Rest days are vital

August 20, 2012 by 17 Comments

When focusing on a goal or upcoming race – it is very easy to want to keep pushing. But rest days should not be overlooked. Rest days, in my opinion, are as vital a component of your training as long runs, tempo runs and speed work.

Rest days gives you:

  • a chance to restore glycogen levels
  • allows your body to adapt to an increased workload
  • protects against over-training which can often lead to injuries
  • reduces your overall fatigue, and offers a mental break from the rigors of training

Taking a rest day doesn’t mean you have to turn in to an instant sloth either. These days are perfect for any number of cross-training activities, yoga or taking your dog for a walk — activity that will moderately increase your heart rate and challenge your range of motion is a good thing. Though there may be times too when a day of complete rest with just some dynamic stretching is all that your body needs. I have quickly learned that at my ARA (advanced running age!) that my body needs the rest days and when I ignore them I eventually pay the price.

Do you adhere to the rest days in your training?

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Filed Under: half marathon training, Rest day

Taking on the hills

August 17, 2012 by 13 Comments

It’s Friday! And my legs are toast!

It has been a good week for workouts – my runs have felt good, though yesterday’s hill work was killer hard and did leave me wondering – “How will I do this for the next 5 weeks?!” The plan called 8 x 250 meter hill repeats with 5 miles of warm-up and cool-down. Somewhere after the 5th or 6th repeat I think I may have started to question my coach’s sanity, and by the final repeat there was definitely a fair amount of cursing involved.

While I have done an occasional hill workout on the treadmill to break-up the monotony of a mill run, this is the first time I have hill work as an integral part of my training plan. I have always read that hill work will make you a stronger runner, and I’m definitely up for that benefit! I also freely admit that I’ve always had a bit of a mental block when it comes to hills – I can easily psyche myself out, so I’m counting on this devotion to hill work to help me break through that barrier.

After yesterday’s torture session, I know the key to taking the sting out of hill running is proper form. I went back to re-read a timely article my coach included in his most recent newsletter from the International Association of Women Runners – which you can read HERE. I also broke out my notes from my Chi Running workshop and their Hills and Trails DVD. Lean into the hill, quicker turnover and increased arm swing…Yes I’m going to become a student of hill running! I’ll let you know how it goes.

So tell me – do you find hill running easy? Is it a regular part of your training?

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Filed Under: ChiRunning, hill work, running coach

6 weeks down, 6 to go

August 14, 2012 by 11 Comments

This past weekend I wrapped up the first 6 weeks of my training plan. Some observations so far?

  • I’m learning to be comfortable with being uncomfortable! With past training, I have been training within my comfort zone — working hard, but within my comfort level. With the plan Coach Bennett has designed for me, I am definitely stretching — running paces I would have written off as being too much.
  • I shouldn’t underestimate the power of sleep. I have been short-changing myself on sleep and it has been showing up in my workouts of late. I blame my late nights on the Olympics and now that we’ve said goodbye to London, I need to start heading to bed much earlier!
  • More attention needs to be paid to what I’m eating, especially post-run. my recovery, especially after long runs and speed work would benefit from paying more attention here.
  • Pro-active self care in the form of foam roller, consistent yoga practice, and massages have helped to keep me injury free. Some tweakiness in my left knee did cause me to miss one run last week, but rest, icing and KT tape seem to be keeping it in check.
  • After discussing my tweaky knee with my coach on our bi-weekly call, he has urged me to do some of the hamstring and ITB strengthening exercises he sent me; so I’ll be doing those exercises at least 3 times a week going forward.

Over the next 6 week phase, it looks like I’ll be replacing the intervals with hill work to get ready for the rolling hills of ZOOMA Cape Cod and increasing my weekly mileage.

How’s your fall race training going? What have you learned so far?

 

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Filed Under: comfort zone, half marathon training, running coach, ZOOMA Cape Cod

My Weekend in Numbers

August 6, 2012 by 9 Comments

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?

 

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Filed Under: by the numbers, coyotes

July Rewind

August 1, 2012 by 12 Comments
Good things for the month:
  • 88 miles – haven’t had this kind of mileage since March!
  • Started working with running coach Bennett Cohen
  • “Yoga for Runners” class
  • Eased in some miles with my new Merrell Pace Gloves

Things I could do without:
    • Heat…Humidity….I promised at the beginning of the summer that I wouldn’t complain, so moving on….

    What’s up for August:

    • Unfortunately, my 12-week yoga class is ending this week. But, I am hooked on the benefits so I’ve promised myself to keep up a consistent practice going forward (probably not the 2hr marathon sessions the class was, but I will do what I can to keep my hammies happy!)
    • I’ll be getting phase 2 of my training plan from Coach Bennett
    • Hill work!
    • Finish Ripped in 30 (review to come!) 
    • Turning 46!

     How did July treat you? Any goals for August?
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      Filed Under: month in review, running coach

      Monday Motivation – Week 5

      July 30, 2012 by 6 Comments

      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 🙂

      Source

      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!

      Happy Monday!

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      Filed Under: attitude adjustment, half marathon training, Monday Motivation, Quotes

      Part coach, part therapist

      July 27, 2012 by 8 Comments

      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?

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      Filed Under: inner critic, running coach

      Adding to the workout mix

      July 24, 2012 by 11 Comments

      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?

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      Filed Under: Jillian Michaels, keeping it interesting, Ripped in 30

      "Where is ZOOMA going next?" Giveaway

      July 23, 2012 by 2 Comments

      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 🙂

      Good Luck!

       

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      Filed Under: giveaways, ZOOMA Cape Cod

      Thursday Thoughts (aka 3 things)

      July 19, 2012 by 7 Comments

      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.

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      Filed Under: 3 things, massage, ZOOMA Cape Cod