November Training 11/18/12-11/24/12 and a race report

Happy Turkey Day everyone! :) I hope you all had FABULOUS turkey days.  The weather was gorgeous and I had a wonderful run that day. Besides my family, health, friends, life, etc, as I ran I thought of how thankful I am for the park system we have here.  I can run in a different, wonderfully maintained park any day of the week and several are less than 15 miles from my home.  My usual running place is less than 3 miles away!

My legs were super tired this week.  I think I've been over training. Monday I ran and also did a 45/45 spinning and yoga class AFTER my loooong YTT weekend.  I ran Thursday and Friday last week then had a stressful and grueling YTT weekend, ran Monday and the spinning/yoga class.  So this week after my run on Wednesday, I realized that I needed to rest up for my race on Saturday.  I've been working my butt of this week with jewelry stuff because I decided to do a show on Saturday.  Thursday I had a pretty decent run but my legs still felt a bit heavy.  It was soooo gorgeous! Friday I rested so I'd be ready for the race.

I got to the race early, hit the bathroom and ran for 15 minutes or so and was warmed up and ready by 8:45am.  The problem was that the race didn't start until about 9:10am. So by that time, I wasn't really warmed up anymore.  The course was nice and pretty easy with the exception of one giant hill. I felt good and didn't over do it.  I feel like I'm FINALLY getting this whole pacing thing! haha But seriously, I ran a pretty consistent race and even kept my pace through the finish.  Normally I sprint in but I was feeling good at my pace and happy to come in under 45 minutes. I forgot to turn off my garmin though until about 3 mins after the race. :(  Official time from the race is 44:58 with 14:30/min. I'm happy with it.  It is my first race in several years and while it isn't an official PR it is my fastest time besides a super flat and super fast course so I'm considering it a PR. ;) I have another race on December 8th, so hopefully I have another PR in store!

My training plan schedules 3 days per week but I run four days a week usually MWFSat. Monday I begin week 4 of the plan which is a build week so hopefully I'm ready for it.  Saturday will begin a recovery week and the halfway point in the plan.  The run group that I belong to on FB is holding their own trail 10k on December 29th so I might be ready to run it.  I just have to see where I'm at then.

11/19/12 - W2 D3 - 3.26 miles at 13:46 - ECP - mixed trail and paved

11/21/12 - W3 D1 - 2.11 miles at 14:14 - ECP - mixed trail and paved

11/22/12 - W3 D2 - tempo run - 2.41 miles at 14:31 - NCR - bridle/white pine/bird trails

11/24/12 - W3 D3 - race day - 3.15  miles at 14:30 - DirtDirty Trail 5k - I didn't want to set back my training schedule so I used this as a training run

Weekly total:  10.93 miles

November Training 11/11/12-11/17/12

My weekly training log is late because I have just been crazy busy! This past weekend was the written portion of our test for yoga teacher training so it was a long and stressful week last week and weekend.  I'm hoping that things will settle down after this weekend and I will begin to feel a bit more normal!

This weekend was a lot of yoga. A LOT! I would say that between Saturday and Sunday we did at least 6 hours of yoga.  My body was sore and tired yesterday morning.  I ran and then did a 45/45 class, spinning and yoga so needless to say this morning was a bit worse than Monday.  ;) I have a half day tomorrow so I'm going to get a run in the morning and then I have a tempo run Thursday and a race Saturday! Woohoo! I'm excited and nervous.  I haven't done a race in a while so I'm hoping it goes well and I'm not super slow!

The biggest change for me between the 5k plan and the 10k plan is tempo runs and speedwork.  I'm struggling with the speedwork.  I having been trying to hit up the trails as much as I can because my race this weekend is a trail run and in a hilly place, but hills are not conducive to speedwork.  I'm going to try and hit a mostly flat trail on Thursday for the speedwork.

This week of training also brought my first full 5k distance. It was nice to finally get there!

11/11/12 - W1 D2 - tempo run - 3.11 miles at 13:57 - CRP

11/13/12 - W1 D3 - 2.87 miles at 13:54 - ECP - mixed trail and paved

11/15/12 - W2 D 1 - 2.31 miles at 12:59 - ECP - mixed trail and paved

11/16/12 - W2 D2 - speedwork - 2.61  miles at 13:47 - ECP - mixed trail and paved

Weekly total:  10.9 miles

November Training 11/4/12-11/10/12

My visit with the chiropractor went well! They fixed me up and I was allowed to take a test run on Wednesday.  It felt great to get back out there! I've been spending more time spinning and not as much time sleeping as I need to.  When I had to take some time off for the ankle, I felt like it would be negligible and my training wouldn't take a hit. I'm not sure if it is just that I've been working out more and/or not getting enough sleep or that 5 days off really did have an impact but my runs since the break haven't been great. I feel slow and my legs feel heavy. I'm hoping to get back into the swing of things soon! :)

The good news is that I finished the couch-to-5k plan and started the 5k-to-10k plan! I ran a new trail this past Saturday and while I'm always slower on a new trail, it was so nice to see a new part of the park! :) I can't wait to get out there again soon!  This coming weekend is a YTT weekend.  I have my written exam - eek! Wish me luck! :)


11/8/12: 2.71 miles at 13:50 per mile - NCR - Squire's Castle mix of trail and paved
Week 9 Day 3 - 5 min warm up,  jog for 30 mins, 5 min cooldown 
!!!Couch-to-5k COMPLETE!!!

11/10/12: 2.14 miles at 16.31 per mile - NCR - bird and bridle trail
Week 1 Day 1 - 5 min warm up,  steady run for 30 mins, 5 min cooldown

Total Mileage: 6.85 miles

October Training - 10/29/12-11/3/12

Sandy might have been in full force here in Ohio but I still got my runs in. :) On Friday evening I ran my first run since Saturday without rain.  I actually kind of missed the rain but it will rain again one day! haha Saturday brought great weather and a disconnected run in North Chagrin.  I just couldn't get into.  Early in my run, I hit something beneath the heavy leaves and twisted my left ankle pretty good, crunch and all. ;) I walked it off and after a few steps continued my run.  I came home and did my usual 45 minute post run yoga, showered, taught my yoga student, went to my friend Sally's house to do her makeup and then out to dinner with my bff, Chrissy. By the end of dinner, my ankle was swollen and sore. Each step produced a clicking sound in my ankle.  I came home and crashed and this morning opted out of spinning and yoga. I have it wrapped and elevated and I'm hoping I can hit the chiro tomorrow and they can lead me in the right direction. :) I have only ONE DAY left in my training plan!!!! :) Another reason I'm hoping this ankle heals quickly! Then it is on to the 5k-to-10k training.


10/29/12: 2.58 miles at 14:42 per mile - CRP gravel
Week 8 Day 2 - 5 min warm up,  jog for 28 mins, 5 min cooldown

10/31/12: 2.71 miles at 14:00 per mile - ECP paved
Week 8 Day 3 - 5 min warm up,  jog for 28 mins, 5 min cooldown

11/2/12: 2.94 miles at 13:36 per mile - ECP paved
Week 9 Day 1 - 5 min warm up,  jog for 30 mins, 5 min cooldown

11/3/12: 2.61 miles at 15:19 per mile - NCR trail
Week 9 Day 2 - 5 min warm up,  jog for 30 mins, 5 min cooldown

Total Mileage: 10.84 miles

Rain, rain......

With hurricane Sandy in town things have been a little discombobulated! The rain begin on Saturday and hasn't stopped since. We received much more damage than I expected and as a result some of my favorite trails are closed, hopefully not for long. My work was out of power from Monday night until yesterday around 3pm. Yesterday we were on call so I kept delaying my scheduled run with the fear that I would start my run and get called in.  I should have just gone running early in the day but, sigh, whatever. ;) It was nice to have a break and I was able to get a bunch of jewelry stuff done this week, including this and this.

My afternoon was hijacked by other people and traffic and closed roads and downed trees and live wires and stores that didn't have what I was searching for.  I FINALLY got to the park to run around 6:30pm.  I had to stick to the paved trail because the one in the woods was closed and blocked by numerous uprooted trees. 

Yesterday was the best run ever. EVER. Seriously, EVER! 

I ran the entire run.  I didn't need to stop once. It felt good and natural and right.  It quickly sucked away all of my frustrations of the day and replaced them with calm and peace.  But most of all it made me feel invincible.  It didn't matter that it was raining or cold or windy or dark, I was out there and enjoying it tremendously.  Every run, makes me feel more confident in my abilities and myself.  

It might seem strange or silly to someone who doesn't run or doesn't enjoy running but it really impacts all parts of your life. I've soooo missed this and have enjoyed it this time around more than ever before.  So often I talk about how I began to find myself more and more each time I was on a yoga mat and the same can be said for running. Each time I head out in the woods for a run, I see a little more of myself revealed  I feel more connected to myself and to life in general. 

I hope all of you have been having wonderful runs (or not runs) and enjoying life!