The Journey Continues!

Yes its true, there is a running bug. The bugs bite serum goes deeper into you the more you run. I am ready for my next marathon and ready to train better.

Though not Boston Qualifying this past race in Santa Rosa (btw Boston Qualifying is definitely harder than I thought and a 3:45 finish time would most likely not have gotten me in anyway. I would have had to do at least 20 minutes faster than the qualifying time to have had a shot at a spot, my new goal…will brief later) this was my best marathon time to date!

I am seeking a marathon for next year between March and June. Until then I plan on revamping my training schedule to include resistance training and diet and a more effective way to log progress and truly benefit from keeping a blogging journal!

In transformation and consistency,
Yvonne

M day!

Can't beat a free bottle of wine! Marathon day finally. It was fun and I finished in 4 hours; not a Boston Qualifier yet my personal best record.

After a few days of recovery I am already looking forward to the next one and Boston is still on my radar!

IN TRANSFORMATION ALWAYS & CONSISTENCY,
Yvonne

5 DAYS TO M DAY!!! YEAHHHHH

Well I am have definitely learned that on my journey to Boston Qualify that the hardest thing for me to do was BLOG EVERY DAY or every other day, wow, blogging is hard!

I give much respect to bloggers who are able to write down their experiences on a daily, weekly or month basis. Yet no matter how much or little I wrote to anyone standards it is definitely therapeutic to put your thoughts and goals down anywhere.

So its 5 day to Marathon day in Santa Rosa and it just feels good to be able to go and run a marathon.  I am humbled to be physically able to do so and feeling extremely grateful that I am able to participate in such an event.

Since the long training run from my last post a month ago I have just maintained my mileage and this past Monday (8/18) did my last long run of 13 miles.

Wednesday after the long training run on 7/30 I ended up doing 10 miles in the neighborhood where I found MORE PAVED TRAIL in the Matthew Henson Park!  I always thought that the 2.5 miles of trail directly on my running path was the park. Yet I ended up crossing the street on this particularly day and finding another park of the trail (3.5 MILES WORTH). I was so excited! So though I did not get to train much on another 3.5 miles of trail in my neighborhood park, I am excited to run on this trail in the future. I also realized there is another 9 miles on the other end of the trail so I am excited to discover this trail as well soon.

On 8/2 I ended up doing 7 miles. Within the week I did do some short runs on treadmill and just getting in as much mileage as possible.

On 8/6  Wednesday I did 5 miles on treadmill at gym.

On 8/13 Wednesday I ended up doing 3.5 miles after spending the weekend with the stomach flu!  During the previous week on Wednesday 8/6 I had went to gym and and was feeling fine after my 5 miler until that night.  I started feeling very bad and it took me a week to recover.  I can only be grateful that I don't have the stomach flu now! It was ugly yet glad I am over it!

On 8/16 Saturday I did do 8 miles on treadmill at gym...though hesitantly as that is where I got sick yet I did get it done.

At this point I am just really happy that I am running a Marathon this year.  Physically I feel good to complete the marathon. Will I do it in a BQ time.......hoping so.

Desiree Davila a popular runner quoted "Running is just you, the work you put in, and the clock.  You can't cheat yourself. If you don't put in the miles, you cant go to the staring line thinking you're going to pull a miracle out of nowhere.  You get out exactly as much as you put in." Going of this quote, I know I would have had to work harder to pull off a BQ time this Sunday. Yet if I go off motivational speaker and football player Lou Holtz's quote, "Ability is what you are capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it."Well I am truly excited to run and if my attitude is determining my ability to qualify, then I am qualifying!  

Looking forward to meeting myself transformed at the finish line of the Santa Rosa Marathon! Will continue to run lightly from now until M-day and just go with what my body and soul tell me.

In transformation and Consistency ...which I continue to strive for,
Yvonne!

 

4 Weeks Until M Day! 20 miles DONE!!!!

Saturday morning I was so ready to get the 20 miles done at the First Long Training Run in Central Park that New York Road Runners puts on.  This has always been a great training run for me in the past and it did not disappoint.

I ofcourse started my watch late (at the start) and it took my watch about a mile into the run to find my location and starting tracking me.  So my watch says I did 19.34 miles yet really should be 20.34 miles. I though about walking around a bit to get to 20 miles on my watch yet did not want to slow the pace down - promise I did not short change myself a couple of meters. I finished the training run 3 hours at a 9:21min/mile (and a serious calorie burn). I am okay with that an definitely want to continue to train as hard as I can for the next 4 weeks.

4 loops around the Central (1st loop is the whole park which include Harlem Hill - a great training Hill, 2nd and 3rd loops is the 5 mile loop which goes past 59th street from west to east yet does not include Harlem Hill and 4th loop is 4 miles which does not include going down the 59th street yet turning to the east side at 72 street I believe) and after all was said and done I was so happy to be in pain and happy to get to the business of recovering. Central Park is such a great trainer which is winding, hilly paved trails....would kill to have it in Maryland.

I actually felt really good at the end of the run and was able to continue to be active throughout the rest of the day purposely staying on my feet and enjoying the City.

Sunday I spent driving back to Maryland and resting. Wanted to do 3 miles to recover a bit yet after getting home after the drive, spirit could not.  Today, Monday -  3 miles???? well, I have not done 3 miles as of 7:30pm right now and plan on starting back tomorrow Tuesday continuing on with schedule which calls for 5 miles which will be done around my hilly neighborhood.





In Transformation and Consistency,

Yvonne

WEEK 26 and 5 WEEKS UNTIL M DAY!

Wow! I know more than a month has passed since my last blog were I vowed to blog daily or at least weekly chronicling my journey to Boston qualify....that has been harder than I thought yet now I know my weakness :)

Well below is what I have been doing for the past month! Training has been sketchy and with 5 weeks to go it's looking scary.  Yet I am in it to win it no matter what and it has been a great learning experience and I truly look forward to my next training event to do MUCH BETTER. Yet until then I will try to continue to strive to stay on track and put in as much mileage as possible.

So since June 16th I was  suppose do a couple of long runs ranging from 11 to 18 miles. Well the longest I have done since then has been 10.5 miles which I did yesterday - on the treadmill! This being Week 26 I am still trying to get going.....ahhhhhh.  Monday I did not cross train and yesterday I played "trying to catch up" with this long run on the treadmill.

It was very humid yesterday afternoon and my morning runs have still not happened as I thought it would even with my Mother taking care of Enzo and weekends still have been hard - thus the run on the treadmill!

 Yet here we go as to what I have done in the past month which includes celebrating my birthday on June 23rd (exactly a month ago today ;)) turning 35! :)

We'll start with the good stuff first -  I left work to spend time with family who gave me all I wanted - cake, family and a bottle of wine!

Ok now for the bad....well the not so good....my crazy training schedule:

So this week is week 26 and will start here:

Week 26, July 22 - Tuesday - I did 10.5 miles on treadmill. Schedule calls for 5 miles yet I did what I said I was not going to do and tried making up miles. Goal was to do two 6 miles repeats which I have done before on the treadmill. First 6 miles at a comfortable pace then second 6 miles progressively faster.  My second 6 miles did not go as planned at I keep starting and stopping due to some technical issues with the treadmill (this treadmill has not been my friend this training season).  So I ended up just doing 10.5 miles and chopped it up as getting some mileage in.

This past weekend I really wanted to go out and get in a long run yet it just has been so crazy that last Friday through Sunday I did no running - I know ....!!!  I was to do my first 20 miler of the training schedule on Sunday yet will do that this Saturday in NYC in Central Park.

 Family and life took over and though the goal was there to run it did not transpire and I am plagued with the thinking I will just do it tomorrow and tomorrow come and goes...and now is 5 weeks until marathon day....what happened to 5 months until marathon day!

Week 21: June 17th called for 4 miles.  I was at LA Fitness doing a 3 day trial pass at the gym. At this gym they had a underwater treadmill which the trainer said was "great" and low impact on your knees. I figure I would give it a try. So I tried doing 4 miles on the underwater treadmill yet I did see any place on the treadmill that recorded your distance.  It did record my time and I stayed on it for about 35 minutes. It was okay yet i will stick with my land treadmill.

June 18th called for 7 miles yet ended up doing 5 miles on the treadmill. I was really slow and sluggish this day and pulled of only 5 miles.

June 19th called for 4 miles which I did on treadmill.

So June 20th - through June 21st I did not run. It was a long weekend which included me going to NYC to grab my Mom and I worked that weekend as well so it was just crazed.

June 23rd -my birthday - Monday I got out early that morning and attempted to go on a long run before work and cake and drinking and only pulled off doing a 1.17 miles! Like I said it was a tiring weekend and I barely made it around the block!

Week 22: This whole week was pretty much a bust unfortunately. I believe I did a couple of runs here and there.....my training I know taking a NOSE DIVE and I was working long hours.

June 27th - Friday -  was a rest day yet I have rested more than trained so I did not rest that day and got out and was able to do 5 miles though. I ran in DC so a lot of stop and go and getting to know the new area where I work around.

Week 23: With 4th of July festivities my training again halted. I did do a short run on July 1st yet nothing great.

 On July 7th I I did 4 miles outside and on July 9th pulled of 5 miles outdoors.

I am still loving my garmin watch yet still takes forever to find my location in order to track my run via gps - just have to hit that button earlier before I am ready to run.

Week 24:
July 10th - Thursday I ended up doing 8 miles on treadmill.

July 13th - Saturday I ended doing 8.12 on treadmill.

Still missing my long run Sundays.....oh boy!!!!

Week 25: July 16th - Wednesday - I ended up doing 7.5 miles though scheduled called for 8 miles.

I did a couple of runs on treadmill this week yet did not capture.  At this point very fed up at losing some much control over training schedule.

With yesterday long run on treadmill I feel good so plan on following schedule for today which is 5 miles.  With the planned 20 miler on Saturday I plan on just following Week 26 schedule yet just doing 20 miles on Saturday and Sunday....well won't be doing the call for 12 miles yet will see what I can do on Sunday for relief.

In transformation and consistency!
Yvonne

Week 20 Wrap Up! Lawyers Have Heart 10K

Yesterday was the Lawyers Have Heart 10k race.  I did decently and it was a great race day with 51.:33 being by net time:

794

1750

Yvonne

Marquez

34

F

56/283

F3034

Silver Spring

MD

0:25:43

0:25:51

0:54:32

0:51:33

8.27 min/mile, I am okay with it and happy to get it under my belt.

Next run I will be doing will be on July 26th - a 20 mile training run in New York. This is a training run that I have done in the past when I trained for the New York Marathon and it is truly a great training run as there is water for hydration and its under race conditions;  unlike when you are training on your own. as your time/splits is recorded so will help me figure out how far along in my training I am at that point.

Recap for last week. After my 11 miler run on Monday. I ran 4 miles on Wednesday instead of Tuesday outdoors. It was a slow run around the neighborhood). I ended up doing my 7 miles on Friday which I did on treadmill - though it reads 5 miles on the pic it was actually 7 as at mile 2 I accidentally restarted my treadmill - this was completely my fault this time. I did not do my 4 miles called for on Thursday.

Sunday's 15 miler will be done today ... Monday. I am still striving to get these long runs done on Sunday which is the best day I know yet it has been extremely hard to get out there as it is becoming a non work and non run day which is sooooo nice.

Yet will soon have my mom with me for the summer visiting and this will allow me at least an extra hour in the mornings as will not have to bring Enzo to sitter and get his stuff ready for the day. With Mom in the house it will cut down my time and I could really do my runs in the morning and not be as tired to get out there on Sundays.

Goal for this week is to do every workout as planned.  Eat cleanly as possible and stick to calorie plan. Also to get out tomorrow and do speed drills up and down the hill.

In transformation and consistency,

Yvonne

Long Run - When it hurt to stop running

Finally accomplished a good long run on Monday. Yes Sunday's are meant for long runs yet I had to get it in when I could as Sunday turned into rest day due to a knee ache. Yet let me rewind as I owe a "catch up".

I realized I am off my schedule by a week so last week was actually week 19 of my schedule and last I blogged I did 3 miles on Tuesday (6/3) which was really supposed to be 4 miles on the schedule. So Wednesday (6/4) called for 7 miles which I actually did - yet I did on Thursday (6/5) on the treadmill after work  as Wednesday I did not take the opportunity to run in the morning and could not do 7 miles during lunch or after work as I wanted to.

Though the below status pic shows a bit over 4 miles, this is because at 3.25 miles the cleaning guy at the gym decided to vacuum around my treadmill and pulls the plug out and my treadmill stops!!!!! ... So I had to fight ever nerve in my body which said call it a day and plugged the treadmill back in and continue to run.  This was actually a great metaphor for me as to how during many times in the marathon it will feel like everything is against you to continue to run and you have to actually FORCE yourself to continue. I am use to this feeling just from training yet it never gets old and feels so "worth out" when you are done. So I got back on the treadmill and completed 7  miles by starting all over....yet felt great...exhausted - yet great.

Friday I did not make up Thursday's run and decided to rest and follow schedule as my goal was to really get my weekend runs done. By working out in anyway I would have jeopardized that as in the past when I worked out on Friday I did not work out on Saturday.

So Saturday (6/7) I did go out for a run and completed the called for 7 miles. I ended doing 7.5 as I ran to my front door yet last half mile was a slower jog. I usually try and have a bagel with peanut butter before a run that is more than 6 miles and a bit of water. I did have a really bad knee ache though after the run and my time for new sneakers has come. at 9.33 my goal is to really start following my pace closely and get in some race paced runs and speed training in as I have longed talked about.

With that knee pain on Sunday and working out the aches out from the 7 miler on Saturday I did not run on Sunday and decided I would do the called for 14 miles for this day on Monday (6/9) instead of cross train - the start of Week 20.  So Sunday's long run called for 14 miles and doing that on a Monday was going to be challenging as the morning was out as I could not spend 2+ hours before 6 am like I use to do and get ready for work and really could not pull this mileage of at lunch - that why Sundays are best for long runs. 

So after work I came home and really wanted to get on the road by 6pm yet with different after work duties that needed to be accomplished I got out the door at 7pm.  I knew I would be racing daylight so I started on my endeavor to do 14 miles. I ran to Matthew Henson park where one loop of the park gives me about 2.5 miles staring from my house then another 3 miles withe every additional loop. So goal was to do 4 loops counting the in and out from my house to give me 14 miles. Yet by the loop 3, darkness was falling and I was kicking myself for loosing that hour. As much as I love the long runs and getting to the point where it actually hurts to STOP running and feels good to continue running- I did not want to risk running in darkness in the park so I had to call it a day at 11.36 miles.

Tuesday(6/10) called for 4 miles which I was unable to do as I had to wrap up a project at work and could not get out for lunch as I usually like to do this distance on my lunch break. I wanted to do the run after work yet just could not pull it off.  Today is Wednesday (6/11) and I plan on doing the called for 7 miles after work on treadmill and though knee is feeling a lot better with the rest from yesterday I would rather do this run on a soft track and go for speed with some speed drills in between.

Looking forward to completing tomorrow's workout - 4 miles and Saturday 10K race. Plan on following schedule with a 15 mile run on Sunday.

In transformation and consistency,

Yvonne

Countdown 82 days to go!

6/2 - Monday's work out called for a cross training. I spent 35 minutes on the stair master. I really like the stair master best out of all the cardio machines because at a good speed you really get a great endurance workout as well as working out your legs and gluts.  After that I did crunches and side crunches and threw in a set of triceps extensions. 

6/3 - Tuesday's worked out called for 3 miles. I did this on the treadmill. I felt really good as I started and decided to do a hilly terrain work out.  With different incline variations I got a great calorie burn and completed the 3 miles feeling strong and energized.

My diet for the last two days has been comprised of 1200-1500 calories. Oatmeal, fruits and bagel for breakfast. Salads and fish for lunch. Brown rice, mushrooms, pasta for dinner.  Protein  and green shakes for snacks.  I want to lose about 15 pounds before the marathon yet fuel as efficiently as possible to have great workouts.

I have signed up for a 10k for next Saturday, June 14.  Schedule calls for 7 miles that day yet will do the 7 miles at a comfortable pace the Friday before - though a rest day I rather get the work out in. 

Looking forward to consistent training until then.

In transformation and consistency,

Yvonne

Countdown 84 more days to SRM!

In the last month training has gone haywire. Unfortunately for me time has not stood still and I have 12 weeks left to Marathon Day. I am excited, nervous and scared......I need to build up my confidence by making everyday count and honestly that is incredibly harder than I thought it would be - with, baby, job changes, and the ever changing scope of being a new mom.

I have been able to get some training done yet have still struggled with my long runs. I did do 6 miles on Saturday and needed to do 12 miles on Sunday yet struggled to find the energy.  I have been able to do some training during the week yet have not been able to elevate this training to the maximum output that I know that I can do. Higdon's training schedule is amazing and the reason I started this blog was to truly follow through with it, yet it has been so amazingly difficult and I transition into my new role as mom yet I am so determined to see this schedule through and realize that LIFE will always be there and it is truly about will and motivation to conquere the obstacles to get to the rewards.

This week I plan on getting my diet straight and tracking my calorie intake to make sure that I have the fuel needed to complete my training because fatigue is setting in where after a 6 miles run I am drained. I came into this training thinking I could use the same regime as previous trainings yet so much is different now with a baby. From feeding schedules, middle of the night wake up calls, going to bed late and baby timings not be my timing....it is truly a feat - yet I am completely determined to see this through and gain the valuable lessons from this experience.

Today is  Monday, June 2 - cross training day!  I plan on doing a 45 minutes stair climber routine and abs at the gym today.

I plan on posting an update daily going forward recording my food intake, how I felt energy wise and a pic of my routine stats.

12 weeks marker is my crunch time moment and now its about cramming as many quality workouts as I can. I know I can still make a Boston Qualifying time and have to be truly  committed to do so.

In transformation,

Yvonne

Training Count-Down - April Weeks 12-14 and a 5K!

Soooooooo.....I know its been a stretch; with Easter, a random 5K for charity and trying to get long runs underway (still trying) its been tough to face the music....or the blog. So here goes....

Week 12:
April 15, Tuesday called for 6 miles! I was gun-ho to do it yet ended only doing 4 miles on treadmill due to slow start and having to head back to work. 

April 16, Wednesday called for 8x400 drill which I did on the treadmill.  Was happy to get some speed work in...

April 17, Thursday called for 3 miles yet I did not train this day...I was fatigued  and most likely busy trying to get ready to head to New York for the Easter holiday!

April 18, Friday - though a rest day, knowing I would not run during the weekend of this week as I was heading to New York I went out at lunch to get a couples of miles in. I did get in about 5 miles outdoors yet my watch is showing that I only did 4.70 miles as I it took it a while to find my location so I had run a couple of meters before it started timing me. I just found out though that I don't have to activate the gps in order for the watch to track my time and distance

So with no running after the 18th - Week 12 ended here....

Week 13
This week  was uneventful as I barely trained due to different reason. I did a sprinkle of runs here and there yet nothing so remarkable.  So Monday the 21st  I crossed trained by lifting weights. Tuesday the 22nd called for 3 miles yet I did not train this day...not good, I know! 

Wednesday the 23rd called for 5 miles yet I ended up only doing 3 miles....crazy week ......

 So Thursday 24th through Sunday 27th is a complete blur.  I barely ran here and there -again nothing substantial; time is moving fast I know!

Week 14
I can literally just rewrite what I wrote for Week 13 here. Monday (28th)and Tuesday (29th) did not train.... crazy two day with life issues and running taking a back seat! Wednesday the 30th I did 3 miles on treadmill yet have no pic to show and Friday I did 4.2  miles  outdoors - will upload my stats pic when I find out why my phone is not emailing my pics :(

With no training so far on the weekend my goal right now is to get my weekend schedule set and hone in on my long runs on Sundays and speedwork on Tuesdays.

Doing hill training was extremely helpful for me in bringing down my pace so I really want to incorporate that in my training.  My next planned race will be July 26 in New York which is long run (20 miles) but on my the New York Road Runners- this is the first training run for those doing the New York Marathon yet will be a great race for me to see where I am a month before SRM! Though schedule calls for me to do the 20 miler on July 20th I really think doing it in NYC under race conditions is better than doing it on my own and will really give me a good sense of where I am at physically and mentally! I do plan on finding a 10K and 15K race in the area though hopefully before then.

Yesterday called for 9 miles yet had signed up to do a 5k charity run...I did better than the 5K in March and finished in 25min:10seconds with a 8:07 min/mile so that was a plus and enjoyed the day with hubby and baby.

3 Week Catch Up and 1/2 Marathon Down!

Wow, I cant believe how fast time is flying. From having almost 9 months to SRM (Santa Rosa Marathon) to now having a little less than 4 months (August 24th Race Day) I am getting psyched! Yet my training needs a serious shot of ramping up big time as long weekend runs have evaded me and I have not been following the schedule.

So last I blogged I had barely fulfilled weeks 14 through 16 and was heading into week 17. I haven't really followed the schedule much more after that so there is really not to much to catch up on training wise.

What I plan on doing as of today, Monday, April 14 is resetting the schedule so that Marathon day lines up with the schedule.  What this mean as that there is no longer any "wiggle room", "make ups", "shifting workout days"- so now if I miss a workout, I am truly missing out on training and decreasing my chances of pulling a Boston Qualifying time. (Women 35-39 - 3:40min or under - my personal goal is 3:35min)

So above is how my schedule is going to look now. In red are the dates I must run.  today does call for me to run 3 miles yet with the half yesterday and doing 5 miles on Saturday to get so mileage in I will rest today as bit sore.....I am starting now back at Week 12 and MUST complete all training days ...... with no wiggle room :) Reminder that my goal is to accomplish the marathon in August in 3hours and 30 minutes which is an 8:30min/mile! I have a lot of pace shaving to do :)



I also went ahead and got a sports watch! A world of difference - I love it.  I am free to not be so careful with my ipod in the event that I may touch the wrong button and stop my workout. I can change up my music and switch to the radio....I am very happy with my sport watch. I got the Garmin Forerunner 10


 Simply to use, and the online program that comes with it is extremely detailed. I  am not losing anything from switching from Nike. Also the gps is superior as it shows my trail exactly on line.

So Loudoun Half Marathon was good. My goal was to finish under 2hours and 30 minutes. Something very doable as I have not gotten in any long runs past 5 miles.  I ended finishing in an 1 hour and 58 minutes! I came in 24th in my age category and 53 out of 196 women. Pace was 9:05min/mile

53 Yvonne Marquez Silver Spring  MD 649 34F 24 30-39 1:58:53 1:59:18      9:05/M

I was pretty happy with that as I used this as a training run and kept the pace comfortable up until mile 9 before I started kicking up the pace a bit. I was very happy to cross the finish line and scoop up Enzo who cheered me on.

In transformation!
Yvonne

The marathon is not really about the marathon, it's about the shared struggle. And it's not only the marathon, but the training. - Bill Buffman
Bill B
Bill Bu

Weeks 14-16- Catch up and start of Week 17

So, the past two weeks have been crazy with snow, snow and more snow.  Week 13 did not end on a good note as I never did my evening run on Thursday and did not do my long run on Sunday.  Long runs have been my downfall thus far and I plan on getting back on track this week up until the half marathon coming up in 3 weeks!

So here we go....
Week 14: 3/10 -  Monday called for cross training.  Since I did not do anything over the weekend, I ended up doing a 3 mile run on the treadmill that day.  Unfortunately no pic as I did not bring phone with me up to the treadmill.

Week 14: 3/11 - Tuesday called or 3 miles.  I actually ended up cross training on the stair master!  I like to do the interval setting on this machine. So for about minutes I go at a comfortable speed, the after that I spend another 2 minutes at an uncomfortable speed the after that it toggles back and forth. I find this helps with increasing my endurance. Also during the comfortable speed I don't just walk up the stairs yet spend a minute skipping ever on step and kicking my leg back to get some glut action then spend another minute sort of walking like a duck and putting my toes to the corner of step to activate different muscles in legs.  Yet during the speed interval I don't really have enough time nor breath to that so I just go up the stairs as normal.

Week 14: 3/12 - Wednesday called for 5 miles. Yet I got the gym late and had to head back to work so only ended up dong 3.27 miles....womp womp womp

Week 14: 3/13 - Thursday called or 3 miles.  I ran this on the treadmill yet did not pic as did not have my phone....

Week 14: 3/14 - Friday - I rested...yet did not deserve too....womp womp

Week 14: 3/15 - Saturday - another rest day....yet truly I am with family, running errand, doing laundry....life stuff yet not running :(

Week 14: 3/16 - Sunday - I took a stand and head to gym to do 5 miles.  I actually did do 5 miles yet my phone took the picture at the "summary" screen and I did not realize it.  I also took a picture at 3.42 as this is when my husband called me to tell me the baby needed me....I was thinking I would have to get off yet I called him back about 5 mins. later and he said the baby was cool and could hold of until I was done.  I really did do my 5 miles though :)

Week 16: 3/17 - Monday - Was a snow day here and Maryland! We had about 7-9 inches of snow! So I spent my cross training day shoveling!

Week 16: 3/18 - Tuesday - Called for 3 miles which I did not....work day after a snow day was hard to get out and was just an all around BLAH day.

Week 16: 3/19 - Wednesday - Called for 5 miles which I did on treadmill. Goal was to complete and get a comfortable run in.

Week 16: 3/20 - Thursday - called for 3 miles - which I did on treadmill.

Week 16: 3/21 - Friday -  Technically a rest day, I went to gym and weight trained by doing legs and back. 

Week 16: 3/22-3/23- Saturday - Sunday - Rested as life took over and running took a back seat unfortunately.  What I missed with a 5 mile at pace speed which now standing about 8:45 - 9 min mile for 5 miles I believe and a 6 mile long run.  I do plan on getting out of this rut and getting back to running on the weekends.

Week 17: 3/24 - Monday -  called for cross training which I did on stair master.  Same routine as last week for about 25 minutes and spent  5 minutes doing abs (butterfly crunches - 3 set, 25 reps and side crunches, 3 set, 25 reps.)

So you may have noticed I have not ran outside in while using my nike ipod!  Well it finally went out of commission and I should either have a new one by the end of the week or use a sport watch which I am leaning heavily on. As much as i love the nike+ system, I would prefer to separate my music and my running stats going forward and using a watch which can sync my data to an online tracker might be the best way to go now as I push to really get my training to the next level.

In transformation,

Yvonne

2 Weeks of Catch Up! Weeks 11-13 with a race day PIC!

Week 11 ended with me doing my 3 miles on Friday.  I did take a picture of this as did not bring my phone that day. I do remember however that is was a steady run. This was my makeup run from Monday allowing my soreness from my Monday bootcamp class that week to flush out totally.

Week 11 Saturday I was scheduled to do a 45 minute tempo run yet did not do so as my Mom's last weekend with my son before she headed back to NYC.  She was with me for about 2 months watching Enzo as I transitioned back to work.  She was an amazing help and spent Saturday running errand to ensure she would be all set to go and also getting Enzo's trunk ready for his new babysitter full of his things.  I still have not been able to wake up and get out the door before my day get started...this run could have easily been accomplished between 7am and 8am yet that seems to be the time that my body is fast asleep.

Week 11 Sunday 6 miles....well you guessed it...did not happen on Sunday yet it did happen on Monday! :) I did make up the 6 miles on the start of Week 12 as the weekend was shot with errands.  My ipod did give out however and unfortunately I was not able to snap a picture of this. I did run my lunch time route and this run definitely felt better that the first 6 mile run on this course which I did a couple of weeks ago.  Was able to run the whole time and did not need to stop for a walk break!

Week 12 Tuesday (2/25/2014) schedule called for 6 miles which I did not do as I had ran 6 miles on the Monday. I ended up doing 3 miles that day to shake of the 6 miles lactic buildup :) I did do the radom setting of valleys and hills to prepare my for the 5K race in NYC that weekend!

Week 12 Wednesday (2/26/2014) called for 8 x 400 (.25) which I did do on treadmill. Great speed workout and felt good after completing.

Week 12 Thursday (2/27/2014) called for 3 miles which I accomplished on the treadmill.  Basically at this point I was getting mentally prepared to travel to NYC to run the Washington Heights 5K but on by the New York Road Runners.

Week 12 Friday and Saturday (2/28-3/1 2014) RESTED!!!!!

Week 12 Sunday MARCH 2 - RACE DAY
Race day went really well and I completed the 5k at a pace of 8:27 min/mile.  Really happy I did it under 8:30min/mile. Its a hilly course and was great kick start - and no I did not run with baby Enzo yet he was cheering me on :)

Week 13: Monday (3/3/2014) Was another snow day in the Maryland/DC area! We ended up driving back to Maryland after the race as did not want to get caught in the snow. We got about 5 inches and I spent the day shoveling...that was my cross training :)

Week 13: Tuesday (3/4/2014) I did 3 miles on Treadmill yet did not snap picture forgot phone at work and this was during lunch. I did complete and it was just a comfortable run.

Week 13: Wednesday (3/5/2014) called for 5 miles.  I did head to gym yet really wanted to get some weight training in. So I decided instead to weight train during my lunch break and "shift" the schedule this week doing Wednesday's 5 miles on Thursday and Thursday's 3 miles on Friday's rest day.  So I ended up doing biceps curls, 3 sets of 20 reps each.  Tricep extensions, 3 sets fo15 reps each.  100 squats with a 10 pound kettlebell. I also did abs cycles 3 sets 25 reps and back and sided extensions 2 sets, 20 reps. I also did back flys 3 sets 20 reps and shoulder press 3 sets, 20 reps. In between these workouts I did about 25 jumping jacks to keep heart rate up.

So today is Thursday and I plan on doing 5 miles outside after I get home.  I have not done an evening run in while as we establish our routine with Enzo at night and now getting up early in the morning to get him to the sitter! Its been a great experience though so far juggling parenthood and running and I am loving the challenges and the rewards so far!

Oh, I signed up for a 1/2 marathon in Loudoun County, Virginia on April 13, 2014! Though on this day it will be Week 18: Sunday calling for me to do a 15K race pace (9.3 miles), I will not be that off and hoping to do this half between 8:15 min/mile and 8:20min/mile - a lot of shaving off pace time from now until then! Goals are to take advantage of cross training Monday and pushing the speed during training runs and taking advantage of my hilly environment to get my pace down! 

In Transformation,

Yvonne