10 — Miles I ran Saturday (it was suppose to be 11…see below)
1 — coyotes (changed my route after he showed up…so it was 10 and not 11)
8 — miles with a friend, and her first time going that far!
46 — years I celebrated with family & friends all weekend
Too many to count — smiles and laughter!
How was your weekend?
What’s up for August:
In some ways it’s hard to believe I’m already on week 5 of my training plan. I started over-thinking (read criticizing) my runs last week, but after a good conversation with my coach on Friday, I politely told that negative voice to stuff it and went out and had a great long run Saturday 🙂
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My goal for this week is to remind myself to focus on the now — this is the moment I can control and it is success in this moment that will lead to success in the future.
On deck for this week:
Monday — Steady state run with hills (6) — Done!!
Tuesday — Cross-training
Wednesday — Fartlek run (3)
Thursday — Tempo (7) plus yoga for runners class
Friday — Cross-training
Saturday — LSD (11)
Sunday — rest
Felt great on this morning’s run and I’m looking forward to a great week!
I had my bi-weekly call with Coach Bennett this morning and as he listened to me recount my runs of the past two weeks he made the observation that he sensed that I have a “strong inner critic” He felt I wasn’t giving myself enough credit for the level of running I’d been doing, especially in heat and humidity….in so many words, I need to give myself a break.
I am definitely a perfectionist and can be fairly tough on myself – it was interesting to me that it was coming through so clearly to Bennett over the phone line. As we talked about the upcoming weeks in the training plan, it occurred to me that his role as coach will be as much about getting my head in the right place and building confidence as it is in helping me hit the right paces.
Many of us can be our own worst critic so the question is, how do you quiet that critic when it comes to your running?
Because I’m always looking to mix it up a little and keep things interesting, meet the newest addition to my workouts:
Starting today I’m going to give Jillian Michaels Ripped in 30 for the next 30 days. The DVD is comprised of four 24-minute workouts based on Jillian Michaels’ 3-2-1 interval system: 3 minutes of strength, 2 minutes of cardio and 1 minute of abs. Each routine progresses in difficulty over a four-week period (a new workout each week), and Michaels promises there are no repeats from week to week.
I’ll let you know how it goes!
Have you ever used a workout DVD?
I’ve heard from several of you, either on the blog or Twitter, that ZOOMA races sound like fun and you wished you lived closer so that you could run ZOOMA Cape Cod.
Well …did you know that ZOOMA is about to announce their newest race location? Check out the video:
On Thursday ZOOMA will announce where they’re headed to next, but in the meantime they’re giving you a chance to guess the location and win a great bunch of swag from the mystery locale!
Visit the ZOOMA blog, leave a comment with your guess and you’re entered! Easy peasy 🙂
The humidity finally broke last night following some crazy thunderstorms so this morning’s run was the first really pleasant run of the week – a 3 mile Fartlek, run #3 in the Merrell Pace Gloves…I’m still very happy with them!
I’ve got a massage scheduled for later today. As I mentioned in a post about acupuncture earlier this year, one of my big goals for 2012 is to stay injury-free, and one of my “proactive self care” steps is to try to get regular massages. Obviously my wallet will dictate how often I can go, but I’m going to do my best to make them a consistent part of my fall training plan.
64 days until the ZOOMA Cape Cod Half Marathon & 10k! I’m so psyched that my friend E has signed up to run the 10k so we’ll be Cape-bound together! The course map is now up on the ZOOMA website and it looks like this course will offer a little bit of everything…great ocean views, tree-lined streets and rolling hills. You can checkout the course HERE. Registration is capped at 1,000 for the two races so don’t wait to register – you can still use the code CCAMB3 and receive $10 off the half marathon or $5 off the 10k.
Yeah…well this morning for me was NOT one of those runs! It was already pushing 80 at 6:15 this morning and when I stepped out my door my arch enemy humidity was waiting for me. Less than a mile in, I was a drippy, sweaty mess and I knew this was going to be one of those runs where I’d do a lot of bargaining with myself…”just 3 more telephone poles,” “OK, just get to the next stop sign.”
The good thing about this morning’s run? I pushed through and finished it. And, no matter how bad it felt while I was in the middle of it, it felt really good to have gotten it done.
After having a string of really good runs all last week, this morning’s run was a reminder that not all runs are great…but each run gives you something. This run made me focus more on my form, it tested my will when I just wasn’t feeling it and it kicked off my 3rd week of training…getting me just a little closer to my goal.
What did your run give you today?
I had my bi-weekly check in call with Coach Bennett this morning. We reviewed how the first couple of weeks are going and he gave me some suggestions on my pacing and acclimating to this never ending heat. So far I’m really enjoying working with him – he’s got a great attitude and has put together a plan for me that is both challenging but doable.
Last night was week #9 of my Yoga for Runners class – it continues to be a bit of a 2-hour torture session but my hamstrings always appreciate it later! If you aren’t already doing so, I seriously encourage every runner to incorporate a little yoga into your training – really makes such a difference!
Finally got my first run in the Merrell Pace Gloves on Wednesday — love them!! I think it was the right call to keep the first run in them short – there is really a big difference in the feel of a zero drop shoe. My calves were a little achy later in the day but a little time in compression sleeves seemed to take care of that. For now I’m going to plan to use them just for short runs and stick with the Kinvara 2s for longer ones.
I cannot believe that we’re just about at the half way through July! I still have way too much on my “want to do this summer” list. I’m trying really hard to balance that feeling of “summer’s too short and we’ve got to get it all in!” vs. staying in the moment and enjoying the days as they come (sometimes easier said than done).
So week 1 of my new training plan is in the books. After Tuesday’s heat fest/race and a little over indulging on the 4th (read lots of great food and sangria!), Thursday’s run was sluggish at best. I ended up shortening my tempo run by a mile because my dead legs just couldn’t hold the target pace. There was lots of yoga on Friday and Saturday’s run felt good in spite of the crazy humidity!
On the plan for this week:
Monday — Steady state (5) w/negative split on the back half
Tuesday — X-Training
Wednesday — Easy Fartlek (3)
Thursday — Tempo (6) plus Yoga
Friday — Rest day
Saturday — Race pace (6) plus warm up and cool down miles
Sunday — Rest and Yoga
For cross-training this week, I’ll be volunteering at my youngest son’s camp on Tuesday organizing games and generally running around with a bunch of 6 & 7 year olds for 4 hrs — could be my toughest day of the whole week! I didn’t get to try out my new Merrells on Sunday so I think I’ll test them out on the Fartlek run – it’s killing me that they’ve been in the box for this long 🙂
