaline and we had some good conversation almost the whole way. Despite all our gabbing and the intense heat, we still did ok pace-wise: 39:54. Just made that 10 minute mile cut-off.

Belly dancing tonight as well. It's possible the instructor was trying to kill us. My abs are so sore it hurts to sit upright. Definitely raised the bar as far as our technical skills go too... worked on some tough stuff. I'm not sure I can do four different things with my body all at once. It's good for me though, I suppose. Definitely tired. Should sleep well tonight!

Day 8: "Rest"

Week 2!

Mondays are rest days, but I did some yoga. Ended up being a whole class on legs. Good because it was excellent strength work and helped me focus on getting the bum hip aligned. Bad because my legs work all the time when I'm running... I need to work on the arms and abs (mostly the arms... seriously, they need help).

Short post... off to enjoy the rest of my evening and getting in that "rest." :-)

Day 7: First long run!

First long run of the season. 6 miles today. All I can really say is... not our best. We started too late in the day, so it was HOT, and we have been running in some lovely cool weather recently, so we're not quite conditioned for heat yet. I also think we were both a little tired from swimming yesterday. I always feel the effects of my swim workouts the day after, and I was feeling a little sore and heavy today. I know Chris was definitely feeling it as well. And I forgot about the whole it's hot and we're running for an hour so we need to stop to hydrate thing. And I may have had one too many "Ring in the Rapture" margaritas last night. So all of that adds up to not stellar. But our time was 1:03:15, which actually isn't terrible... well under the 12 min/mile pace we've set for our marathon, and not too far off from the 10 min/mile pace we've set for the half. So we know what to do for next time, and we have somewhere to go with our training. It wouldn't be training if you could just wake up and run it, right?

Day 6: The margaritas stole my title

Cross training day! I firmly believe the 2.5 hours I spent cleaning my apartment (and it's still not done... gah) should count. Regardless, Chris and I went to the pool and swam for ~40 minutes (we were supposed to do 60 minutes of cross training, which is why I feel cleaning totally counts to make up for the rest... I moved furniture, ok?). I made it about a mile and a quarter. Chris had some trouble keeping up... obviously because my swimming skills are becoming awesome. Or because the last time Chris swam more than one lap was... never. Regardless, I feel I can still give him a hard time :-p.

It's getting so hot outside now... which is great for swimming, but our run tomorrow might be sad... first long run though, yay! Hopefully I sleep well tonight so the run will be successful.

Daus 4 & 5: Rest and run

It doesn't technically count as missing a day if it's just a rest day... what am I supposed to write? And yes, I missed the midnight cutoff so this will say it's posted a day late, but I haven't gone to bed yet, so I consider myself safe.

We switched Thursday and Friday due to my busy social life. So Thursday was a rest day, which I took full advantage of, trust me. Today was a 3 mile pace run, meaning we were supposed to run all three miles at our goal pace, which for us currently is our 10k goal pace of 9:30/mile. We failed at that, however, in the opposite direction one might expect. Our splits ended up being 8:29, 8:53, and 9:11, for a total of 26:33. If we keep running like that we might need to challenge ourselves a little more and drop our goal time. But I think we should wait to see how we handle the longer distance. No need to rush into things, right?

Day 3: EXTREME YOGA

Let me preface this entry with a couple of points:
1. I worked a nine hour day, during which I did an incredibly stressful growth curve and finished writing the first draft of my first paper (finally...)
2. Nine hour day was not as bad as the 11 hour day I had anticipated... thanks to some very cooperative cells, I ended up with 2 hours of free time
3. For those of you not in the loop, the bf has moved to NJ, and is currently vacationing in Hawaii... so even talking is nearly impossible, and I'm bored and lonely
4. It was too cold to swim

I tell you this so you know that no, I am not actually crazy. (Ok, well, debatable, but in this case... not crazy.)

My cooworker had a pass to a yoga class that was going to expire today, and she couldn't make it, so she gave it to me. So upon prancing out of work 2 hours earlier than expected, I headed over to do the Hot Core Power class at Decatur Hot Yoga. I haven't done hot yoga in a LONG time. I forgot how much harder the heat makes it. It was a really great class though.

I had originally planned to go to the beginner's yoga class at Urban Body Studios tonight, so, since I had nothing else better to do, I decided I might as well still go, since the other class let out in time for me to eat a quick dinner and make it to the Highlands. I'm not gonna lie... it got a little tough towards the end there. The class focused on back bends, which are pretty intense to begin with, so I had to take it easier than I might usually. Also a good class, though... my back feels great!

Wednesdays are cross training days, and while there is some debate about whether or not yoga counts as cross training, I was only required by the schedule to do 30 minutes, so I feel 2 and 1/2 hours of yoga should suffice (I will spare you my tirade on why yoga definitely counts as cross training). Maybe not back-to-back classes next time though...

Day 2: So far, so good

Getting off on the right track by updating daily. Don't worry, I'll probably drop back to weekly in no time... we saw how well daily posts worked out last time around. Also, I realized last time I kept track of the days. I kind of like that. Stats to keep track of for the end of this season: days of training, miles run, weight lost... I'll probably think of more.

First official training run! 3 miles... so, cake. I was itching to run all day. The weather is on the chilly side for Atlanta this time of year, but it's perfect running weather--I barely broke a sweat. We did 3 miles in Lullwater around the lake and the president's house. Our time was fantastic: 28:03. Our goal pace for the 10k is currently 9:30/mile, but if we keep getting times like today, we might be able to take it down to 9:20. Time aside, it was a thoroughly enjoyable run, and I could have kept going, but no reason to push it--we have 24 weeks, might as well take our time and keep on schedule.

I also started a new belly dancing course today (yes, I'm still doing that, believe it or not): traveling moves, my first technique 2 course (that means intermediate)--I'm well on my way to becoming a professional! (Just kidding... or not... some days it sounds like a better life plan than science.) Because it's only a four week course instead of six, each class is an hour and a half. Turns out, that's a LONG time to belly dance. My quads and obliques hate me. But it was, as usual, totally fun (did you know you could belly dance to Michael Jackson? Yeah, me neither...), and between the running and the dancing and the yoga, I should be ready for the pool in no time! Take that, flabby off-season body! Also, hopefully all this core work will help prevent those back aches on long runs.

One run down... a LOT more to go...

Blog, revived: Marathon Try 2

Went to the doctor Thursday. Guess whose iron and hemoglobin are right smack in the middle of normal range? This girl's!!! So you know what that means? I have the official go-ahead to start training!

Good thing, too, cuz today is Day #1 of Race Season of Ridiculousness Training. Using a slightly modified version of good old Hal's Marathon 3 training schedule (http://www.halhigdon.com/marathon/novice3intro.htm), we will spend the next 24 weeks preparing for the Atlanta Marathon on October 30th, with the Peachtree 10k and the Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon thrown in there for good measure. But we're not stopping there! The rest of our season is as follows:
Savannah Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon: Nov. 5th (Yes, that is the weekend after the Atlanta Marathon...)
Atlanta Thanksgiving Day Half Marathon: November 24th
Savannah River Bridge Run Double Pump! (15k): Dec. 3rd
And then, of course, the ultimate goal--the Disney Goofy: half marathon on January 7th, full marathon on January 8th. (This, by the way, was Chris' idea... but I'm the one who started this madness, so I can't very well tell him no, can I?)

So what to do after the Atlanta Marathon until the Goofy as far as training goes I haven't quite figured out yet... that's going to take some research. Which I will think about later, when I'm wasting time at work or something (ok, so maybe, like tomorrow...).

Strangely enough, Mondays are rest days, so our first day of training actually calls for... nothing. I'm not really a nothing kind of person though, so I went to yoga class. I'm back at Urban Body Studios right now (hurray Groupon!), which is good, because I took some time off yoga, and their classes are really good for improving form and foundation, so it's been a good refresher. I also did 20 minutes on the Wii fit, just for fun... and I needed to use its scale because Chris and I, lamenting the flabbiness of our untraining bodies, are going to see how much weight we lose between now and the end of our race season. We don't have numbers, but we're fairly certain that last season it was a lot, so we want the numerical data (we're scientists, ok?). I think we should have a fun prize or something... like... a shot for every pound we lose at a post-season party! Or maybe just a cookie per pound or something safer than, you know, a gallon of vodka. ;-)

Oh, it's so fabulous to be back to both writing and training. First official training run tomorrow!

P.S. If you're interested, check out the pictures I added (Thanksgiving, Disney, Run before you crawl, and Sweetwater)! Pictures make things more fun. I'll try to stay on top of that this time around.