Egg Shell Shuffle 5k

Last weekend Betsie and I woke up early on Saturday morning and made the hour drive to Elk Grove Village to run in the Egg Shell Shuffle.

The atmosphere was great, with music pumping, tents with vendors offering freebies to the runners, the easter bunny and an odd looking chicken there to take photos with, and hundreds of people milling about waiting for the start.

The 1/2 marathon had taken off about 30 minutes before we arrived, and it was a beautiful (perfect) day for a run with sunshine, temps in the high 40’s at starting time, and a high temp around 56 degrees.

Betsie and I found our way about 3/4 of the way to the back of the pack and when the whistle blew, started the trek to the start line – it was a slow shuffle to that point. and then the field opened and we were able to run.

We passed quite a few people in that beginning stretch of the race as we worked our way down the first leg of the route, which led out to Busse Lake and a roundabout where we would turn around and run back to the start point before completing the second, shorter leg of the race, which ran down the other path. By the time we had reached the one mile mark, I was feeling it – I actually questioned if I’d be able to make the whole run – and then Nike Plus chimed in from my headset (it’s on my I-Pod) telling me “Congratulations! You have just completed your fastest mile to date.” Glancing at the clock, I realized we’d been running at less than an 11 minute mile pace – now, to ‘real’ runners, that’s slow – but for ME – that’s like the fast lane on the Autobahn! No wonder I was tired! My goal pace is about a 14 minute mile – that pace allows me to feel good about my time, but to finish the entire distance without feeling like I’m going to die!

We started taking walk breaks and continued on and by the time I reached the mile 2 mark, I was feeling pretty good again – we ran most of the third mile at a nice slow pace. While a few of the folks we’d either passed early or started in front of did end up passing us, we passed quite a few more along the route as well and tended to stay within the same group of about 15 runners who all were pacing about the same.

As I crossed the finish line, I had a huge smile on my face – the “official” clock showed a time that was 4 minutes faster than the 5k I did in February – and MY time (based on the chip in my bib) was even better.

Post race we snacked on apples and bananas and then participated in the adult egg hunt – where Betsie won a $20 gift card to Dick Pond Athletics, our favorite running store and one of the sponsors of the race. This was despite being shoved by adults (comeon – she’s a petite 12 year old – show some decency), having an egg removed from her hand, and being stepped on. I got some candy, lol, which promptly was dumped into the kids Easter baskets.

We stopped at Portillos for lunch on the way home and I found that I was not nearly as sore after this race as I have been after the last couple. I’m not sure if my body is getting used to this running thing, if I just stretched better, or if its a combination of both. Betsie, on the other hand, was pretty sore the next day – so I had a good laugh at my limping 12 year old – and she promised to “practice running” more before the next one. We’ll see if she does … must be nice to be in perfect physical condition!

This weekend we are doing the Shamrock Shuffle in Chicago – it will be the longest race to date at 8k (or 4.98 miles). There are, according to Crain’s Chicago Business, 40,000 people running the shuffle this weekend – the same number as the Chicago Marathon. That’s going to be quite a crowd! Based on what I learned last weekend, I have to make sure the excitement and exuberance of the runners in that first stretch of the race don’t get to me – I need to be sure I’m running MY pace, not the pack’s pace – and if I do, I can be almost sure not only to finish well within the allotted time, but to have a run I’m really happy with!

Tri – and Tri Again!

A couple of weeks ago, I did something I never thought it was possible for me to do – notice, I didn’t say not humanly possible – I said not possible for ME! 

 I completed my first triathlon.  Granted, it wasn’t your standard tri – it was the Lifetime Fitness Indoor Tri.  Every spring, Lifetime hosts a series of indoor triathlons in its locations.  The tri consists of a 10 minute swim , a 30 minute bike ride, and a 20 minute run.  Each of those, on its own merit, seemed like something I might be able to pull off – but string them all together with time limits in between (10 minute transition from pool to bike, 5 minutes from bike to run) and it just seemed downright impossible.

 When I first signed up for it, I really thought that it would be a stretch for me to complete it – I had a lot of self-doubt and not much confidence.  But as time went on, I changed my tune from “Am I INSANE???” to “I think I can do this!”. 

 What went into preparing?  Every week I ran three times – twice for 30 minutes and the third time for 3 miles.  Now, remember that when I say “ran”, I mean a combination of running and walking.  I’m working on building my endurance and my speed and if I were just to run, I wouldn’t get very far with either.  I also swam at least twice per week for at least 30 minutes – lap swimming in the pool at the club – and during that time I found that I have the most endurance and seem to best control where my body is (in other words, I’m not crashing into the lane markers) when I backstroke.  As to biking, I did that when I felt like it.  The biking didn’t scare me a bit – I’ve been riding long distances on my bike since I was old enough to take the training wheels off.  While I’ve done a lot less of it recently, it still feels perfectly natural to me to jump on a bike and just GO!  So I didn’t worry about that piece too much at all.  Besides, I live in the Chicago area and its winter – so my only option is a stationery bike and I get bored too easily on those. 

 I arrived at the club, as instructed, 45 minutes prior to my scheduled time of 9am.  Once I checked in, received my “swag” – an “Indoor Tri” visor (very nice!) and a swim cap imprinted with the sherocks tri series logo, I headed to the locker room, attempted to organize my locker in a manner that would make it easy for me to transition, changed into my swimsuit, and headed for the sauna.  From the sauna, I could see the swimmers in the wave prior to mine, and started to relax a bit.  A lot of them didn’t even appear to be swimming laps – they all looked like beginners!  And there was only one person to a lane – my greatest fear at that point was that I’d have to share a lane with another swimmer – something I’d never had to do before.  After warming back up and stretching a bit, I headed over and checked in with the event host.  She pulled out the biggest, fattest sharpie I’ve ever seen and wrote my number “31” on both of my biceps.  I should note – the numbers are still there!  How the heck long does it take permanent marker to come all the way off – I look like I was attacked by a crazy sharpie wielding bar bouncer – but I digress.  As the others from my wave began to arrive, I started to get nervous.  They were all so … athletic looking.  I took a deep breath and reminded myself that I wasn’t here to compete with them (even if THEY were competing with ME), but that I was here to do something for myself.  The minutes ticked by, we entered the pool, and I found myself sharing a lane with a very athletic looking man.  I took the wall and warned him that I’d never shared a lane before, we discussed what strokes we’d be doing, and he said “don’t worry, I got this”.  Okay … not sure what that means, but okay. 

 Soon we were off – and in my exuberance, I learned a lesson that will serve me well next time I compete in the pool.  I went off the wall and I went ALL OUT.  By the end of my first lap, I was breathing hard, and had to remind myself of some advice a friend who’s been down this path gave me – she told me not to sweat the swim, just to get through it and save my energy for the bike and run segments.  So I tried to relax and find my rhythm, all the while keeping myself very conscious of where the wall was so that I was swimming right beside it.

 The ten minutes flew by – ok, that’s a lie – they didn’t “fly”, but they went pretty fast.  I ended up ½ a length short of the goal I’d set for myself, which was a stretch goal, of ¼ mile in 10 minutes.  Time for the transition to biking.

 Here’s where I made my first mistake – next time, I’ll bike in my swimsuit, just adding running shorts, and will wear a sports bra under my suit for support during the run.  This time, knowing I had ten minutes to make the transition, which seemed like a nice, long time, I decided to change out of my suit and into my usual running clothes – but I didn’t try it ahead of time – BIG mistake!  Ladies, you know how your sports bras like to roll on you?  Picture being close to soaking wet and then trying to deal with a sports bra that has rolled while you’re in a hurry.  Not fun.  Also, my running pants were “sticky” due to the wet skin as well, so took longer to put on than normal. I did make the transition, with 2 minutes to spare, but in a situation where time was ticking away, I don’t think I’d do it this way again!

So I ran upstairs to the spin bikes – let me tell you – I HATE spinning!  Not because of the motion, not because of the “sitting still in one place” and not because of any particular feature of the bike save one – the saddle!  OMG, I have never felt so much discomfort EVER!  After doing that for 30 minutes, I was pretty numb – which was better than the painful sensation I had about 12 minutes in – but my own “real” bicycle is much more comfortable and I was very encouraged that I’d be able to manage a mini or sprint level tri after completing the painful ride on the spin cycle – because it wasn’t my legs that were at issue – it was my seat!  I managed to keep a pretty good pace and was happy with the distance recorded – I ended up at about 18 miles over the 30 minutes – now, if I’d been riding a “real” bike down a real trail or road, I don’t know if what I did would have correlated to 18 miles or not, because they used some sort of computer generated thingy to figure that out, but for as little bike training as I did, I thought it went pretty well.  For the record, the spin cycles have a different seat than any of the stationary bikes in the club … none of the bikes I trained on had nearly as uncomfortable a seat as that one, so I tried a number of different things to manage my way through, including standing up to pedal (which is fairly common in a spin class, but apparently freaked out the folks helping with the tri, so I gave up on that strategy).  Eventually I just decided to suck it up and get through it.

Transition 2 – much easier – I had to walk a grand total of about 10 yards from my horrible, awful spin bike to the treadmill.  Because we had 5 whole minutes to accomplish this, I was able to stretch really well and recover some of the feeling I’d lost on the cycle before starting.  Again, following my friend’s advice, I took it a bit easy on the treadmill as I began, and increased my speed after the first quarter mile (she recommended a mile, but since I had only 20 minutes on the treadmill since this wasn’t a normal distance tri, I gauged it by when my legs felt like they were ready to go).  I surprised myself during the run – I was not only able to continue running for the full 20 minutes, but able to carry on a conversation with one of the coordinators as I was doing so during the last few minutes of the run.  I did crank up the speed towards the end, and managed to clock my best distance ever for a 20 minute time frame – and, honestly, if the run had been longer, I’d have been fine.  I really didn’t feel like I wanted to stop at the end of 20 minutes.  That’s a first for me!  Usually, when my prescribed time or distance is up, I’m done.  I think it was the adrenaline and the excitement of the situation that made me want to keep going – I really wasn’t ready for it to be over!

Post race fuel – half a banana and a “juice box” full of coconut water – until after church (yes, I took my bedraggled self directly to church after my tri, lol) when I had a youth ministry meeting where I enjoyed fruit salad and veggie pizza – without guilt!

Lessons learned – my body may not be model-perfect, but it is truly capable of amazing feats – much more than I’ve given myself credit for in the past.  I had such a good time at the indoor tri that I’ve signed up for a mini-tri in August.  That one will be on a real bike – MY bike – not the horrible, dreaded spin cycle.  It will include a 250 yard swim, 10k bike ride (6.2 miles) and a 2 mile run.  Not exactly Olympic distance, but it sounds like the perfect next challenge for me!  Next year, I hope to do a couple of sprint distance triathlons, and have also set a goal to run 2 half-marathons.   I’m not afraid of that challenge (ok, that’s a lie – I’m terrified!  But I know I can do it and I know that even if I finish dead last, there are some who are too afraid to get off of the couch and give it a shot – and I’m WAY ahead of them).

What’s next for me?  My next 5k is this coming Saturday and I run an 8k the following Sunday (no, not the next day – I’m not that crazy …YET).  I’ve found my races for May and will be running a 5 miler and a 10k that month, a 5k, 10k, and 15k in June, a 5k in July leading up to the next tri in August – and still working towards that BIG run in October – the Tower of Terror Ten Mile at Walt Disney World.  I’m on the lookout for a couple more to run in November and December as I work towards my first half-marathon in January of 2014.  

As my runs get bigger, I’m getting smaller.  My weight loss appears to have stalled, and that’s frustrating … but I’ve gone down another size in jeans and will need to have some of my work clothes altered.  On vacation last week, I found that I couldn’t wear three of the pairs of shorts I’d packed – because they were just too big!  And I also discovered that my convertible bra no longer works as a strapless (because it won’t stay up).  So, my strategy appears to be working, even if the scale isn’t cooperating.  I’m ignoring the lie told by my scale (“You’re failing – nothing is happening”) because my clothing and my fitness levels are telling me the truth.   

 

PS  Sorry for the lack of photos here – there was a photographer at the club taking pictures throughout, but even after emailing the club, they haven’t been posted anywhere.  I’m sure I’m not alone in my disappointment over this, but while I don’t have photos, I do have a tremendous sense of accomplishment, a really cool hat – oh, and a teal swim cap that labels me a triathlete!  Love it!

An Open Letter to Personal Trainers

Dear Trainer,

 

I know you have a job to do.  I appreciate your skills and expertise.  In fact, I’ve hired trainers before and I know the tremendous benefit they can provide to your training program, weight loss plan, and overall health and wellness.  However, that said, when there are 8 inches of snow outside, more falling, and I have risked life and limb to get to the gym, motivated myself to hop onto the treadmill, and started my run, interrupting me is the last thing you should do.

 

Looking at me, it is easy to see that I have not always been a runner.  It is also easy to see that running still does not come easily to me.  Hopefully, the determination I feel shows up, too, but plopping my 200+ pound bod up on a treadmill and forcing myself to run for 30 minutes, 3 miles, 5 miles or whatever the goal is for that day is not especially fun.  Racing?  Running outdoors?  ok – still not fun – but at least exciting.  Treadmill=B.O.R.I.N.G.  I don’t do it to impress anyone.  I don’t do it because I love doing it.  I do it because it will eventually help me to meet my goal.

 

So, dear trainer, when your client fails to show up and you are bored, in need of a fee, and wanting to generate new business, I will be much more receptive when you approach me AFTER my run, tell me you noticed how hard I was working, and then strike up a conversation.  Stopping me mid-run so that the treadmill thinks I’m done and cancels out all the stored calorie burn info, the time left in my plan, and my average speed just pisses me off.  Want a new client?  You won’t find one here after that stunt, because if you can’t respect what I’m doing now, how can I expect you to respect my goals, my struggles in reaching those goals, and all the effort I put in to reach them.  

 

Someday, dear trainer, I will be ready to hire a trainer – but it won’t be you, or your two friends, all of whom felt compelled to attempt to interrupt me during my hard fought run yesterday.  You may have been “long” on time, but I was short on it, sneaking in my run between work, school, and family obligations.  Instead, I will seek out a trainer who understands the value of my efforts and the value of my time, not one who sees me as an “easy mark” or a “fast commission”.  

 

Thanks for listening – and next time your client can’t make it out in the snow, please don’t interrupt somebody’s workout.  Instead, wait until they step off of the treadmill, climb down from the stairmaster or the elliptical, or dismount the cycle.  I promise they’ll be far more receptive to you at that time than they will be when you show blatent disregard for their efforts.  

 

Sincerely,

 

A Fat Girl Who Runs

Tower of Terror – not as scary as I thought

Training has been going better and better. Yesterday, I raced a guy in the pool, and I won! Granted, he didn’t know I was racing him, but I was … and while I didn’t stick my tongue out at him afterwards and chant “nah nah nah nah nah nah”, I did it in my head …

The guy was one of those obnoxious swimmers – the kind that flails around and splashes like crazy – you’d think he was drowning if the forward motion didn’t clue you in differently. And since I was swimming the backstroke in the lane next to him, I was treated to being splashed in the face on numerous occasions – so the last time he and I were at the wall at the same time I decided I’d had enough and that I was not only going to beat him to the opposite wall, I was going to swim out of range of his obnoxious splashing! I beat him by 1/4 length! If you saw my last post, you’ll know what a big deal this was for me – I’m usually the slowest swimmer in the pool.

The running is also going very well. I’m using Jeff Galloway’s training plans. His website is here: http://www.jeffgalloway.com and you can also find some of his training plans on http://www.rundisney.com. Using his methods have really helped me to improve my speed and my endurance – I’m now moving at an average speed of 4.8mph – and if you ask any of my poor friends who have attempted to “run” with me in the last couple of years, they’ll tell you what an improvement that is! (they could walk next to me while I did what I called running) I need to be able to sustain a speed of 3.8 mph throughout the entire 10 miles of the Tower of Terror Ten Mile run this October 4 (for which I am now registered!) – and while I was formerly worried about that, I’m now thinking I can improve my speed even a little bit more and that maintaining an average of 4.5mph is what I’d like to shoot for.

It’s time to start working on stretching out my distance, as the length I’ve become very comfortable with is the 5k – and that’s only about a third of the distance we’ll be running in October. So here’s the plan:

March 10 – triathlon (no, it really doesn’t do anything for distance, but is helping me with endurance)

March 30 – Egg Shell Shuffle 5k (I’d post a link, but its sold out) … yes, another 5k, but this one is just for fun.

April 7 – Shamrock Shuffle 8k (www.shamrockshuffle.com) – this one pushes me up a bit in the mileage to 4.97 miles – roughly half the distance of the 10 mile run. And since its 6 months ahead, it should give me a fairly decent gauge on how my speed will hold up.

May 11 – Bridge to Bridge 10k (www.bridgetobridgerace.org) – pushing the distance yet again with a 10 k run … 6.2 miles

June 9 – Route 66 10k – this one is just for fun as well … (route6610k.metromilers.com) plus its good training for the next weekend

June 15 – Biggest loser 15k (www.biggestloserrunwalk.com). This run will be my best approximation of a ten miler – total 9.3 miles — so its the one I’m focused on training for right now. It also will give me the ability to adjust my training plan with just over 3 months before my “big race” in October.

Frankly, when I first decided I was going to sign up for the ten mile run, I argued with myself and really thought I might have a screw loose. Now, though, its become a great motivation to keep working towards the goal of getting into better shape and dropping the extra weight I’ve been carrying around. I’m starting to reap the benefits of the training – I feel stronger, have more stamina, and while the weight isn’t coming off as fast as I’d like it to, I’m back into clothes I haven’t worn in quite some time – my newer things are too big. It’s working. So am I – and speaking of work, I guess I’d better head back to it.

This weekend I’m upping the distance to 3.5 miles, following the protocol of trying to increase by about 10% … and I set a new goal for myself as well. By the end of the year, between biking running and swimming, I want to hit 1000 miles. How cool would that be???

New Training Plan –

It’s working! I started a new training plan and it’s really starting to pay off. I’m now using Jeff Galloway’s plan for ‘beginning’ runners. Now, I’ve been running for about a year, but I’ve been so painfully slow that when I signed up for Disney’s Tower of Terror run this October, it wasn’t only the endurance I had to worry about. It was speed, too. You see, that race requires a 16 minute mile as a minimum. It doesn’t sound hard, but when you realize that I haven’t really been able to break that 18 minute mark on a 5k yet, well … it was a little overwhelming to think about. That said, once I started using the Galloway plan, things started to fall into place.

The way it works is different from the walk-to-5k or couch-to-5k plans, and at first, I was skeptical. Rather than running “x” number of minutes and then walking “x” minutes, the running splits are shorter with more frequent walk breaks. I started with 10/50 (run ten seconds, walk 50) and immediately saw my first PR for distance covered in 30 minutes go from 1.7 miles to 2.4 miles. WOW! That’s huge. As I increase the run times, I can feel my endurance rising, and my speed on the 5k that I’ll be running on March 30 should be well beneath the required 16 minutes per mile needed in October.

Betsie and I are also signed up for the Shamrock Shuffle 8k in Chicago the first weekend in April, and that run will give me a real idea of how my endurance is progressing. We’re planning our May and June races now – already have signed up for the “Biggest Loser 15k” in June and are now considering a 10k the weekend prior – we have to train anyway, and she wants the “swag bag” they are offering as a gift for a downstate race. (hey, whatever it takes to keep her motivated, because she is a FANTASTIC coach – always encouraging – faster than me, so I have to work to keep up with her a little bit, but empathetic enough not to care that her mom is slowing her down – and just a lot of FUN to run with.) My thought is that we have to train anyway … may as well get another finisher’s medal on the wall while we do it.

Uh oh … I’m sounding addicted …

When will I feel like an athlete?

Swimming is kicking my butt. I go with the best of intentions … change into my swimsuit, tuck away my hair and head to the pool. I’m even kind of excited for the first lap. But then I start to notice the slowness of my strokes compared to the “real” swimmers in the adjacent lanes. They’re sleek, fast, and don’t seem to run out of breath or energy. I, on the other hand, alternate between back stroke and front crawl, use the kickboard to complete some of my laps, and when doing a “real” stroke, like the front crawl or breaststroke, find myself out of breath and needing a break after completing a full length.

My goal, each time, is to swim for a minimum of 30 minutes. I have managed to do that each time. However, I have hoped to be able to get to 3/4 of a mile in that time before my triathlon on 3/10 – and that, I’m afraid, is not going to happen.

No, I don’t feel like an athlete, but I want to. So I keep on swimming (just like Dory), even if MY swimming doesn’t look like that of my pool companions. Because with each stroke, I get stronger, more capable, and my body responds. I swim not because I have to, but because I want to. One day, I will meet my goal of 3/4 of a mile in that time. For now, my 1/3 mile will have to do – and in the meantime, Dory and I will “just keep swimming”.

First 5k down! On to the tri

I finished my first 5k of the year last Sunday. It was a tough week. I worked out both Monday and Tuesday, but my oldest daughter went in for surgery on Wednesday, and was in the hospital until just after the run on Sunday. Thankfully, she is fine, but my workout schedule, nutrition plan, and overall energy level took a HUGE hit. I have so much respect and empathy for parents who deal with chronically ill children – I honestly was more exhausted, emotionally wrecked, and overwhelmed last week I can’t even begin to describe it.

That said, my wonderful husband took over for me on Saturday night with hospital duty so that I could sleep at home and still do my planned 5k on Sunday. Oh, did I mention, it snowed??? And it was really slick, too – so with the lack of training, the snow, the cold (it was really cold), and the overall stress and energy depletion of the week, I was seriously questioning my decision to run. My solution was to do the 5k, but to walk – as fast as I could – the whole time. That way I wouldn’t risk injuring myself at a time when I still need to be fully present to take care of my daughter.

Amazingly, I finished the 5k more than 2 minutes faster than I did last year – and last year I switched off between running and walking. My 12 year old did it with me, and was a fantastic coach, encouraging me, reminding me to breathe, making me laugh, and just being a great training partner. She had pulled a muscle in gymnastics, so didn’t feel like she could run, either, this time, so thankfully I wasn’t holding her back too much –

All that said, my commitment to myself is paying off. I’m down 7.5 pounds since the beginning of the year, have a 5k under my belt already (medal on the wall!) and am working on training for the tri in March. Today will be my first day back in the gym and while I’m not sure I’ll have time to do all 3 disciplines, I plan to run and bike at a minimum.

Another upside/downside? My 2 brand new pairs of blue jeans – bought in early December – both too big. This is good and bad – bad because they were really new – not from Goodwill (I treated myself) and I really liked them. Bad because I don’t really have another pair that fits well and looks nice right now – bad because now I have to haul my butt to Goodwill and seek out a pair that will suffice.

Good because – well, geez – why isn’t it good. I’m thrilled that they’re too big. Really, I am – I just wish my “next size down” jeans fit better – but this will come in time … and while I’m looking for new jeans, I guess I have to find (gasping in horror) a swimsuit that I can train in as well – because I’m finding that my swimsuits are also too big (Woot!) – but the idea of shopping for a new one is absolutely horrifying.

Anyway – more training updates coming later in the week. Get out there and enjoy whatever sunshine comes your way. Even that cold, brisk, February air is good for your soul!

Adding a discipline (or 2)

I’ve been focusing largely on my running over the past year. However, throughout my whole life, I’ve been an avid bike rider. Back before I had my driver’s license (yes, that was a VERY long time ago) I used my bike to get everywhere – even biking to work on the other side of Des Moines – a 25 mile per day round trip ride – babysitting 3 active boys in between. Riding has always been a true joy for me. Something else I’ve always loved is the water … whether sitting by the ocean watching the waves roll in, water skiing, swimming, or even just taking a nice long bath – water soothes my soul.

Beginning tomorrow, it won’t be quite so “soothing”. Tomorrow, I start pool training. You see, I’ve gone and done it – signed up for my first triathlon. I might be crazy – but one thing I hate is getting bored. Running on a treadmill – that’s boring. And I live in Chicago – where its cold. And tomorrow – there’s going to be an ice storm. You can’t run outside in an ice storm – or maybe you CAN, but I’m not THAT crazy. Also, did I mention, its cold? So to combat my boredom and keep me on track, I’m adding to the biking and running I was already doing and starting to train in the pool.

A business associate of mine has been a HUGE inspiration for me. I’ve watched as she went from out of shape (like I am now) and overweight to becoming a world class athelete (she might disagree with that description, but once you’ve been featured in a fitness magazine … well, you get my point). She’s amazing. And when I grow up, I want to be just like her. Her best advice – don’t stress myself on the swim, focus on my speed on the bike, and run just like I’d do any 5 or 10k. So, that’s the advice I’ll follow. Tomorrow, I plan to spend 15-20 minutes in the pool, finding my stroke.

I thought about doing a tri a few years back – and I got to the point where I could swim a mile and a half in the pool – then I hit a little wall – I couldn’t run. At all. No matter what I did. Now that I feel I have that beast slightly tamed – it doesn’t walk well on a leash yet, but at least the collar is on – I have to go back and start with the swim training again. I’m hoping it won’t be too daunting. To train, I’ll follow the advice of my role model AND Lifetime Fitness’ indoor tri training plan – I’m using their indoor tri as my “jumping off point” to get a feel for tris – March 10 is the date – and I’ll be sharing details about my first “real” tri once that date has passed.

Oh, there’s an ice storm coming tomorrow – but I don’t plan to let THAT stop me – but I will sit in the hot tub and watch the sleet come down.

MyFitnessPal – Free Weight Loss Tools

Training, Training, Training

 

 

 

 

(photo credit to http://www.RunDisney.com)

I have NOT felt like working out the past several days.  Its cold outside – I mean freeze your breath so that it snows when you breathe out cold.  COLD!  I think the high temperature here today was 6 degrees – and the windchill was below zero.  On days like this, I want to cuddle up under a blanket with my puppy and read a good book while I sip a warm Carmel Brulee latte. 

 

Sadly, Starbucks has retired the Carmel Brulee latte until next Christmas, my “puppy” now weighs 85 pounds and doesn’t like to cuddle, and crawling under a blanket to read is not going to get me ready for that 10 mile run.  What WILL get me ready?  Practice – so that’s what I did.  I hauled myself to the fitness center and did a 5k on the treadmill. 

 

The good news?  I shaved 3 minutes off the time I got when I did my first ever 5k last year.  The bad news – I’m not where I want to be yet – I still need to lose another 3 minutes to hit the goal I set for myself for the first 5k of the year – which is in less than 2 weeks.  Is it possible?  Yes – just not probable.  But that’s ok, because I’m still better off than I was a year ago, way better off than if I’d stayed under a blanket reading a book, and by the end of the year, I will have achieved all my goals and will be in the best shape of my life! 

 

I’ve now registered for almost all my “races” (I’m racing myself, not anyone else who’s running – although if I WAS racing them, they’d be laughing at me the same way I used to laugh at boys who pulled up next to me in their Pacers back when I had a 1970 Chevelle with a 450 and rev their engines – I’m not much of a threat, in other words).  in addition to the regular races, I signed up for Lifetime Fitness’s indoor triathalon.  Within 6 weeks I can officially call myself a triathelete.  Another bucket list goal checked off – sort of.  I’d really like to do a “real” tri – outdoors, but this is a start. 

 

Here’s the schedule (tentative races ** – those I have yet to sign up for, but fully intend to – ):

 

Feb 3- Super Bowl Shuffle 5k

March 10 – Lifetime Fitness Indoor Tri

March 30 – Egg Shell Shuffle 5k

April 7 – Shamrock Shuffle 8k

May 5 – Cinco de Miler (5 mile run) **

June 15 – Biggest Loser 15k (pace trial for the 10 miler – this should give me a really good feel for how I’ll do in September and how much I need to improve my pace)

July – “Bix” – 7 mile run **

August – TBD

September – TBD

October – Tower of Terror Ten Miler (GOAL – SCORE – YAY ME!)

 

The Biggest Loser race is in Rockford, IL, but I believe there are a few others around the country as well.  It’s kind of a no-pressure run and they also offer 5k, 10k, and a half marathon.  I’m trying to talk my family into running that with me, but only my baby is brave enough right now.  We’ll see – maybe I’ll get lucky and a couple more will join in. 

 

In the meantime, I’ll keep working the 3.1 mile runs – planning on 2 more this week and at least 2 next week.  Thursday, Saturday, Monday, and Wednesday – on Wednesday I may go 5 miles just to push a bit, then a 2 mile run on Friday and the 5k on Feb 3.  Here goes nothin’!

Do the Super Bowl Shuffle — no, not that one!

Update on my training plan –

First off, my new shoes are AMAZING! Yay Dick Pond Athletics for finding me a great fit. Until today, I had no shin splints, no blisters, no ill effects from “breaking in” the new shoes. I have not been working out like I should have, though. Other things got in the way, and I missed six days in a row. Thus, I started having the beginnings of shin splints tonight … but slowed down and things seem to be ok.

Tonight’s workout, though, was discouraging. I couldn’t keep my speed where I wanted it to be, was trying to stretch out my running time and ended up having to scale that back too. I am working on a walk-run pattern as I develop endurance. My typical pattern is to lengthen my run time, shorten my walk time and hold that same pattern for 2 weeks. During the first week, I go slower –week 2 of the pattern, I increase my walking speed by .2 to .3 mph and my running speed by .5mph. My goal is to become comfortable running at a 12 minute mile pace over 30 minutes total.

As to the Super Bowl Shuffle …

No – not that one! Today I realized that my first 5k is a little less than 3 weeks away. My hope was to improve my speed over the same 5k from last year by about 8 minutes. I’m not sure that’s going to happen, and that’s immensely frustrating – but its my own fault for missing workouts. Now I have to figure out a plan to continue training and add in a few workouts to try to get to that point. I guess if I can even improve my speed for this 5k by 5 minutes, I’ll be somewhat satisfied, but it wasn’t my original goal.

On the upside, I’m down 1.5 pounds over the last two weeks – so the nutrition plan, coupled with the training, is working. Slowly, but it is working. The scale was frustrating me last week, and it still isn’t moving as fast as I’d like, but my clothes are fitting looser, and that’s a bonus. Speaking of clothes, I indulged myself by picking up some new running pants, dry-fit shirts, and a couple of running jackets that I can layer under a sweatshirt and a fleece I have, so no matter what the temperature turns out to be on February 3, I should be comfortable and ready to run. Last year the temperature was close to 50 degrees – I can’t possibly be that lucky this year, so planning ahead. I found everything at WalMart on a day when I was just running in to grab food for my daughter’s guinea pig – right in front of me as I dashed past (skidding to a stop) was a huge rack of brightly colored workout gear … wait for it … ON SALE! So now, in addition to feeling good when I work out, I can look better, too!

I’ll be adding in more strength training to balance my cardio and nutrition plan beginning tomorrow. I’ve also joined Bill Phillips’ Transformation Challenge hoping to win $10,000 – or at the very least to stay very much on track over the next 12 weeks. My stated goal is a 20 pound weight loss and to be prepared to run my March 5k at an average minimum pace of 5mph. Wish me luck!