10 Miler Training: Week 3 (and the time I ran almost 8 miles while I had a stomach bug)

Week 3 (12/23-12/29) of training was an interesting week. I was off to a good start, starting off on Monday 12/23. I did 3 miles outside, and then went into the gym to lift some weights. I felt great during the run, and kept up a good pace.

Splits:
0.50 - 4:48 (9:36)
1.00 - 9:33 (9:33, 9:30) last mile in 9:33
1.50 - 14:31 (9:41, 9:56)
2.00 - 19:21 (9:41, 9:40) last mile in 9:48
2.50 - 24:11 (9:40, 9:40)
3.01 - 28:43 (9:32, 8:53) last mile in 9:16

On Thursday 12/24, I tried out my new stability ball! I did a 10-2 ladder with 8 exercises. I lost the sheet of paper where I had them listed...whoops. I foresee using the stability ball a lot in the future, so I'm sure I'll post exercises soon.

On Wednesday 12/25, I did another run with Joey. We did the same thing we did on Thanksgiving, and ran 6 miles together, then he ran 6 miles by himself. It was SO COLD!! Joey was wearing the Garmin, and recorded each set of 6 miles separately, so I could analyze our run together. It was a pretty hilly route, so I'm surprised we did under 10 min pace (just barely).

 

On Thursday 12/26, I did an easy recovery run on the treadmill. I did 3 miles in 30:47, with an average pace of 10:16 min/mile.

On Saturday, I was planning on doing a group run of 8 miles. Those plans went out the window when I got sick Friday night. It was a very strange night. We had plans to get massages - we got vouchers on Living Social for a place here in town. I came home from work early and ate some yogurt+fruit+granola, and then immediately started feeling sick. I somehow held it together during the massage, but then I was sick for hours once I got home. I spent most of Saturday just trying to recover. Sunday, I ate a late breakfast, and then decided I was feeling up to going on a run. My stomach was still feeling a bit iffy, but I thought that was just normal digestive problems. I planned an 8 mile run, and got going around 3:30. I felt good for the first 2 miles. After that, everything went downhill. I started having some pretty severe stomach pains, and to be honest, had a few times where I seriously almost pooped my pants. I don't even know how I made it home. I had to stop the watch a few times, but in the end, my pace wasn't even that slow for being in such discomfort. I didn't manage a full 8 miles, but decided I was close enough! From Sunday afternoon through Tuesday morning, my stomach was just in agony. I just tried to relax on the couch/my bed and make myself as comfortable as I could. Tuesday night (New Year's Eve) we stayed in and just watched tv, and then toasted with Martinelli's at midnight.

  

Week 3:
Monday: 3.01 miles (outside)
Wednesday: 6.01 miles (outside)
Thursday: 3 miles (treadmill)
Sunday: 7.64 miles (outside)
Weekly Total: 19.66 miles

Oh and in other news, my little sister got engaged on New Year's Eve!! I knew it was going to happen soon, but didn't even think that it would happen that night! She's only 3 years younger than me, but I've just thought of her as being my baby sister - it's so strange that she's going to be married soon. It's weird enough that she has a real job in Philadelphia and lives in a house, while I'm still in grad school, renting an apartment. Anyway, congratulations Alexandra!!

10 Miler Training: Week 2

Week 2 of my 10 miler training (12/16-12/22) went pretty well! I had a cold at the beginning of the week, and didn't start my running week until Wednesday. I still managed to fit in 19 miles from Wed-Sun.

On Wed 12/18, I managed to start my run early enough to get it all done in daylight. Joey came up with a new run for me to do, and I enjoyed this route.

Splits:
0.50 - 5:08 (10:16)
1.01 - 10:15 (10:09, 10:01) last mile in 10:09
1.51 - 15:09 (10:02, 9:48)
2.01 - 20:29 (10:11, 10:40) last mile in 10:14
2.50 - 25:37 (10:15, 10:29)
3.00 - 30:50 (10:17, 10:26) last mile in 10:27
3.50 - 36:12 (10:21, 10:44)
4.00 - 41:16 (10:19, 10:08) last mile in 10:26
4.50 - 46:07 (10:15, 9:42)
5.01 - 51:22 (10:15, 10:18) last mile in 10:00

On Wed 12/19, I got stuck at work too late to do an entire run outside. Instead, I ran to the gym, did 4 miles on the treadmill there, and then ran back. The path to the gym was pretty well lit, so I didn't run into any problems there.

My run to the gym:

I did the 4 miles in 42:00, an average of 10:30min/mile.

My run back from the gym, clearly I was feeling pretty good:

I took Friday off from running, and then went to my second group run on Sat 12/21. I wasn't nearly as nervous this time. It was a shorter run, only 5 miles, and the weather was beautiful. I used Joey's Garmin again, and it worked out really well. This time I talked to a couple of people the whole time, so I had a much slower pace. We missed one of the turns in our route, so our run was a bit too short. We decided to do an extra lap on the track to make it up, and I still felt pretty good then, and kept going.

  

Finally, on Sunday I ran 3 easy miles on the treadmill. I did my usual 2 miles at 5.7, then 0.5 at 5.8, 0.25 at 5.9, 0.25 at 6.0 for a total of 31 minutes.

Week 2:
Wednesday: 5 miles (outside)
Thursday: 5.5 miles (outside + treadmill)
Saturday: 5.5 miles (outside)
Sunday: 3 miles (treadmill)
Weekly Total: 19 miles

Resolutions for 2014

As cheesy as it sounds, I like thinking of the new year as a clean slate. Mind you, I don't want to erase any of the good I've done in the past year (or more). This is the time to build on good habits, and to start fresh with remaking bad habits.

Some of my resolutions are specific, since I have actual goals in mind. Others are more general, and I hope to apply to more than just one thing.

What are you hoping to work on this year?

1. Be kinder to myself
I mean this in every way. I want to treat my body better, which means be mindful of what I'm eating, make sure to keep up with exercise, and try to get more sleep. I also want to try not to be as hard on myself, since I can be my worst critic.

2. Put more effort into my blog
I am so far behind on posts, that right now it feels impossible to catch up. Instead of trying to pump out a couple dozen poorly written posts, I want to try to put out posts with more thought and effort. I'm going to continue posting, and will sneak in overdue posts when I can. I also want to try to take better pictures for my recipe posts.

3. Train for the Charlottesville 10 Miler
I am determined to not only run 10 miles for the first time, but to train for this race and be happy with the results. I actually consider myself a runner now, after close to 1 year of recreational running. I'm very comfortable with running 5-6 miles at a time, but I want to try to push to increase that distance, and to work on my speed. Thankfully, I have a pretty solid training plan to follow, and I am enrolled in the official Charlottesville 10 Miler Training Program as well.

4. Keep in touch with friends and family
I am very guilty of not keeping in touch with those who I don't see on a regular basis. I've come to realize that while some friendships from high school and college were only ones of convenience, others are relationships that I treasure, and I want to make a bigger effort to see and talk to those people. I also want to try to see and talk to my family more often. I talk to my immediate family (mom, dad, sister) on a pretty regular basis, but I want to keep in better touch with the rest of my family. I know too well that anything can happen in life, no matter what your age is, and I don't want to regret not reaching out once it is too late.

5. Be a better girlfriend
I have the best boyfriend anyone could ever ask for, and sometimes I don't think I deserve him. I want to make sure he knows how wonderful and amazing he is.

6. Be more spontaneous
I can get too set in my daily routine, which usually involves going to work, some kind of workout, and then just hanging out on the couch. I'm only 27 - I should be trying new things and having adventures! I would like to try something new once a month - whether this is a new restaurant, new activity, new bar - as long as it gets me out of the house!