Is It Hump Day Yet! 3 & 6 Mile Runs Review

So this week seems to be dragging and its feeling long already. I think it's because I have already done a million and one things and it is only Tuesday.

So I was feeling really good after my race last Sunday and did my Monday 3 miler after work on treadmill. Did not have the issue I had last week after my long run and was able to run through it without  interruption.

The weather this afternoon was amazing, sunny, clear and breezy! I had to get out and do my 6 mile run outside during lunch - so I took to the streets of DC and ran by the White House!

This was a slower run and thought I was trying push the pace yet a bit of shin soreness and traffic lights may have slowed me down. Will stretch and ice tonight to relieve some of the soreness.

Are you able to get away for lunch breaks? If so how do you  take in the Sun - running, walking or eating lunch outside?

Here's to BQing' in 2015,

Yvonne

Weekend Wrap-Up and Week 4

Had a great race yesterday in Burke, Virginia put on by the DC Road Runners! The 12K which is about 7.45 miles went almost around Burke Lake with a turnaround and back to the start which is also the finish, so an out and back run. This is great because you get to see the front of the pack (the really fast runners) on their way back to finish the race - this motivates me as I know the turnaround point is somewhere in site and I look forward to making my way back as well.

 

I completed the race in 1:06 at a 9:13 min/mile. My Garmin shows a distance of 7.21 miles instead of 7.45 miles - course distances may vary slightly and I guess I was really hugging the turns and lost some distance off my course. I did do my half mile warm up before the race as my schedule called for 8 miles.

 

 

 

 

This course race was scenic with both paved and dirt trail paths. Also rolling with hills and valleys so not flat. It was a great trainer and I felt good and finally gave into the speed which I know I have, now to build on from here. Below is me and baby Enzo right before the start.

 

Saturday I did the 6 mile outdoors around my neighborhood. I am glad as my neighborhood is pretty hilly and the race course was just as hilly...it prepared me.  Sounds weird to run before a run instead or rest yet my body actually needs a good amount of warming up and so this was really good for me.

 

 

This week's schedule looks like this -

 

3.30 Monday           3 Miles

3.31 Tuesday           6 Miles

4.1 Wednesday        3 Miles

4.2 Thursday            4xHills

4.3 Friday                Rest

4.4 Saturday            6 Mile Pace

4.5 Sunday              13 Miles

__________________________

Total                       31 Miles and 4xHills

 

Looking forward to increasing the mileage!

 

Here's to BQing' in 2015,

Yvonne





 

Speed Workout and 3 Miler on Rest Day

Thursday's speed workout was tough yet fast, so it was over quickly. I started with a quarter mile warmup to build me up to my half-mile (800 meter) sprint then cooled down/warmed up again with another quarter mile leading into the next half-mile sprint.

Schedule called for 4×800 sprints which totalled 2 miles and with warm-ups I did 3 miles. First sprint I did at about a 8:30  min/mile then went down to 8:17 min/mile for my last sprint gradually decreasing in between.

Weight workout I did before running yesterday as I have slacked off in the weight room. I did biceps curls with shoulder press and one arm dumbbell rows.

Today was a rest day yet I had to make up 3 miles from Sunday's unexpected rest day. I decided I would do the 3 miles on treadmill during break from work. Yet the whole day went by and it was then 7:00pm. I really really really did not want to do these 3 miles and wanted to just go home. 

Yet I got out gym bag, changed and headed to gym. I knew I would hate myself in the morning if I skipped this and there was no way to make up later and I also knew I would feel so good afterwards.

So happy that I got it done. How do you motivate yourself to work out when you just  don't want to?

Here's to BQ'ing 2015,

Yvonne

YEAH! I GOT INTO THE 40TH MARINE CORPS MARATHON!

I am so excited to get into the 40th Marine Corps Marathon by lottery! Ironically my first Marathon was the 40th New York Marathon...40 seems to be my number.

So yesterday I wanted to do 6 miles on treadmill and 3 miles today following my schedule however when I got on the treadmill after work running was a laborious process. I am guessing after my long run on Monday my body took a temporary pause and maybe that is why Hal Higdon says to do 3 miles after a long run and not 6! I barely scraped a not so great 2 miles with a really bad attempt at the beginning which added to about a mile which I chopped up to a warm-up.

Today was a different story and I was ready to redeem myself and got out a decent 6 miles on the treadmill at a bit under a 10 min/mile average pace.

Oatmeal and fruit for breakfast (300), stone crackers and wheat thins with peanut butter (400), almond milk yogurt with almonds (150) for snacks and a green drink for lunch  (200) - I am about 1050 calories for day. Plan on having about a 400 calorie dinner - tuna and green salad with glass of wine...1 glass :) Speed workout tomorrow!

Here's to BQ'ing in 2015,

Yvonne

A Feel Good Long Run & Upcoming First Race!

11 Mile Run today actually felt really good. It was a gorgeous day and there is something defiant about going out for a long run on a work day - MONDAY! So I had to be at work yesterday, Sunday and was just not able to pull off running 11 miles and then going into work so it was run today or bust! I am glad I was able to it and headed into work after. I know most people can't afford a Monday Morning off yet if you can take a couple of hours on a Monday morning - it definitely takes the edge of the "Mundane Monday" thing.

 

So I did the 11 miles in about a 10 mim/mile average pace which is a great improvement as last week I did 10 miles in about the same amount of time it took me today to do 11 miles! So the running is dare I say... staring to feel good! Plus I felt a lot better today than last week where legs felt like lead and today they felt normal. I also felt my breathing was much more in tune with my stride.

 

 

 

So because yesterday ended up being a unexpected rest day, I will do today's called for 3 miles on Friday instead of rest. So week 3 schedule looks like this -

 

3.23    3 Miles (11 Miles done today to make up for unexpected rest day yesterday)

3.24    6 Miles

3.25    3 Miles

3.26    4x800

3.27    Rest  ( 3 mile make up for 3.23)

3.28    6 Mile Pace

3.29    8 Miles - I will be doing a 12K (7.45 Miles) Race with the DC Road Runners. I will do half a mile before the race to make a full 8 mile.

 

Total: 26 Miles plust 4X800 speed workout.

 

I am looking forward to the 12K race put on by DC Road Runners on March 29th in Burke, VA.  My last race was last year December 2014.  It is always great to run under race conditions. My pace is usually so much faster under race conditions than training an is a better indicator of how I am progressing.

 

Still in calorie range of aboaut 1200 to 1500 calories a day depending on my activity level. It is alot harder for me to count calories on weekends as I am busier and doing more mileage and burning crazy amounts of calories so I usually eyeball my intake and try and stay in range. How does your weekend eating habits differ from your weekday eating habits?

 

Motiviaton music check this week - "I Lived", One Republic; "Animals", Maroon 5; "Truffle Butter", Nicki Minaj; "Riptide", Vance Joy

 

Here's to BQ'ing in 2015,

Yvonne







 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ehh 5 Miler & Need to Start Icing!

So had to go into work today and spent the better part of the morning at my desk day dreaming of getting out for my run.

Today called for a 5 mile run. Happy to be in the city of DC as it was a great gorgeous day for running though I had to work . I started feeling some soreness though in my right ankle and it did stymie me from warming up a bit earlier in a run than I am use to. So ended up doing the 5 just under 50 minutes yet running around the Mall is always a plus.

I will ice my ankle and my shins tonight in preparation for my long run tomorrow. 

Thursday I was not feeling a 100 percent so I took my rest day that day  and did my tempo run yesterday. I did it on the treadmill yet did not do 3.5 miles in the 30 minutes as I had hoped and did about 3.25. 

I did feel better on Friday and feel good today besides the sore ankle. I do sometimes take Tylenol or Motrin for pain to get me through a run. I may take some before my long run tomorrow or before I head to bed tonight. I try not to take it too often though and will try R.I.C.E (rest, ice, compression, elevation) before medication. How do you feel about pain meds?

Still consuming less than I am using calorie wise and will do a weight check next weekend at 3 week marker. Appetite is staying steady and cravings are minimal  (see Wednesday's

dark chocolate attack). Feeling good and looking forward to my running improving.

Have a great rest of your weekend and chat again on weekend wrap up!

Here's to BQ'ing in 2015,

Yvonne

Chocolate Attack and Already Feeling Benefits of Running More

There are just certain cravings which I most satisfy....of course running is one and the other is dark chocolate. I love Lindt as they are one of the few who make dark chocolate bars without using milk. Some of their bars do contain milk yet their solely dark chocolates do not. I felt for a smoother taste and went with the 70% cocoa today. When I want something stronger I go for the 85%. I had 2 squares which hit the spot at 250 calories, on my way home from work - a good sweet snack.

Today called for a 3 mile run which I did during lunch break. I felt a lot more energized as I had a good breakfast of a waffle at about 7am when I left for work and oatmeal with blackberries around 10ish. I also had some almonds right before I left to head to gym.

I was able to push my speed early in the 3 mile run and was at an 8:30 min/mile by about a mile and half I in and I ended at about a 8:00 min/mile. I completed the run in a little over 25 minutes, fasted 3 mile yet!

On Tuesday I did the 5 miles called for also during my lunch break and completed in 47 minutes. 

Current goals fo 3 mile run is to accomplish at 8:00 min/mile speed finishing at or under 24 minutes and to finish the 5 mile run at or under 9:00 min/mile - in about 45 minutes.

Thursday calls for a 30 minutes Tempo run which is essentially building up effort during the run and peaking in the middle and towards the end. I am striving to do about 3.5 miles during this time and really continue to push my speed efforts.

Any crazy cravings that you must sastify? I am already feeling my lungs getting stronger from my running efforts. I have always been a fast walker and could always climb up stairs and escalators yet this week such task seem easier. My breathing is getting more controlled during runs as well. One great aspect about running is that the benefits don't take long start manifesting.

Here's to BQing' in 2015

Yvonne

Week 2: After Work 3 Miler

Happy to start week 2 as jitters are gone and I begin to look forward to completing  every training task called for on my Advanced 1 Scheldue. I read over again Hal Higdon's advice on approaching this schedule and I am glad that he stated that long runs are meant to be done about 60 to 90 seconds slower than your goal pace and Monday runs are also meant to be done at a comfortable pace.

My long run yesterday was way over 90 seconds of my goal pace of 8:00 min mile yet the goal is the distance first and then the speed! Likewise Mondays are meant to ease you back into running mode and you then steadily buildup your effort during the week.

This week schedules looks like this :
3.16 Monday       3 miles
3.17 Tuesday      5 miles
3.18 Wednesday 3 miles
3.19 Thursday    30 minute tempo run
3. 20 Friday          REST
3.21 Saturday     5 mile run
3.22 Sunday       11 miles

Total of 27 miles and 30 minute tempo run.  Today's 3 miler was done at the gym after work. It was a busy day for me and my appetite was low throughout the day. I had 2 waffles (180 calories) for breakfast
A green drink for lunch (200 calories) and oatmeal with strawberries and a handful of almonds for snack (380 calories). By the time I knew eat it was 5:30pm. I felt ok yet don't think I had enough fuel to really kick of my pace earlier in the run and only started speeding up toward the end. Also after a long day of work I was most likely a bit fatigued and shoul have had a quick snack before the run. I finished in a little over 28 mins.

Tomorrow I will have a hearty breakfast and a good size snack and aim for a steady, strong and full on effort 5 mile run.

Here's to BQing' in 2015
Yvonne

Weekend Wrap Up - 5 and 10 Mile Runs

Hope you had a great weekend! Saturday was the Rock and Roll Marathon in DC! It was a rainy morning and it reminded me that training in all weather elements is important as you never know what you may wake up to on Marathon Day as they usually happen rain or shine . 

Saturday mornings are currently reserved for my son's tiny tot class. I think I have more fun at the class than he does!

After class my family was pretty hungry so I made lasagna! This would be reward after my 5 mile pace run which awaited me.

I lucked out and got out for the run with no rain yet about at mile 4 it started to drizzle then rain for my last mile. I was sort of glad as I personally hate getting wet yet it was good training and I learn how to deal every time I get caught out in the rain.

Though I did not finish within a 9 min/mile I was happy to be under 48 minutes which was the time I did last Tuesday on my 5 mile treadmill run. So goal for next 5 miler is to finish at or under 46 minutes.

Stretching is something that I have not done consistently. ..after a run its usually the last thing I want to do. So I  will need to get some good stretch routines down and get better at before and after run stretching. When I do stretch I feel so much better and my runs benefit immensely.

Sunday mornings are now reserved for my long runs! I am making long runs a priority this training cycle and it will be the first thing I do on Sunday mornings....yes rain or shine.

 Thankfully today it was shine and cool. 

The run however was tough as it took a while for me to warm up and because  of a bit of leg soreness I was at a slow crawl up the hilly sections of the run. Yet I got to 10 miles and accomplished my first long run.

Are you a Sunday long runner or find another day best to get your long runs under your belt? What stretches really make your runs better? Anytime I stretch my hamstrings and hips my runs are smoother.

Here's to BQing' in 2015,

Yvonne

Hill Training and Weights

Found myself in the weight room during lunch break as I owed myself a arm, chest and back workout (did not do legs as I owed myself a hill workout after work). I started out with biceps curls and the plan was to bicep curl 20 pound dumbbells 25 time and then repeat for 3 sets. Well after the first set of that I quickly dropped that weight to 15 pounds dumbbells and finished out my sets. At one point I was decent at lifting...I have a lot of work to do! Also forgot to do a warm set where you warm up the target muscle with light weights before your goal weight.

 Will be more prepared next session. 

Here's my first before gym selfie! I continued with my 25 reps at 3 sets workout with these exercises - tricep extentions with 20 pound dumbbell, back extentions with 20 pound dumbbells, pull downs at 25 pounds increasing  to 40 pounds and low rows at 25 pounds. Also did 8 pushup on toes and the rest on knees.

I got home right before sunset to start my first hill training! Ran up the hill to warm up and ran down to where I would begin my sprint.

First time done in 2 minutes and 22 seconds.

Second time done in 2 minutes and 15 seconds.

Third time done in 2 minutes and 21 seconds. Definitely winded by this time and barely made it to end yet very happy to have sprinted the whole time.

Calories for today hit highest for the week at 1500 calories as after dinner of rice and peas with couscous I could not avoid having a mini bagel with vegan butter.

Yet with the weight and hill training I burned together about 350 calories so I am still in range and I continue to take in less than I am using - did I mention I also run after a 1 year old, that's about 200 calories right there  :)

Well I am cutting it close as it's about 11:30 pm as I type yet it's still Throwback Thursday and below is a pic of me crossing the finish line at last year's 2014 Santana Rosa Marathon. I made sure I was grabbing my well deserved medal. I was so happy to finish and the smile on my face says it all.

Tomorrow is Friday and I will officially be resting and thinking about my 5 mile pace run for Saturday. How do you incorporate  weight training with your cardio workout? Muscle is so fundamental and I feel so strong and confident when I have some!

Here's to BQing' in 2015

Yvonne

3 Miles in DC - Runner goin' 2 Run Mentality

So ended up doing 3 miles after work in beautiful DC instead of around my hilly neighborhood. With the weather in the high 50's all runners where on the road as runners have to take advantage of the weather and run outside - thus my "Runners goin' 2 Run" reference!

DC Proper is mainly flat so took advantage of that and tried to push the pace; I ran the 3 miles under 28 minutes  by 2 seconds! Hey every second counts - they turn into minutes - which turns into Boston Qualifying Time!  OK a bit much yet happy to have have gotten of the hamster weel.

Today's calorie count made it just to about 1460 with oatmeal for breakfast, tuna fish sandwich for lunch and couscous and vegetarian chilli for dinner. Almonds and banana for snack. With a calorie burn of about 354 with the three mile run I am still in calorie range to lose my pound for the week.

Where are your outdoor activities done? Any favorite place you like to go - scenic paths, near the water maybe?

Here's to BQing' in 2015!

Yvonne

My Friend the Treadmill and Over the Ear Headphones

Treadmill running to start training 2015.  I actually do enjoy running on the treadmill for pace control and during times when outdoor running ofcourse is not an option. I do not plan on doing more that 5 miles on treadmill however this training session as I really want to get stronger at self pacing and get faster by pushing my speed on the road rather than pressing the speed button on the treadmill. 

 

Monday I did 3 miles and abs! I started of with a flat incline for a mile and half and finished on a .5 incline. Tomorrow 3 mile work out will be on the road on a hilly course so goals is to complete under 28  minutes! 

 

 

Today was 5 miles on the treadmill and still running a little over a 9 min/mile. I  will also try to get my 5 miles done at about a 8:30 min/mile for next week with goal to finish under 45 minutes. 

 

 

 

Yesterday's lunch was a green drink (300 calories) - yes I have a nutribullet! I love green drinks as I get my veggies (kale or spinach) and fruits (grapes, oranges, banana, apple...) all in one serving. I had some more almonds (360 calories in total) and a slice of no cheese pizza (oh I am a pescatarian so I only eat fish and seafood and I also don't eat any dairy - no milk, cheese or eggs) with hummus and black corn chips (499 calories). So with breakfast at (356 calories) I totalled at 1515 calories - 100 calories over my 1400 mark! Yet practice makes perfect and with the 3 mile run I burned about 360 calories so I am good.

 

 

Today so far I have had 1182 calories and with a 300 calorie dinner (almost 7pm as type and planning to hav dinner at about 8pm tonight) I will hit about 1482. Yet with 5 miles done today and about 560 calories burned I am on target so far.

Calorie counting is not a perfect science and shouldn't be...don't want to go crazy yet just as long as I  am taking in what I need and not more than I use I will hit my target which is about a pound a week for the next 30ish weeks. No workout today yet will do arms and chest tomorrow and legs and back on Thursday.

 

So I got over the ear headphones today as my in ear headphones kept popping out of my ears when I got too sweaty! I love over the ears head phones for running as it keeps my tunes in place! Right now my motivating songs are Uptown Funk - Bruno Mars, Lips are Moving - Meghan Trainor, Ghost - Ella Henderson and FourFiveSeconds - Rihanna, Kaney, and Paul McCartney.

 

What are your motivating songs right now?..mines change every week....

 

Here's to BQing in 2015,

Yvonne





 

Sunday Jitters and Here's to my First week!

Pre runs before beginning training. Saturday I laced up and decided to go out for a 6 mile run. The snow was finally done falling and the streets though icy were bearable to run on though I dodged icy spots and stepped in some puddles. I managed to do 6 miles with no expectations of speed as it was beyond comfortable enough to get the cobwebs out from my legs and also done cautiously as not to bust my ..... :)

 



 

  

 

Sunday I got away with doing 4 miles. So far I have put about 13 miles on my new sneakers with 3 miles done last week. They continue to feel really great on my feet and should stand up to long runs. I am a bit jittery in starting Marathon Training and that is why I wanted to get some of schedule running in before I start. I know I really have to be committed to the schedule this time to really see the impact and if I am going to be serious about Boston Qualifying this year.  A year older - I will be 36 by race day - puts me in the catagory of having to run a qualifying marathon in 3:40:00. Yet even if I hit this time it does not gurantee me a spot as thousands of others will also hit this time so I actually have to do better than that by about 10 minutes as acceptence into Boston by time qualification is given to the best of the category within a 15 minute gap. So if I get a 3:31:00 time someone with a 3:25:00 will most likely be chosen before me!  The popularity of this race is extremly high and race officials weed out this way! So my actual goal is 3:30:00 meaning a pace time of a 8:00 minute per mile.

 

To put into perspective how much work I have to do, last year I ran the Santa Rosa Marathon in 4:00:00 which was 9:05 minute mile. I have to shave about 70 seconds per mile of my pace time....sounds like a little yet thats a lot. I am looking forward to the challenge though.

 

So training will follow Hal Higdon's Advanced 1 and Advanced 2 training schedules. I have 33 weeks until Marine Corp Marathon with the backup marathon being Philidelphia in November which gives me a bit more time. Advance 1  scheule is here http://www.halhigdon.com/training/51133/Half-Marathon-Advanced-Training-Program. I should wrap this up by July and then begin on Advance 2 schedule.

 

This weeks schedules looks like this -

 

3.9 Monday - 3 miles

3.10 Tuesday - 5 miles

3.11 Wednesday - 3 miles

3.12 Thursday - 3 x hills

3.13 Friday - REST

3.14 Saturday - 5 mile pace

3.15 Sunday - 10 mile

 

26 miles in total and 3 hill repeats. For the hill I will use the one right infront of my house. It is a great steady incline a little less than half a mile in distance. Basically I run up the hill as fast as I can in a controlled fashion to get to the top of course and not burn out half way while steadily decreasing my time to do this throughout my training.

 

I will do between 1200 and 1400 calorie meal plan so basically counting my calories and not exceeding 1400. I love the app "everyday health calorie counter" which I have on my phone. If I don't know the calories for a specific food item there is a search feature and I can also add food and put the calories in if I know them. It is a pretty friendly app.

 

So far today Monday I have had a bagel with butter (356 calories) and almonds about half a cup (170 calories) so total 526 calories.  I will exercise ( 3 mile run and abs) which deducts from my intake so days that I run or exercise I will consume 1400 calories and on rest day 1200 calories - see..easy! Goal is to be about 25 to 30 pounds lighter on race day. I know I don't look like I have to lose that much right...lol...yet winter hibernation definitely took a toll and most of it is in my  backside which you can't fully see from the pic :)

 

What's your caloric intake look like? Do you use an app to track or do you have it all in your head...old fashioned and use paper and pen and keep a journal.  Let me know!

 

Here's to BQ'ing in 2015,

Yvonne!

 

 



Marathon Training 2015 Begins!

It's March and winter hibernation is officially over. This training session is all about hitting every training day, making no excuses (yes even weather will not have a place on this training blog unless I am running in it!) and reveling in the glory of the reward - yes reveling! Sneakers came in last week and the Brooks Ravenna 5 are so far great on my feet. I am glad the reflecting features of sneakers are working :) I ran 3 miles on Saturday to test them out.

My training schedule will still follow Al Higdon's model. I will also follow a calorie eating lifestyle meant to burn fat and gain muscle tone (1200 to 1500 calories daily) and I will detail both of these schedules and goals in my next post.

Marathon I am hoping to run is the Marine Corp Marathon or now called "The People's Marathon" on October 25, 2015 in DC/VA area. This is a Boston Qualifier which you gain entry via lottery, or if you have ran 7 Marine Corp Marathons in the past or are running for a charity. The lottery opens up next Friday March 13th and closes on March 22nd - fingers crossed. I do have a couple of back up marathons in mind if I do not gain entry by lottery so hoping I don't have to go there...fingers crossed again. 

So this week I am solidifying my schedule as this will be my foundation for success as though knowing how many miles to run needs to go along with knowing when you are going to run! Looking forward to sharing that and getting feedback from you! 

Anyone out there also training to Boston Qualify this year? If so what race are you planning for and what training program will you use?

Here's to BQ 2015,
Yvonne