More recovery!

I made it to the gym today!
Nothing too crazy..trust me.
I did a nice easy walk on the treadmill for 15 minutes, stopped to yak with some friends for 15 minutes and then hopped on the elliptical for another easy 15 minutes.
I even stretched for at lest 10 whole minutes after that.
It felt really good to get the blood flowing again. I am sure it will aide in my recovery as well instead of just doing nothing. I am not sure who I was kidding when I said I would take an entire week off. Ha! I will at some point, but I'm just not ready yet!

I do plan on taking a spin class in the morning so we will see how that goes!

The day after......

After the marathon I tried to take a nap. Not so successful with that. It was nice to "rest", but there was no sleeping for this gal.
My friend Mary and I (and later TJ) went out for a pitcher of margarita's and a huge ass burrito. I ate the whole thing along with the chips and salsa. Yum Yum! We had a great time reminiscing (ha) about the days events and about who hurt more. I am sure it was me......
I slept from 10:30 pm until almost 9 am. NICE. I find it very difficult to sleep past 7 am usually.
It's kind of hard to walk. My calves, shins, hamstrings, quads and everything else hurts like hell.
I was lucky enough to get a massage today (thanks Matt!) I had no idea how sore my hips were until the therapist worked on them. Oh, it hurt so good!
I am pretty sure I won't be exercising on Tuesday either, but I might try to Spin on Wednesday. We will see though. I plan on stretching and letting my body recover this entire week before easing back into things tomorrow. I am not sure of my game plan for training for Boston yet, but I will come up with something for sure before next month!

Grand Rapids Marathon Recap

I will do my best to give a recap of the marathon!

I actually slept quite well on Saturday night. I was in bed before 10:30pm and I think I was sleeping before 11 That's really good for me.

I slept pretty soundly until around 3:30am or so and then I was up every 15 minutes or so. I finally got out of bed at 4:45, this was about 30 minutes sooner than my alarm was set for.

I went through my usual routine of eating, caffeinating and getting dressed and was out the door by 6:50am.

My running club met at a Burger King about 45 minutes before the race stated.

It was freezing cold!! To me anyway-- it was in the low 30's with some frost action going on too. I had my cheap gloves on with my hand warmers inside.

Anyway....the race started promptly at 8am and my running partner Elsa and I started behind the pace group time of 3:44. This was George Dubya's marathon time so we had to look at his ugly mug for a while. And for the record, this pace group started out way too fast. Elsa and I were to run 8:23 minute miles and we were running 8 minute pace or better the first 3 miles and Georgie's face was still at least 100 meters in front of us!

SO the first few miles were pure excited adrenaline. It was cold. It was crowded and we were on a mission.

We finally hit our pace and got into a good groove. We were both feeling excellent.

Right around mile 6 we met a new friend; Em. Super nice and cute girl that shared our same goal = 3:40. She was keeping a faster pace then us so she took off ahead of us.

It was around mile 11 or 12 that things started falling apart. Not for me but for my buddy. She was expecting some IT trouble around mile 16 or so, but her calf decided to cramp instead. It was bad enough that she had to stop for a bit to stretch. She made me leave her. I hated to do it. Really I did. She caught back up to me though. We ran together for about 2 more miles before she had to stop again. That was the last I saw of Elsa for a while. She was kind enough to tell me to pick up my pace enough before she fell back ( you have to remember that I am not so great at figuring out what my mile splits are etc. Elsa is awesome at that). So I was totally freaked out and worried. Worried for her and for myself! I felt really good. My legs were behaving and so were my lungs..it was my mind and mental state that started playing tricks on me!

Things got better for me after I saw my family on the sideline! This always gives me more pep in my step! I saw Matt and the kids, my running coach and other members of the club that were not running. They were all very encouraging on the sidelines.

I also saw my new friend Em. I spotted her around mile 16 or so. I had to pick up my pace to catch her. She seemed very happy to see me again, I know I was happy to see her! She said she was starting to get tired, but would keep us on pace. We found our groove and by her calculations we were headed for a 3:30 marathon! What?!??! I was so happy and shocked to hear this. I just wanted to remain calm and keep running strong.

We ran together for 4 more miles when both of her IT bands started bothering her. She told me to go on. So I did. Again, I felt like I abandoned yet another friend on this course. She helped me so much. I went ahead and was even able to calculate my own pace. Who would have thought! Must be because I was delirious. I must get smarter while dehydrated and in pain......

I was on my way. I was running 8:00, 8:10 and 8:15 mile pace. I was feeling AWESOME.

Mile 22 came and I still felt AWESOME.

Then came mile 22.5. Crap. There's that dang wall. MOVE outta my way please. I did the best I could, but I also somehow figured out in my delirium that I could run 10:00 miles from here until the end and still qualify for Boston. I ran a 9:00 mile and then with a 5k left I turned it back up to at least an 8:30 if not better pace.

I started getting emotional when I knew I would make it. I saw my coach with less than a mile to go. He came and ran with me and congratulated me on making it to Boston! I had the biggest smile on my face. I still had about .5 or so to go. I was racing to the finish with all that I had left which was not much. I heard the crowd, Matt and a few friends cheering for me and sped to the finish. I crossed the finish line and just kind of hugged whoever was near me. It was the guy handing out the medals! I am not much of a crier and I did not shed a tear..until I saw my new friend Em cross the time--she did it! She ran right into my arms as if we were old friends and we both bawled like babies; thanking each other for helping one another meet our goal! Oh I love this sport!

Elsa came in a few minutes later. She crossed the finish in 3:44. She did not make it. I feel for her. We hugged and cried and all that too. Total mush fest. Mary came in next. 3:56! She did it..she beat her goal too! I knew she could do it! She collapsed in my arms. Another cry fest over here. So much emotions on this day. It's hard to explain. You're crying because you are happy, excited, in pain, sad, mad you name it!

So this experience was such a good one. The race was hard, but I had the proper training. It could have been worse!

Boston here I come!

Mission Accomplished!

The Mission is accomplished!

With much success too!

I did it. I qualified for The Boston Marathon!! I ran a 3:34:44!! Woohooo!!

I am in so much pain, but it's OK. It's totally worth it.

I will try my best to recap this all..TOMORROW! :)

I took the day off from teaching my 3 classes...I would be not be any good to anyone!

Thanks for your support!

SUNDAY!!! No More Sleeps!!

It's finally here.

Feeling kind of nervous.

Race is less than 3 hours away.

I have to go now!

I will report back later.......

:)

Saturday.......1 MORE SLEEP!!

Well today started out as a typical day. I got up and ate and met my buddy to do a very easy 2 mile run. We then headed to the Marathon Expo to pick up our racec packets. You know, the race I mailed a check into on Oct. 9th?? Well my name was nowhere to be found..as in I was not even registered for the race!! The kind lady at the desk took my word for it and gave me my race bib and goodies anyway! I told her my story and she bought it...whew!

So anyway I rushed to the bank to see what the heck happened. Nothing happened apparently. The race fee was still in my account. So I just got cash and ran ( re: DROVE) back up to the expo and paid for the race.

My friend was quite impressed by how calm I remained throughout this whole ordeal. It was out of my hands really, and I am thankful that it got squared away. I told my running coach the story too and he says that if this is the worst of my marathon tales then I should have a great race! Whew.....

I will be having my usual pre long run dinner of homemade pizza and salad. Yum Yum!

Lots of water today and I am happy that I slept pretty well last night.

Now on to figuring out what to wear tomorrow...this is probably worse then finding out I was not registered for the dang race!

Friday......2 more sleeps!

Another nice and easy day down in the books.

I went to the gym for a nice and easy 30 minutes on the elliptical. After that I actually stretched for about 20 whole minutes in a row! Woohoo! It felt great too (duh).

Still drinking the water. Carbs are moderate. Maybe a bit of haloween candy thrown in the mix....

I can't believe I have 2 more sleeps until it's here.

Freak out. Kind of. Not really. yea..freak out!

Thursday......3 more sleeps!!!

Ahhhhh!! Good old Thursday!!

I have been carb loading and flooding myself with water.

My workout today was a 4 mile run. 9:30 pace...ahhhh! Felt great.

At running club we got to ask a lot of questions about whatever.

I came away with a running partner for the race!! Super excited about that. I might not be able to run with her the whole time for 2 reasons.

#1 she is injured and might start to feel the pain of her IT band around mile 16 or so.....

#2 Her pace is faster than mine!

It will still be OK though....I hope!!

Wednesday......4 more sleeps!

Today I taught Y Power X at 6am.
It was plyometrics day again. I will admit that it was very hard for me today for some strange reason. I had an apple and a piece of bread for breakfast. That usually is fine for me. So I am not sure if it had anything to do with my food choices this early morning. I actually got light headed a few times. I will just say it was because I was working extra hard. Yea-that's it!

I really did push the class harder today. The first time we did plyos I took my time explaining the moves, but today it was just a very quick recap and then boom we went into the exercise. They noticed a difference as well. Less chit chat, more work!! That's how I do it...haha.

All in all it kicked my ass. Loved it.

At noon I instructed Totally Toned. I took it easy on myself and did a lot of "observing" today!The class is ok with it as they are excited for my race too!

Good day today. Tomorrow starts the carb load. I did not do so well with my water consumption today as I did yesterday for some reason. I will work on that starting tomorrow fo sho.

Wordless Wednesday..images of my first marathon..4 years ago!

Monday.......6 more sleeps!!!

Monday, busy Monday. How I am sick and tired of you.

6am was Y Power Zzzzzzzzzzz...I mean X.
Today was chest and back. A class full of pull ups and push ups. Super hardcore. I am very proud of my students though..they all attempted the dreaded pull up and all were successful. Some were ugly, but I am proud nonetheless!!!

Spinning was at 10am---- fun, hard and one of those classes that looked good on paper, but when it was played out I wonder why I would do that to myself!
After the warm up we went into a 12 minute endurance section....we did a high cadence moderate resistance type of thing. It was kind of brutal. That was followed by a 3 minute recovery time. We then repeated the 12 minute endurance stint. This was followed by a a5 minute higher cadence seated climb. The challenge of this class was to stay seated the whole time. That was hard, but many succeeded! Yay class!

Totally Toned was at noon. We did a few (2) minute circuits of push ups, bicycle crunches and pelvic lifts....3 sets of upper and lower body and some other nonsense. The class really liked the format of today's class even though it was tough.

I might complain about my Monday's here and there( ha!), but it makes it so worth it when the class is there to work. I had that with all 3 of my classes today. It's great to see them working hard and pushing themselves to the max!!

Sunday.....7 more sleeps!

I took a nice unplanned day off from a workout today. I figure I won't really have any days off before the marathon so what's it going to hurt? Nothing.
I have been online today reading blogs and Face book entries on all the marathons that were today! A lot of my friends qualified for Boston today!! So excited and happy for them. I think I want to qualify. The thought is almost to the front of my brain now and not just the middle. Oh my. I really want to do it because me friends did. I mean that it would be a great trip and experience to share with that group. I have never been to Boston either. It would be lots of fun.
We will see if I change my mind this week. I do that a lot.

Saturday..let the taper begin!

Today was the last long run before the big show. We ran 16 hilly miles in about 2 hours and 2o minutes I think. I did not even time it. I felt really good considering it was COLD and rainy and wet and did I mention the hills?? It's such a weird feeling to be cold and wet, but sweating all at the same time. That was me today. After the rain stopped there was still a chill in the air, but I was dripping sweat. Oh well. That's just how it is.
I am getting anxious and excited for the marathon to get here. 20 more days and then it's over!
I am also getting excited to NOT run. I will probably run a few times ( or one, or none) times a week in the "off" season, but I am looking forward to kicking my workouts up a notch with heavy weights and a different form of cardio. I figure I will be starting up the heavy mileage again in January so the months in between I should give my running muscles and joints a nice rest. I am so paranoid of injury. I am also looking forward to "cleaning" up my eating. I have become guilty of using the marathon as an excuse to eat more. Now I know I should be eating more to fuel my workouts and all that good stuff...but not with skittles and ice cream and coffee drinks! Oooops! So a week after the marathon ( yes , a whole week to prepare! haha) I will start that up. Starting with a cleanse. Kind of looking forward to this. I have never done one so it should be an interesting experiment!

Saturday Long Run

Today was a preview of the Grand Rapids Marathon course. Kind of. We only ran 20 miles of it, not the full 26.2.

It was a great route...except for a few snafu's that were just plain annoying.

There were to be 4 aid stations. The first one was at mile 1. Yea....stupid!

The 2nd one was at mile 9 or so. Ever stupider!! Yes, I said stupider.

So by now we are very thirsty and ticked off. The rest of the aid stations were way too close together, but that's better than too far apart as we experienced in the beginning of the run.

Mary and I decided to try and hold a long run pace faster than 10 minute miles. We normally are 10 minute miles at the fastest. We totally blew that out of the water. We averaged a 9:22 pace for the whole time! We both felt REALLY GOOD!!! This gave me a confidence boost for sure. I hope I feel nearly this AWESOME when the actual marathon comes (22 days!!) The weather was beautiful. Overcast, slight humidity but nothing crazy and lows in the 60's. I ended up wearing shorts a tank top and a long sleeve. The long sleeve ended up around my waist at mile 9 ( water station) as I got way too hot by mile 3!

All in all, today's run was a huge success. Afterwards, Mary and I got a much deserved coffee drink and went to the farmer's market for some fresh fruits, veggies and homemade pizza crusts. Great day for a run!

What to wear??

This happens every time. I get up to run and have no idea how to dress!! Today will be in the low 60;s by the time it's time to run. I HATE being overdressed for a long run. I would rather be under dressed because I am usually super hot anyway.
So here I am. I need to figure it out and quickly. Should I wear carpi's and a tank or a long sleeve and shorts? Mary and I are no good for each other when it comes to this subject. We still ask each other their opinions every week...I think it's kind of an inside joke because we never really answer the question!!
Ok.I better get out of here. Gotta a date about 100+ plus other crazy marathoners!

Thursday and Friday and finally getting this race OVER WITH!

Thursday- I ran almost 8 miles indoors. YUCK! I wanted to get it done early, but it is too dark for me to run outdoors alone. I was on the treadmill for 3 miles, ,the indoor track for 2 *7 laps= 1 mile* and then I returned to the treadmill to finish with about 7.75 miles total. I am glad I did it because the kids and I were able to go to the library later in the day when I would have normally been at running club.
Friday- Easy cardio day. 20 minutes increasing resistance on the elliptical. I then did my 2nd full body weight session of the week. Yay!

Circuit #1 reps of 8 x 3 sets, 45 seconds rest between sets
DB shoulder press (15's)
DB biceps curl (15's)
DB squats ( 20's)
Push ups last set I did 6 one leg push ups on each side and some other variations just for fun. Oh and I had to show off a bit in the Big Boys Weight Room!!

Circuit #2 reps of 8x3 sets, 45 seconds rest between sets
DB split squat (20's)
DB SLDL (30's)
DB front raises (12's)
DB tri ext. ( 20)


This is actually the heaviest I have lifted in a long time! I have been using medium to light weights during the marathon training. Don't want to hurt myself or add any extra muscles to slow me down. I never thought I would ever say that! I loathe losing muscle. I worked to hard to watch it disappear!
I know that I can't wait until I can get back in the squat rack and throw some heavier weight around. I will start that after the marathon. That is how it is these days--- Mary and I always say " after the marathon we will_______" kind of sad! This thing takes over lives. I am trying to let it, but I really can't wait until Oct. 19. The day after the marathon!

Mission Monday

Spin class today was a wild ride. It was a really good class. I have been so ON lately with these!
I did kind of a split class....the first half was all strength. The second half was fast intervals with increasing resistance and short recoveries.
Whew it was great!
I did not even feel the need to do any "extra" cardio today. This class kicked my butt enough.
I taught Totally Toned 2 hours later and I did a core focused class. I wonder if they will be feeling it later. I hope so!
Today was a good day. Food was on and so was my gallon of water!
Great start to the week!

Goals this week are
to run at least 2 times before the 10 mile race on Sunday.
2 full body lifts
stretching for 10 minutes 3 times this week.

I did it!

Well I guess I forgot that I had running club tonight. I went and I ROCKED it out!!
We had to do (8) 800 meter intervals with a 3 minute recovery in between. I did the 800's at 3:10-3:22 ( most towards the lower end!) It was hard, but not barfing hard.
So I got my cardio in and plan on getting to the gym by 9am to lift and do about 15 minutes of easy cardio and head back to the gym later to teach Spinning. I am going to try and take it easy on myself because Saturday morning I am running 22 miles. Time to hit the sack

Knees on Fire

I tried to go out for a 5-8 mile run on Friday morning. I made it to about 3.75 miles or so before I had to stop. My knees were talking to me. They were saying bad things. They were telling me off. They were mad at me. They told me to STOP or regret it later. I actually listened. I was not happy about it, but I did what I was told. I walked the rest of the way home.

I got new shoes on Friday night!! I am so happy that I listened to my body and stopped running. No need to run on broke down shoes and get injured just because I am stubborn.

I was doing a good job of keeping track of how many miles I put on my shoes, but somewhere after the 25 k race I lost track. I was probably a good 50-75 miles over due, since I bought the shoes in late April or was it the beginning of May?? Either way that was a long time ago.

*It is recommended that you replace running shoes between 350-550 miles depending on your running style, body weight, and the surface on which you run. Lighter runners can get closer to the upper end of the recommendation while heavier runners are harder on shoes and should consider replacement shoes closer to 350 miles*

I either go by that or when my knees and hips start to ache!

So today's run was tons of fun. 16 miles down in the books! It was a gorgeous morning. Lots of bright sun to guide us on our journey. No complaints today...thanks new shoes!

Mission Monday

Well I did not meet all of my goals!
I did not take the bike out at all this week! Mostly because of all the early morning rain we have had all week long. That's my excuse and I am sticking to it! My gallon water goal was awesome. I only missed Friday I was short only 20 oz.
I only got in one full body weight session as well. I will say that in my classes and other classes I did lift weights. Not as heavy as I would on my own, but every little bit counts right?!!
I pre-planned my meals Sunday-Thursday last week and then slacked off. My eating habits were still pretty good, but not as good if I tracked. I had movie theatre popcorn Thursday night. Woke up Friday with gut rot. Saturday after burning a crap load of calories with my 16 mile hilly NOT SLOW run I refueled with stuffed pizza, calamari, ice cream and 2 beers! All over the course of 9 hours, but still. Woah! We will just call that a re-feed!

I am still a bit sad that I was unable to participate in the duathlon on Sunday. There will be more races next year...I just hope the bike I am borrowing will still be in my garage next spring/summer!

Last week I logged 32 ish miles ( 9 on Tuesday, 7 ish on Friday morning and 16 on Saturday morning) The miles are really picking up and the workouts are intense as well. For the 6 of the 9 miles on Tuesday I avg. about 8:15 minute miles and felt I was struggling. I tried very hard to avg. 8 minutes or under. Not happening. Friday morning was a very easy 9:50 avg, pace. Saturday was a different story. The first 8 miles was around 9:30 I think ( not sure) and the second 4 miles were to be at marathon pace, and the last 2 faster -- I guess my goal is around 8:50/mile. Well I did a lot better than I expected-- 8:35, 8:30, 8:25, 8:15, 8:00, 7:58 and we used the last 2 miles as a cool down! We ran those at 10 minute mile pace. We earned it! I was very excited and tired! I owe a lot of my success of Saturday to the people I ran with. A 47 year old mother of 4 and 70 year old new runner! They really kicked my butt and I am thankful they were there to push me to my full potential.

This weeks goals:
Gallon of water.
Incorporate stretching in my day.
Track food.
2 full body weight training sessions

What are your goals this week?