Progress, Pitfalls + What gets me FIRED UP.

Why am I smiling here? 

Because I am thinking to myself...

a) "Ah, It feels good to be a runner again!" 

b)  "I can't touch my toes. All of this yoga and I can't touch my toes still." 

c) "I just made it around a 400M loop 20 times and only tripped over a root once, narrowly avoiding a face-plant. 

d) all of the above

         (See answer below.*)

Stretching out post-run makes me smile~ even when a snail could pace me.

Considering where I was only a couple of months ago- zero running for 8 weeks, the last few weeks I've seen some real improvement. I am starting (finally) to feel like a runner again! After 4 failed attempts to return to running, only to have PF bring it to a halt in the second week, I am now up to running consecutive days and 6 milers.
This isn't marathon training, and not even close to the mileage I was running in February, but it's forward progress.

To get back into running, I have relied on a schedule that gradually increases my time running each day.   (See "Rule of Two" Article ► HERE )

 "This system of starting with a 10 minute run and increasing by two-minute increments may seem slow at first, but it builds quickly if your body is truly healthy and ready for the progression.  A runner rebuilding with four runs per week will be running 42 minutes after only four weeks. If the body isn’t ready, its better find out earlier by paying attention to pain clues, otherwise potential setbacks are much larger." 

This is THE MOST CAUTIOUS running return I have ever made. 

It is not my style.... trust me.

If I had my way, I would have shot out the door after my layoff and ran a 20 miler the first week back. (I think I did that once ..but a much shorter layoff and a race was on the line =D .)

       I'm sure you are curious.. so here are some recent run details:

-My longest run since returning has been 62 minutes, and a little over 6 miles.
-Most of the runs have been timed, but ran with only heart rate and total time showing, (my goal being to run for time and under 139 heart rate--my personal, easy pace top-end)
-Most runs have been on gravel and fairly flat, the remainder were on pavement, a bark trail and once a week I get on grass for 20 minutes +/- .

 For the data nerds.
Go ahead and laugh... Just don't tell me O_o .

-Although my pace has improved (at or under 139 HR), I feel like I am dragging bricks. A little speedwork would feel nice, and experience shows it would certainly eliminate that dragging feeling....
-Stretching daily is now a focus, whereas before I would brush it off or do the minimum. I still would rather run than stretch, which leads me to another topic.. 

Running a local gravel road

Running Traps and Temptations

There is a point I get to when I am base building, where I get absolutely BORED with running just easy pace. And there is a little voice in the back of my head that says.."You would feel much better on all your runs if you just did a little bit of speed today."

Unfortunately, it happens to be the worst time to hear that voice... Just as I am leaving the injury zone.

Revisiting PF is not on my bucket list. And there is the long haul to look at... the longer I spend base building, (within reason), the better a base I will have for speed work, races, etc...It is injury protection in the bank- or it should be, if you are a "normal" runner. (Not saying I am normal.)

Q: Do you face any Running Temptations or Traps?

Truthfully, I would be in a poor spot to race right now.

But, I might entertain the idea of wearing a bib and running with a group on a trail somewhere.
                              No pressure...
               Just to say I HAVE ran a race in 2013. It's tempting.

Photo from a trail we hiked in Eugene. 

Finally: What has me fired up?

This story, from NBC.

Perhaps you have already heard? 
A woman enters a half marathon....
During the race she takes a wrong turn, asks race organizers permission to change to the full marathon (mid-race!). She gets permission and goes on to place 1st female and also Boston Qualify.
I hope this is not going to set the stage for future road races in the US.

Am I being too harsh? Perhaps I am too competitive, and think racers should stay on their race course.
You can read my comment to NBCSports here, and add your own. Or, leave your thoughts here in the comment section.

Q: How do you feel about racers being allowed to change their distance in the middle of a race?  

*If you answered d) you are correct!

Choosing a Marathon Training Plan / Training Tidbits / Other Random Updates/

I was going to do a great post on how to choose a marathon training plan. Then common sense hit me and I realized that half my brain is in Fiji on vacation!! Maybe next post.

Training is going swimmingly, but it's still January. Please excuse me a second while I pour the water out of my shoes..

LSD Lite II rain shell by Brooks. It "compresses into the size of a scone". I hope that I can stuff it in my fuel belt. It should be on the way!

(See the specs on the jacket)

It has been a long time since I have posted training details, so I will catch up with a few weeks here.

Things are going pretty well with running right now. It helps that I had a high volume (for me) October and also a high volume December, so the volume really is not brand new yet. Adding speed work back has added a bit of stress- in a good way.

The long run (Q1 workout) has been on Saturdays, and the Q2 workout seems to end up on Wednesday (still easy w/intervals at this point). I throw in a few strides twice a week, but only if my legs feel fully recovered from the last quality day.

Review (I am tracking my weeks from Saturday to Friday, just to keep my brain from going crazy with weekly mileage totals and figuring when to do each run.)

• Week of Dec 10 (base,  week 5) 66 miles
• Week of Dec 17 (base, week 6) 74 miles
• Week of Dec 24 (week 7) 64 miles
• Week of Dec 31 (week 8) 55 miles (sick and missed a run, goal was 64)
• Week of Jan 7 (week 9) 59 miles (goal was 56 Resisted temptation to try to make up for missed mileage last week, looking ahead...)
• Week of Jan 14 (week 10) 72 miles (90% peak)
• Week 11 almost done- shooting for 72 again. Then 13 to go until the EUGENE MARATHON!

A few days of notes (my apologies to those who click on my training tab and have already read this stuff) :

• 1/17  Rain snow mix through entire run. (early AM, 72 minutes)
• 1/18 2 sets of 4x1200 goal I pace = 6:11 (Rest between sets was shortened due to time and weather).

• 

  Add caption

• Hardest workout I have done in a long time. Rained the entire time, 34F . Paces: 6:18, 5:58 6:05 6:18 . 10 minutes aerobic rest nearly froze me, wanted to quit. 6:20 6:17 6:13 6:16 Victory in completion today.
• 1/19  Non stop rain. Third day of it.(early AM, 101 minutes) Easy run- not bad considering the deluge. Shoes were filled when I finished, water just rolled off my pants into them. But, on the upside, much warmer today and i took off the rain shell (too wet to bother with anyway) at mile 2, left it  dripping and came back by for it. Cows were out at the neighbors (still dark) and I saved the school bus. :) I guess they didn't feel like drowning in the flooded field.*massage in afternoon. 45 minutes just on my calves.
• 1/20 Recovery run-- to recover from my last recovery run. Easy pace very slow and not easy feeling :) Just a little rain, turning to sprinkles. 

Most runs I am fueling with Gatorade, lemon lime. I'd love to try some new things, but this is going well.
*** 
In random stuff...


My 20 year reunion is being planned for this summer!

I didn't make it to the 10 year, but the ladies who planned it got fed up and swore off any more reunion planning after that. I love them and there's a chance they may be reading my blog, so THANK YOU for planning. I bet it was FUN and TRULY SORRY I didn't make it...

The guy who took up the reins posted this in our class group page:

I don't think he was ever on honor roll. I'm not sure he was ever in student council either; but, he managed to figure something out in 20 years since high school:  Dictatorships are the only effective leadership there is! :)

***
At home, I am 100% certain that I am not doing the BEST job I could be doing as a home-school mom. Our days are crazy. But, Nathan was not able to read at all in September.
I am so proud of how far he has come, and grateful God has enabled him to be able to do this:



Random Question:

How do YOU choose a training plan?  What would you tell someone shopping for their first marathon plan?

My new BOSTON plan: A Leap of faith & A fresh start

I have been stalling about taking this step for some time.

Really, it boils down to trust: trusting my own limited experience, and trusting God to see me through training, whatever the circumstances (or outcomes) may be. This week I took a big step (for me), and decided to abandon the comforts of a training schedule made by experts (Pete Pfitzinger 18/70) and create my own training plan for Boston- my second marathon. Ever. (Can you tell I am still a bit nervous about this choice?)

Side note: In high school I used to jump off of train bridges and cliffs into rivers and lakes (even skipping a few classes to do so. Sorry dad and mom!). You would have a hard time getting me to do that for money these days.

Thank you to those of you who encouraged me to write my own plan. I don't know if I would have tried without my blogging support crew!

Here is a link to my new training plan for Boston: (click HERE) Let's hope it works! There is a strong possibility that I will go in and erase all the pace info soon, especially if I seem to have any trouble hitting the targets. :) Special thanks to blogger, Danny (he is a genius) who tried to help me post it as an image- I just don't have the skills or the software! 

The plan uses alternating hard/easy workouts with two days specifically for speed work. My peak weeks will each take me approximately 10 miles higher than I have ever done in a single week. I left some workouts as  "cruise intervals" so that I could assess the day before and decide what the best speed workout that day should be. There is a taper and a few cutback weeks. There are a few weeks where I run five days instead of six; this is to get an extra day of sleep as an incentive and body booster.

I started back at the weights last week, which drained my legs, but left me seeing what I have been missing. The plan is to get in 2-3 days a week of strength training on my hard workout days, leaving my legs fresh for the next hard workout day.

Today's run went spectacularly! Nine miles as an easy aerobic run- slightly faster than my goal (Gotta watch that!). I had peace of mind and great time alone with God. My body felt very rested after a "Christmas cutback", and I am glad to be back in a structured program, (no matter how scary it is that I am the author of it).

SIXTEEN   WEEKS   TO   GO  !

Training Conundrums

Preliminary warning: Cute photos have nothing to do with the subject matter of this post!

First, I want to thank anyone who has given training advice to me here. Any and all suggestions are always welcome (honesty and disagreement is OK)! Feel free to leave as many as you like in that little box labeled "comments" below.

Obviously, by the title of this post, I still am undecided about how to best train for Boston. In a way, I think that's good. It shows that I don't want to blindly go into a marathon. However, it's also bad because I really would like not to be still weighing my options at this point.

Boston is 17 weeks away. That may seem like a long time to some people, but the more you look at training plans for Marathons, the more you see a pattern of 16, 18 or 22 weeks. Some are even 6 months or a year.
Why so long? The "experts" in the field create phases within training that include endurance building, peaking, sharpening and tapering (and maybe I missed some others!). Sure, you can run a marathon without all these phases, but my goal isn't just to finish. It will be almost a year since my last (and first) marathon and it might be another year until the next. (But I hope NOT). Putting it simply, I will put as much of myself into this race as I can. It is a PR goal race.

As of Sunday, I started Pfitz's (Pfitzinger & Scott) 18 week plan that tops at 70 MPW, (aka 18/70). The total mileage for this first week is 54, which is actually a cutback from what I ran (not on a plan) the week before. I have toyed with the idea of just adding 5 miles to each week, starting next week. Not sure this is a great idea, but would maybe be just the right boost. 

I have another issue with Pfitz, something I consider more important than the mileage. His plan schedules races as part of the training. It's never seemed wise (to me) to truly race while training for another key race. (Kara Goucher can do it, though, and it looks like she will with the PF Chang RnR half and Boston). My body needs time to recover from racing and I usually take a few days off even after a hard 10K.

I don't want to feel pressured to run a long run the day following a race. Pfitz schedules it. *This is where I should insert that I am still reading his book.* It appears he might advise you to run the races as Lactate Threshold runs instead of "true races". If so, that's better; but, I still wouldn't spend money to go do an organized Lactate Threshold run. I'd do it for free on my home turf.

Another option I have considered is following one of Jack Daniels plans. Unfortunately I couldn't tell you which one, because I have only recently bought the book, and am confused as to which level of plan I should use. Ha! :/  His plans are based more on experience, and not so much on mileage. I have about 2 1/2 years of running experience (not counting goofing around on and off before that). Where does that put me? I don't know.  I like that there appears to be some flexibility in his plan. There are scheduled workouts for each week, but the rest of the mileage is flexible. I can't even tell you how many speedwork days there are each week! One problem is that the plan(s) start 22 weeks from the race. Oops. I missed that window!

Then there's  RunnersWorld's SmartCoach, which is considered to be lame by some. But when you start playing with 55 mile weeks starting, and throw in some race times and goal paces that get harder, it doesn't look so easy. The max with that plan is actually a bit higher than Pfitz. The increases of mileage are steeper. I have considered using the mileage plan and changing the speedwork from one to to two days with progressive long runs & MP runs on alternating weeks...Or something like that. And maybe a few 22 milers instead of 20. This plan is for 16 weeks.

Then there's the plan that someone emailed me this week, which is also interesting!

As you can see...I am still not settled in what I am doing. I sure hope by next week to have a better plan- or at least get comfortable with Pfitz!

This might be the most boring post I have ever made. Ha! If you are still with me at this point you deserve some dessert: