Day 18: Ooops...Been Totally Offline!!

So I've been bad!  I haven't been posting. Things have been super busy around here though!

I've decided to hire a personal trainer for a few reasons:

1. I know next to nothing about what you need to do to prepare for a marathon. (Well, I know about running, and a good training schedule...). 
2. This way he will help me work out all areas of my body to get fit overall. 
3. And he will be able to put together a plan for me that will take into account the fact that I'm running lots of miles.  (Any plan I would have put together could potentially be damaging to my running...since I know nothing about it...)
4. He'll be able to tell me if I'm getting the right nutrition.
5. There is no way that I will do most of the exercises more than once without someone yelling at me to keep going!

I'm looking forward to it.  I'm going to be in Maine for a few weeks in May, so I'll start the last week in May or the first week in June.  I had my preliminary fitness assessment with him Tuesday.  OMG...am I sore or what!!!  I'm sore in places that I didn't even know there were muscles!  Which makes me all the more excited because at the end of the 18 weeks (I'll be going twice a week for 18 weeks) I'll be super fit and toned!!

I was a little surprised though...apparently a healthy weight for me (with 20% body fat, taking into account my height and age) is about 25 pounds heavier than I had previously been lead to believe.  I've seen the BMI charts over and over, and what they tell me is healthy is actually much closer to 0% body fat.  Doesn't seem very healthy to me...  Interesting.

Running has been going well.  I'm taking today off (because I'm still super sore) and then tomorrow I will probably take a walk, but no run.  Then Saturday is the big day!!  My first race ever! I'm definitely looking forward to it!  Although it is supposed to rain during it...but I've run in the rain several times, so it's not that big of a deal to me.  I've got a rain parka-ish thing I can take with me for that.

Which reminds me...I still need to pack for my trip to Door County!! We are leaving tomorrow around noon.  It should be a good time!

Things at work are super busy!  I have so much to do, so little time!  I'm sure that's everyone though!!  It's good...because it makes the days go faster, but when they go faster, you feel like you get less done.  What a vicious circle! :)

Anyway, I need to get lots of good rest.  I haven't been sleeping the greatest lately :(

Hope everyone has a great evening!!

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Day 10: Ready to Run!

I ran last night and it was great!! I absolutely had a wonderful time. I took it slow again, and I only went 2 miles, because I'm still a little sore, but it felt good.

9 days until Race Day in Door County!!  5k, here I come.  I'm super excited for this...it's my first race and I can't wait.

If anyone has any tips they could give me for racing, that would be awesome!

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Day 9: Getting Back!

So my walk last night was great!  BF came with me, and we had a good time!  Except he wore his new hunting boots to break them in a little bit, and he putting on too short socks, so the boots rubbed on his legs a little.  But other than that it was a good time.

I went for a short walk at lunchtime too, and my muscle didn't hurt.  I'm hoping that my run tonight will be okay!!

One thing I'm a little worried about...I've been crashing every afternoon around 1pm.  I'm wondering if I'm not eating enough carbs/protein or something?  Any ideas?

I'm going to try getting up early to run. I've been doing it after work or at lunch time, but it's getting to be quite warm, so maybe in the morning when it's a little cooler would work out better.  We'll see if I can get up in time tomorrow or not!

Next week Tuesday I'm going Anytime Fitness (where I have my membership) and I'm going to get my free fitness assessment from them.  I'm hoping they'll be able to help me with some strength training exercises on my running days off that will help with my running. :)  I think I'll also probably set it up so that I'll be going once a month or once every 2 months to measure progress.  I've been trying to lose weight, but I've just been gaining...Which is really frustrating.  I've been doing really well with running over the last 4 weeks, but I actually gained almost 10 lbs.  That's really frustrating and is not very motivational!!

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Day 8: Yikes!

Okay, so I messed up.  I know I shouldn't have done such a long run when I'm not used to it...but I thought I was at least halfway around the block at the halfway point in my run.  Well, apparently I wasn't close.  I pulled a muscle.  I think it was doing it 2 days in a row that did it, instead of taking a recovery day.  I'm hoping to get back out there tonight, after being off for the rest of the week last week.  We'll see how it goes tonight...start slow.  And I'm not going to just go around the block, I'm going to turn around at the halfway point of my workout!!  Haha!

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Day 3: Much Better Now!!

So BF found my keys about 10 minutes ago!  They were in my purse...in a hidden pocket I didn't know about!!!  Ugh.  I dumped my purse 3 times and they didn't fall out and BF looks in it once and finds it immediately!

Another good thing...I did walk the route that I ran yesterday to find out if I had dropped them on the way.  So I got another 5 miles in today!  Walking, not running, but still a good workout.

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Day 3: A Terrible Morning

Okay, so I've been looking for my keys for 3 hours now.  I'm so frustrated!!!  I've been re-tracing my steps, and I've completely torn my house apart!  My keys are nowhere to be found.  I never take my keys along with me when I run...so I don't think I lost them on the run last night, but I'm going to have to walk that route again I think (ugh...) and try to find them on the side of the road or something...

I'm in the process of trying to put the house back together room by room and make sure I didn't miss anything...but I'm thinking my best bet is going to be walking the route I ran last night.  That's going to take awhile...especially while looking for keys on the side of the road.  Oh well, I guess I'll be using vacation today since I have no way to get to work?

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Day 2: Continued!

I just got back from a run...my longest to date...4.94 miles - avg. 12:42 min/mile - 1:02:45.  Woohoo!!!  And I feel great!  I'm super excited to continue on with this training.

Usually I go up the road and then turn around, but today I just felt really great...so I kept going and went around the block!  (I live in the middle of nowhere, so the "block" is almost 5 miles.  I really enjoyed it and had a great time. 

Now it's time for the daily crossword puzzle with the bf to unwind!

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Day 2: A Slow Start

Yesterday I ended up going out with a friend...so I didn't run after work :( So today at lunch I'm going to run yesterday's run and after work I'll run today's run.  Yesterday's was an easy one, so it won't be a problem to do that.  I'm a little hungover this morning, not too bad, but I definitely am not at the top of my game.  Oh well, time for a long day at work I guess!

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Training Schedule / Introduction

I've been training for 3 weeks at this point, but I'm starting to find my motivation to run a little lacking.  So I've decided to start this blog to keep me going!  I've also decided I'm going to run the Milwaukee Lakefront Marathon on October 3, 2010.  I have a very realistic yet aggressive training schedule, but I know I can do it!  My goal for this marathon is to finish.  I will work on times for the next ones. :)  I'm going to continually update this post with actual times, paces and mileages.

Here is my training schedule:

Week of April 12, 2010

Day 1: Walk 15 minutes, run 1 minute, walk 2 minutes 
Day 2: [Walk 5 minutes, run 5 minutes] repeat 3 times; walk 5 minutes (1.55 miles) 1:02:45 4.93 mi 12'43"/mile
Day 3: Walk 15 minutes, run 2 minutes, walk 4 minutes (.77 miles) 1:14:49 4.91 mi 15'15"/mi
Day 4: [Walk 5 minutes, run 5 minutes] repeat 3 times; walk 5 minutes (1.55 miles) injury
Day 5: Walk 15 minutes, run 2 minutes, walk 4 minutes (.77 miles) injury
Day 6: [Walk 5 minutes, run 5 minutes] repeat 3 times; walk 5 minutes (1.55 miles) injury
Day 7: Off

Week of April 19, 2010

Day 1: Walk 30 minutes (1.24 miles) 30:00 2.88 miles 10'32"/mile
Day 2: [Walk 4 minutes, run 6 minutes] repeat 2 times; walk 5 minutes (1.08 miles) 27:54 2.13 miles 13'05"/mile
Day 3: Walk 5 minutes, run 10 minutes, walk 5 minutes (.93 miles)
Day 4: [Walk 4 minutes, run 6 minutes] repeat 2 times; walk 5 minutes (1.08 miles)
Day 5: Walk 5 minutes, run 10 minutes, walk 5 minutes (.93 miles)
Day 6: [Walk 4 minutes, run 6 minutes] repeat 2 times; walk 5 minutes (1.08 miles)
Day 7: Off

Week of April 26, 2010

Day 1: Walk 5 minutes, run 20 minutes, walk 5 minutes (1.55 miles)
Day 2: Walk 15 minutes (1.24 miles)
Day 3: Walk 5 minutes, run 20 minutes, walk 5 minutes (1.55 miles)
Day 4: Walk 15 minutes (1.24 miles)
Day 5: Walk 5 minutes, run 25 minutes, walk 5 minutes (1.55 miles)
Day 6: Nicolet Bay 5k Run
Day 7: Off

Week of May 3, 2010

Day 1: Walk 5 minutes, run 25 minutes, walk 5 minutes (1.55 miles)
Day 2: Walk 15 minutes (1.24 miles)
Day 3: Walk 5 minutes, run 25 minutes, walk 5 minutes (1.55 miles)
Day 4: Walk 15 minutes (1.24 miles)
Day 5: Walk 5 minutes, run 25 minutes, walk 5 minutes (1.55 miles)
Day 6: Walk 15 minutes (1.24 miles)
Day 7: Off

Week of May 10, 2010

Day 1: Walk 5 minutes, run 30 minutes, walk 5 minutes (1.55 miles)
Day 2: Walk 15 minutes (1.24 miles)
Day 3: Walk 5 minutes, run 30 minutes, walk 5 minutes (1.86 miles)
Day 4: Walk 15 minutes (1.24 miles)
Day 5: Walk 5 minutes, run 30 minutes, walk 5 minutes (1.86 miles)
Day 6: Walk 15 minutes (1.24 miles)
Day 7: Off
 
Week of May 17, 2010
 
Day 1: Off
Day 2: 3M
Day 3: 4M
Day 4: 4M
Day 5: Off
Day 6: 3M
Day 7: 6M
 
Week of May 24, 2010

Day 1: Off
Day 2: 3M
Day 3: 5M
Day 4: 3M
Day 5: Off
Day 6: 3M
Day 7: 7M

Week of May 31, 2010

Day 1: Off
Day 2: 4M (Fartlek)
Day 3: 5M
Day 4: 3M
Day 5: Off
Day 6: Susan G. Komen Race For The Cure 5k
Day 7: 8M

Week of June 7, 2010

Day 1: Off
Day 2: 4M
Day 3: 3M
Day 4: 4M
Day 5: Off
Day 6: 3M
Day 7: 10M

Week of June 14, 2010

Day 1: Off
Day 2: 4-5 Hills 5K-10K Pace
Day 3: 3M
Day 4: 4M
Day 5: Off
Day 6: 3M
Day 7: 12M

Week of June 21, 2010

Day 1: Off
Day 2: 3-4 Long Hills 5K-10K Pace
Day 3: 4M
Day 4: 6M
Day 5: Off
Day 6: 5M
Day 7: 5M

Week of June 28, 2010

Day 1: Off
Day 2: 3xMile 5K-10K Pace
Day 3: 3M
Day 4: 5M
Day 5: Off
Day 6: 3M
Day 7: 15M

Week of July 5, 2010

Day 1: Off
Day 2: 6M
Day 3: 5M
Day 4: 6M
Day 5: Off
Day 6: 5M
Day 7: 7M

Week of July 12, 2010

Day 1: Off
Day 2: 5-6 Hills 5K-10K Pace
Day 3: 4M
Day 4: 7M
Day 5: Off
Day 6: 3M
Day 7: 18M

Week of July 19, 2010

Day 1: Off
Day 2: 7M
Day 3: 6M
Day 4: 7M
Day 5: Off
Day 6: 6M
Day 7: 9M

Week of July 26, 2010

Day 1: Off
Day 2: 4-5 Long Hills 5K-10K Pace
Day 3: 5M
Day 4: 8M
Day 5: Off
Day 6: 3M
Day 7: 20M

Week of August 2, 2010

Day 1: Off
Day 2: 3xMile 5K-10K Pace
Day 3: 5M
Day 4: 8M
Day 5: Off
Day 6: 3M
Day 7: 10M

Week of August 9, 2010

Day 1: Off
Day 2: 6x880s 5K-10K Pace
Day 3: 6M
Day 4: 8M
Day 5: Off
Day 6: 3M
Day 7: 22M

Week of August 16, 2010

Day 1: Off
Day 2: 7M
Day 3: 5M
Day 4: 8M
Day 5: Off
Day 6: 5M
Day 7: 10M

Week of August 23, 2010

Day 1: Off
Day 2: 6x880s 5K-10K Pace
Day 3: 6M
Day 4: 8M
Day 5: Off
Day 6: 3M
Day 7: 24M

Week of August 30, 2010

Day 1: Off
Day 2: 4xMile 5K-10K Pace
Day 3: 7M
Day 4: 10M
Day 5: Off
Day 6: 4M
Day 7: 10M

Week of September 6, 2010

Day 1: Off
Day 2: 5M
Day 3: 3M
Day 4: 5M
Day 5: Off
Day 6: 3M
Day 7: 26M
 
Week of September 13, 2010
 
Day 1: Off
Day 2: 6M
Day 3: 5M
Day 4: 8M
Day 5: Off
Day 6: 4M
Day 7: 12M

Week of September 20, 2010

Day 1: Off
Day 2: 5M
Day 3: 4M
Day 4: 6M
Day 5: Off
Day 6: 3M
Day 7: 12M

Week of September 27, 2010 (Week Before Race!!!!)

Day 1: Off
Day 2: 5M (Fartlek)
Day 3: 4M
Day 4: Off
Day 5: Off
Day 6: 2M
Day 7: Race Day (26.2 miles)

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