Trying to Get Back to Respectable

I have a feeling this will be a good year. 

Here are my goals for the year:
1.) Need to lose weight.  Need to be 146 lbs. (Optimal Race Weight)
2.) Run 3 Half Marathon's and 4 5k's.
3.) PR in a Half Marathon. (Shooting for a 1:30 in at least one of them)
4.) Stretch every day.
5.) Run 1000 Miles over the course of the year.
6.) Stay injury free.
7.) Blog runs more frequently
8.) Have one week of 60 miles running

All of this seems absolutely reasonable but may be a little bit of a stretch.
 

Boy was it cold out there.  The car said 4 degrees and the bank said 9.  Either way, it was very cold outside.  I ran the 5.5 miles in about 8:32 pace which was pretty good considering the roads were slippery and covered in packed snow.  I kept my pace pretty much around 8:20 for most of the run but the first mile was about an 8:53 which makes it hard to get to regular pace.  I am very pleased with the run, don't get me wrong, it was a fantastic run.  I fully understand, I need to get my nutrition under control.  If I don't get it under control, I won't get to a great race weight.  I see what I need to do and once I get back on a normal schedule, I will be back to better nutrition.  I am trying to get the nutrition to a decent degree while I am on paternity leave, but things are comfortable enough now, and I don't want to upset the apple cart too much. 

Not to bad of a start to 2014.  I think we are on the right path, I need to stretch a little more.  The training plan will have stretching in it and also some strength.  That will help keep injuries away.  I feel little aches and pains now but the moderate stretching that I am doing is keeping everything at bay.

Started the half marathon program today, which is why I gave myself off yesterday.  It was only 3 miles and then a strength workout.  I did make sure I got my PM stretching in today too.  The only thing I may have missed was my AM stretching but I think I did some of that (not a complete full stretch).  It is good to feel like I am having real workouts.  I like being able to struggle up the stairs, it means I am working hard.  Makes me feel like I was training for something again.

6xHills.  I ran 200 meter hills on the treadmill.  I did a half mile warmup, then did 200 meters up a grade 6 on the treadmill and then 200 meters on flat.  I was going at about 8:30-8:45 pace for each of the hill pieces, but slowed it down to about 9 minute per mile pace. 

So here is the deal, today was a tempo run and it was supposed to be 40 minutes long.  I ended up doing a 33 minute tempo run.  Part of it was due to lack of energy to finish and I did not want to hurt myselt, as I could feel my calf tighten during the speed portion but the other part was I felt like I would have used the other 7 minutes as a slow pace.  The training guide I am using said 10 minutes slow, 20 minutes faster with a peak coming in the middle and then 10 minutes cool down.  Granted this was my first tempo run in a long time and at speeds I have not used in a long time, however, these are the paces I need to have for the correct time in the half.  I started the speed part at 8 minutes per mile and over 10 minutes reached a high of 6:30 per mile.  Then at the 10 minute mark, I needed to slow down, I had nothing left in the tank and the calf was bothering me.  I think part of this is that I have not done these intensities before the other part I think is the fact that I am so far over weight from what I should be. 

This is the other thing that is getting to me.  While I am still not eating 100% all the time, I am eating better and eating less but I am not losing the weight.  My goal was to lose about 5 pounds before the end of this month and I am not moving anywhere,  My exercise has picked up considerably and my eating has been stable to a little less but this has all been to no avail.  Stressful workout results coupled with not losing weight is frustruating.  Starting to think I will need to get involved with a nutrition coach or something to get this weight back down. 

I had 7x400 today, did a half mile warmup and then walked in between repeats.  Felt pretty good, ran the repeats at 6:00 per mile pace.  Not to shabby.

Was supposed to be an easy 3 but the speed work on Tuesday aggravated my hamstring.  I took it easy, iced and didn't stretch to give it some time to heal.  Tomorrow is supposed to be a 45 minute tempo run, we will see how it needs to be modified to keep this from getting out of control.  The hamstring was feeling strong I am not sure why it creeped back in.  Hoping that it is just a couple day issue and it goes away.

So because of the hamstring tweak on Monday, I ended up taking most of the week off.  I wanted to be careful but at least get my long run in.  This was a 90 minute run and I was able to get 11 miles in.  Pretty happy that the hamstring did not bother me too much.  The time on the run needs to come down a little but now it is about getting in the long runs and having a good 90 minutes.  I was able to keep my cadence to about 180 steps per minute for the first 45 minutes of the run, the second half I slowed down and got very sloppy.  This is something that I need to correct over the next 9-10 weeks.  I will be very careful with any speedwork going forward as I need this hamstring to hold up.  It is not in the best shape but I think that I can make it through the program and to the race.

I am starting to consider possibly working with a coach after this race to get someone to help me through the injuries and then on to a program so that I can beat 1:30 in a fall half marathon.  While I self coached myself for a few years, I also have not avoided injuries.  Those have been a real problem and if I can find a way to avoid them for the long term, that would be the best for me.  I know that may not be the best route but it may be a good opportunity to give it a try. 

Hamstring was a little sore today but got through and did some good stretching.

Held off on the hills yesterday so that I could let the hamstring heal a little more.  Today all day, it felt good. I was moving around for most of the day so I thought that was a good guage to see if I should run tonight,  I did and it felt okay.  No real problems tonight.  We will tweak tomorrow night's run to try to keep it within reason but still push myself.  Probably will take off Thursday and Friday before the 5k race on Saturday.

This was supposed to be a 30 minute tempo run.  I made it a modified tempo run.  I ran the first 10 minutes @ 8:34 pace.  Then 5 minutes @ 7:30, the next 5 @ 7:05, the following 5 @ 7:30 and then finished slowly.  This was good to make sure I did not aggrevate my hamstring.  I felt it a little while I was moving quicker but it wasn't more then a small feeling of something being off. 

I may run a small amount tomorrow but need to keep it fresh for the race Saturday morning.  If I keep feeling the way I do today, I think I will hold up for the remainder of this training plan. 

Actively started looking at running coaches.  I think that I will probably go that route.  I can use the extra help.

This was supposed to be an 8 x 400 session.  Since the hamstring went bad last time, I changed it up.  I went for 2 miles and for every other quarter I increased the speed.  Then after the quarter, I lowered it back down to 8:00 per mile pace.  Seemed to work out pretty well.  Didn't get hurt!

Tempo Run Night.   10 minutes slow, 5 @ 7:30, 5 @7:05, 5 @ 7:30, and 5 @8:00, then 10 slow.  Wanted to have a little better third 5 minutes in the tempo part but my body was not feelng it.  Something was off tonight, I think that tomorrow having the day off will help me get on track to end the week well.  I don't think that the crappy weather helped any today.

Had a 90 minute run and the it should have been 3/4 at normal pace and then 1/3 a little faster.  My first 3/4 I would say were slower then what I am planning for my long run days.  The final 1/4 was much faster and in total my average pace was 8:05.  So I was pretty happy having a total average pace lower then what I would normally want but the average was a little lower then what I imagine the program would prescribe.  Overall, I am feeling stonger and things are holding up pretty well.  Need to get that hamstring to 100% but it is doing allright.  I am thinking that I should have a better time in Scranton's half then the fall half.

This was a hill workout.  I did 5 minute warmup, then 1:15 hill then 1:15 normal pace on flat.  I did this 8 times and then cooled down for about 2 minutes.  Hamstring felt good with this kind of run.  Cannot complain today!

Easy run.  No problems, Good day!

Tempo Run tonight:  5 minutes @ 10:00 minute per mile pace
5 @ 8:34
10 @ 7:30
2 @ 7:04
1 @ 6:54
2 @ 7:04
5 @ 7:30
6 @ 8:00
6 @ 8:34
3 @ 9:13

Overall, I felt pretty good.  Surprised after last week's run.  I think that I was in better health this week and I am generally getting stronger.  Need to make sure I stretch tonight and tomorrow so that I can heal up for Saturday's long run.  Overall, I think things are doing okay, little things are to be desired but overall pretty good.

Had to do Sunday's routine today because there is a ton of snow outside and I am not mentally prepared to run 90 minutes on a treadmill. I would rather change my day before trying to run that much on a treadmill.

Another 90 minute run.  Last week was 3/1 pace but this week was supposed to be all the same pace.  I ended up running a run similar to last week than what I should have done.  I felt good through the whole run though so I feel like I am progressing. My minute per mile pace went from 8:05 to 8:04.  I think that is a significant win along with the fact that I ran strong the whole run.  I think that my pace was a little hindered by the crappy weather.  Wish this snow would just go away!  I am so ready for spring.

This was supposed to be a 6x400 but I did 2 miles with speed increasing every other minute and then going back to regular pace.  I don't want to hurt the hamstring any more than it could already be.  No real problems tonight.

Today should be a 30 minute Tempo run.  So I ran 10 minutes slow, then 3 minutes @ 7:30 pace, 1:30 @ 7:04, 1:00 @ 6:49, 1 @ 6:40, 1:30 @ 7:04 and then 3 @ 7:30; all followed by 9 minutes of a slow pace.  This felt pretty good today.  Glad that I took yesterday off.  My body and mind was very tired.  If I ran yesterday, I would have had poor mechanics and probably hurt myself.  I will run tomorrow rather then taking the day off.

Good run and the mantra worked.  I just wanted to have a consistent run. 

7:02.8  7:09.7  8:00.1  7:01.0   7:13.1 7:15.0 

1:41.8 (.25 left on the race)   

Looks consistent to me.  I feel like my times are low enough to have a pretty good half marathon in another 5 or 6 weeks.  I was pleased with the run and felt very good afterwards.  I really think that I am on the right path.  The only thing I think that I have left is to stay "pain" free for the rest of the training.  I bought new shoes today so that should help get me to the next place I need to be!!!!  Good day, good race, and a positive outlook moving forward!

New shoes on this nice Sunday run.  I made sure to get outside considering the weather was fairly acceptable.  The shoes felt pretty good, I would like to see how they do on a long run (next Saturday).  Run felt pretty good, the legs felt strong enough.  I did not run using a watch today which was nice to give me a break from thinking about my times, so I don't know the speed.  Sometimes you just need to do that to give yourself a break!

This run was a 4x800.  In between each, I ran a quarter mile.  The first 800 was 7:24, the second and third 800 was 7:19 and then 800 at 7:04.  It was a nice workout and I don't feel too bad after it.  I was not looking forward to it, but I felt good and hope that I can keep the momentum rolling this week.  Starting to feel sick though so that is really not good, but I will push through and kill it!

This was a tempo run and it should have been for 45 minutes.  However, my calf started acting up so I did it for 40 minutes.  The first 10 minutes were easy, then 10 minutes @ 7:30, 2 minutes @ 7:04, 1 minute @ 6:49, 2 minutes @ 7:04, 5 minutes @ 7:30, 5 minutes @ 8:00 and then 5 slow.  Still trying to get over my 2 day cold and was just not feeling it today but the run went well.  I was pleased, just disappointed with the ending but I am not overly concerned with 5 minutes of cool down.  Just need to make sure that I stretch appropriately over the next few days.

Took Friday off in hopes to heal up the calf pain that I had Wednesday.  Overall it felt okay, it did tweak after about mile 3 but it started to feel okay after that.  This was supposed to be a 1:45 run and I did just that, I was able to do the 3/4 normal pace and then picked it up for the last 1/4 to get an average mile time of 8:04.  Things are sore and not feeling the best.  Trying to ice and stretch it all away.  We are only about a month away from the race, so I am hopeful I will be able to get there and keep it together.  Just need to keep walking on eggshells as I get there.  Not the most glamorous training ever but it is not terrible either.

Was supposed to do 3 x 1600 at race pace, but come on, that was not going to happen with all of the ailments I have been struggling with.  What did I do?  I did 3 miles of quarter mile hills with quarter mile rest in between.  This was not the plan but it was going to give my hamstrings and calves a break, which it did.  I think that as long as I am thoughtful with my workouts and careful, I can make it to the half marathon in April and get a pretty good time.  May struggle after it but should be okay.  Hoping to just keep this going and get a good time then time for maintenance.

Took off yesterday trying to get things to get in order.  Today didn't feel terrible but skipping yesterday meant skipping a tempo run.  I would rather miss a tempo run one time then screw up my training.  1 month from today, I will have completed the Scranton Half Marathon which is very exciting to think about.  Really want to just stay healthy and keep everything in order.  Once this training plan is over, I will take a week or two off to heal so until then, it is all about working hard and training carefully!

This was supposed to be a 1:45 timed run but my feet would not let me finish it.  Good thing I planned on returning my shoes today because if I didn't, I would have started really considering it.  These shoes were not meant for me.  I have enough problems, I don't need shoes to be another one.  I went up to the shoe store and I think that I ended up with a good pair that will work for me.  The fun thing was, the shoes were half the price of the originals and they were having a huge sale so I got a shirt and shorts.  Not a bad end to a day that started off with a poor run.

This was an interesting run.  Used my new shoes and that helped greatly.  Today was supposed to be an easy 3 miles but it turned into something faster.  I don't know why but I felt great and my body held up well.  Which allowed me to run 7:56 per mile pace.  My first mile was kinda slow because I was adjusting to the shoes but after that, everything felt great and I motored on through it.  Not trying to run fast but it all felt good so I cannot complain.

Took it easy tonight but the fun part of the run was I got to run the dog and then run the baby.  It was a good night!  Nice to enjoy a run without having to worry.

30 minute tempo run.  10 minutes slow, 2:30 @ 8mph, 2:00 @ 8.5 mph, 1:00@8.8mph, 2:00 @ 8.5mph, 2:30 @ 8mph, and 10 minutes slow.  Didn't feel terrible.  Very tired afterwards.  Feet felt like they were sliding in the shoes. 

Pretty good run today.  1:10 which means I finished it at 7:36 minute miles.  Not to bad, I hope that I can keep that pace during the half marathon.  I am having some aches and pains which I will need to dull out during the race.  The top of my foot is still hurting and whatever pain in my hip/butt is still there.  I will just keep monitoring my issues and make decisions day to day.