Day 23: June 23, 2009

Success and failure all at once, but the day is not over yet so there may still be hope. I sucked it up last night and finally did my Monday night stretch and strengthen with Yoga. It was 10:30 pm, and all I wanted to do was be pathetic on the couch while my pot luck dish finished cooking. It was just too coincidental that it had 1/2 hour left on the timer though. I grabbed my Yoga book, Little Bit's Yoga matt, and flipped to the second Yoga practice. Half an hour later my pot luck dish was finished along with my workout, and I felt much better.

It is hard juggling everything though since there is SO much other stuff to be doing in the house...laundry, dishes, cleaning, organizing...where to begin? I am finding that I need to be setting better priorities for my evenings as the weekends this summer have just been going by way too fast.

The failure was staying up too late last night that I could not drag myself out of bed to do my 5:30 am run. I did ride the bicycle home today (which I rode to work yesterday in) so that was something at least. Maybe I will get the gumption to go for that run after Little Bit goes to bed...to be continued...

Total Time: 15 minute / 2.0 mile bicycle

There is hope for me yet, but I have to start sticking to my schedule. I just finished 3.5 plus miles (I think that it was closer to 4, but I need to clock it with the car) in just under an hour. The bonus is that I ran my usual three mile loop without walking!!! I have NEVER done that before!!! Yeah!

Added Time: 57 minutes / 3.5 mile run

Day 22: June 22, 2009

A potential new plan is in the works. I have to run this by my girls, but I'm thinking of changing the time line just a little. Here's the thought process: One of my running friends said that the Mayor's Marathon could be just a tad hilly, with emphasis on the hill part, and he suggested that we try a slightly flatter first marathon - the Humpies Marathon that is run in August (I'm not suggesting that we run a marathon this August...so stop freaking). This still leaves me the Kenai River Marathon next year if I crash on burn and do not finish the Humpies Marathon. As far as I know, no one else has the requirement to finish a local marathon as a pre-qualifier to out of State travel so I'm not asking anyone to pony up for round two if I screw up round one.

Anyway, here is the new timeline that I was thinking of that should be easier on everyone concerned: half marathon in September (for us Alaskans - the Kenai River Half), maintain some decorum of training over the winter, half marathon in June of next year (Mayor's Marathon Half), and then full marathon in August/September (Humpies/Kenai River Marathon). Sorry Eran, I think that you might be screwed with the hill thing...hey, good luck with that *wink* *wink* You know I love you! Anyway, I think that it might give us snow birds some more time to prepare on the track before the big day anyway. Any ideas? (If you end up in AK, we would love to have you join us for any of the above too Eran...) This does mean two half marathons though...just something to consider.

Total Time: 45 minutes / 30 minute Yoga / 15 minute bicylce

Day 19 through Day 21: June 19 - 21, 2009

Friday was a day of travel for me. I left after work about 1/2 hour later than I had planned since packing the car took a little longer than anticipated...even with everything packed and ready to go at the door. (Since I did not have Little Bit with me, I could not blame it on her either...) I was on my way to Anchorage for the Mayor's Marathon - 5 miler scheduled for Saturday, which, by the way, is NOT five miles as it insinuates but rather 5.6 miles. Mental note to self: confirm distance ahead of time. Traveling in true Alaska fashion, I was delayed on the road due to motor homes, tourists, and, of course (drum roll please) road construction. Yeah. How could I forget about summer time road construction...Needless to say, I arrived at my destination at 1o pm which was about 2 hours later than planned.

Race Day: The Mayor's Marathon. It was great seeing all of the "real" runners at the race as the Five Miler started with the 1/2 marathoners. The actual marathon started 1 hour earlier at 8 am so we did not get to see any of them except, of course, as they ran past us to the finish line. Wow, that was a little depressing. Although, I told my friend in Anchorage that we now had something to aspire to - being announced as you run by two guys on bicycles to clear the way for you. How cool is that? He looked like he had only just started running with beautiful long strides. He passed so fast that I couldn't even tell if he was breathing hard. Ahh, a few more things to aspire to as well. Actually, the most depressing part was when the guy with the baby stroller passed us, going up a hill...the bonus was that at least it was a guy passing us :)

I feel really good about the race though as we did just walk it, and we did it in pretty good form too as we walked it at a pace of 15 minute miles. Not too bad I think, for this crew anyway, as we are all just getting started here. I also got a cool T-shirt out of the deal and some really good bread as well so what is not to love? The other good thing was learning from the experience, like wear/bring bug dope so that you do not get eaten alive...the fast guy being announced, he doesn't need bug dope because the skeeters can't keep up with him anyway. The rest of us? Well, that is another story. A tissue or two is also not a bad idea, and don't forget your hat (as I did) to keep the rain off of your glasses and/or sun off of your face. Finally, I found a really cool, made for women, water bottle holder with side pocket from REI that was being worn by many of the women there. One lady was nice enough to let us know where she got it. It doubles as a great place to pin your bib as well. Oh, and one last thing, check every so ofter to be sure that you still have your timing chip on your shoe...one poor soul lost theirs on the trail.

Finally, I did not cross train as I should on Father's Day, well, because it was Father's Day. So we pigged out on Salmon and German Beef Rouladen with a growler of Bear's Tooth Beer from Moose's Tooth in Anchorage. Mmmm, Rouladen. It was my first time making it, and it turned out WONDERFUL. It is definitely a keeper recipe.

Day 18: June 18, 2009

Victory is mine! For the first time ever, I did not let a change of plans get in the way of exercising. This is revolutionary for me. So, after being up with Little Bit for the second night in a row from 0130 hours to 0430 hours, I was in NO mood to get up again at 0530 hours for my morning run. Not going to happen. I ended up sleeping in with Little Bit and going into work late. Almost heaven actually, but moving on...

I was determined to get my 3.5 mile run in somewhere before the end of the day; whereas, old Flounder would have just scratched it off to do another day. Not today. So I sent Hubby to McDonald's with Little Bit after dinner to get mini ice cream cones with the promise I would meet them there to have a drink. It worked like a charm. I got my run in. Little Bit and Hubby were happy and entertained. What is not to love about that?

Total Time: 57 minutes / 3.5 mile run

Day 8 through Day 17: June 8 - 17, 2009

Where did last week go? Rather than try to catch up for each day, I've decided to just catch up in one post and just move on. So my Yoga plan to stretch and strengthen on Mondays still has not panned out, but it did happen last Wednesday. Yeah! One yoga day under my belt. It is a start anyway. I also got my Tuesday three miler in as well. Unfortunately, that is about as far as I got last week. Although, this is a new week and has already started somewhat better...so far anyway.

So on to the current week in training: We had the nephews (6 yrs and 3 mos) over for the weekend so that shot my long run. It just was NOT going to happen. Do you remember how much work babies are? Well, I got a refresher just in case I had forgotten :) ...and, Eran, you are now a SAINT in my book... Monday was a recover day to put the house back together again, and I am absolutely okay with that. Sorry yoga...

I started back on track with my Tuesday run at 3.5 miles which went amazingly well. I remained on pace for the 3 mile portion which made me very happy. I had a final time at 50 minutes though...which I think puts me a little behind pace given my long run last week. Oh well. I did get the gumption to ride the bicycle with Little Bit yesterday too though so I consider it a success all the way around.

Unfortunately, I cannot say the same about today. I did not totally crash on burn on the plan as I did walk for 1/2 hour on my lunch break which was better than nothing by my calculations. This is something that I think that I will continue as I did feel better returning to work more refreshed. Finally, I got some bad news from one of the runners at my office (we have at least 3 and two of them have run marathons that I am aware of - both of them were the Crow Pass Marathon...26.2 + miles OVER a MOUNTAIN PASS! - I'll take the flying pigs thank you very much). Apparently, I found out that, like sleep, two running sessions of 3 miles a piece do not equal one running session of 6 miles...darn. Do you know how early I'm going to have to start getting up when the runs increase?! Ee gad! Lets not think of that now...

Here is to a good run tomorrow!

Day 7: June 7, 2009

The LONG run. Although I fear that I will come to hate this day, today went remarkably well, running wise that is. This truly is becoming a journey into myself and figuring out who I really am. All of my prior runs have been completed in the early AM which means that there are very few people out and about. I would drag myself out of bed, throw on a sweat shirt and pants, and hit the road. I realized, today, that apparently this early AM run is important to me and how low my self image really is...

My wonderful Hubby took morning duty with Little Bit and let me sleep in for a while. Heaven I tell you :) Anyway, this meant that my run was planned during the hub bub of the day which I thought nothing about. When it came time to run, I freaked. I must have tried on about 6 outfits before finally deciding on one. I was terrified of running in front of people, terrified of how I would look, and terrified of what they thought of me. Who is this person in the mirror freaking out over this? I finally got a grip and headed out the door, and guess what? The world did not come crashing down. I ended up feeling the best by the end of this run than I have to date. One mental hurdle down; however, I feel that there will be many more to come.

Total Time: 56 minutes / 4 mile run

Day 6: June 6, 2009

Increasing over time, Saturdays are slated for 1/2 hour of cross training. So being a slacker again, I designated play time at the park with Little Bit to count toward my "cross training" time. Kind of a cop-out, I know, but it was just so pretty out that we did a pic-nic at the park again (chicken on the barbie w/ a side of baked beans) followed by a camp fire on the beach (complete with s'mores of course :). I'll need to work on this cross training thing over time.

Here's the good news: Not even a week into this program though, and I am already noticing something amazing starting to happen...increased energy. Its not a lot, but enough to be noticeable to keep me on this track. By some fluke of fate, I gave birth to a morning person...how it happened? I'm not quite sure, but two night owls = one morning person. For the first time in ages, I was NOT exhausted when Little Bit aroused at her usual hour!!! This is huge for me, and the only thing I've done different is the running...maybe this is the start of something great.

Total Time: 30+ minutes/ Fun in the sun

Day 5: June 5, 2009

Today is a day of rest; no formal training here. So I was pathetic and rode into work with Hubby. To celebrate being pathetic, we went for burgers at the "Burger Bus" behind the visitors center for dinner. Although touted as the best burgers in town by many, we thought that they were just good burgers, nothing too fancy or special though. Now if you want a GREAT burger, there was this awesome burger joint across from the Salvation Army in Bakersfield, CA (if my memory serves) that served the best burger I have ever eaten with season salt fries on the side. He only served two kinds of burgers: with cheese or without, and the only side was fries. Boy were they worth it though...

Our only salvation for the day was eating at the park with Little Bit where we got to run off some of that burger on the playground. After that, Little Bit then decided that she wanted to go for a walk at/in the beach. Who could say no to that? So we ended up going for a walk as well being chased by the waves. We really need to do this more often.

Total Time: 45 minutes / Fun in the Sun

Day 4: June 4, 2009

Time for another 3 miler again. I was a little worried as I was still a bit stiff from the last 3 miler and a little scared that I had made a mistake with the time. No mistake. Today's run came in at 39 minutes! This time I tried a new strategy that I learned in an LA Blog titled "Run On." The early training runs used the run 3 minutes, walk 1 method to keep pace. The longer training runs were switched to run 2, walk 2. I HIGHLY recommend this blog as it documents training for a marathon for charity...something that I am considering for the Flying Pig Marathon, and maybe even for the Mayor's Marathon next year in Anchorage. The author of the Blog is a fabulous writer who gives lots of good running tips along the way.

Total Time: 69 minutes / 39 minute: 3 mile run / 30 minute: 4 mile bicycle

Day 3: June 3, 2009

Hump Day! Today is a day for cross training or running 2 miles, my choice. I like this program more and more. I chose to cross train so I commuted to work by bicycle with Cora in tow. It was actually the second time this week for the bicycle commute...why not kill two birds with one stone though?

Bicycling with Cora in tow in the trailer is like pulling a sail behind the bicycle. It is torture against the wind but also kind of fun with the wind though. Cora loves it so I guess that is all that really matters. Since we live only 2 miles away from work, I can afford to go a little slow like a tug boat. So far so good.

Total Time: 30 minutes on bicycle / 4 miles

Day 2: June 2, 2009

My first 3 mile run! I ran it in 40 minutes which works out to about a 13:30 mile give or take. I was ECSTATIC! (Pathetic, I know, but I was excited none the less.) Since I have not run in a very long time, this was a great accomplishment for me, and, to think, this is only the beginning... I did have some motivation along the way as I spooked a mama moose and her calf. Not good. Ahh, I better watch out for that a little better in the future...

So as to have the least affect on family life and other obligations, I have decided to do my weekday runs in the morning. For now, that means getting up at 5:30 am. I am trying not to think how early I will need to get up for the longer runs...even if I do improve my times...The long run will be on family time, but I figure that will not be too much to ask. I will consider it my "me" time and occasionally, my "me and the dog" time.

Day 1: June 1, 2009

I have decided to try the Hal Higdon half marathon training program to prepare for the Kenai River Marathon in September of this year. The time frame is right, and, more important, it seems manageable. Most Mondays are stretch and strengthen days to recover from the long runs on Sunday which get progressively longer so we will see how I am doing in a few more weeks.

Since I was taking care of a sick kiddo, I didn't really get around to an official Monday start. Oh, well. I'm still working on my organizational/planning skills. I have decided upon Yoga, though, for my stretch and strengthen days which, hopefully, will bleed over into some of the other days as well. Yoga is perfect since it can be done anywhere, doesn't need any major aids (if any), and provides mental and physical well being. Really, is there anything better?