Pickles

Does a dill pickle count as a vegetable serving???

Rest Day

I feel good today. I really like the persistent light soreness in my calves (a "gentle massage" as a yoga instructor once pointed out) and my increased energy level. Today, I've been reading up on dieting, Max Heart rate, and hill running.

So in beginning my 5th week of training. I have these goals in mind:

1. Eat my fruits and veggies (5 servings a day, 3 veggies, 2 fruit)
I don't eat enough servings, and I been snacking on dumb things like Lime tortilla chips and chocolate (not in combination, but at different times)--and I always push the veggies snacks to the wayside. That's gotta stop.

2. Don't avoid the Hills
Especially on my 2 mile runs this week. Start working on my form climbing up and going down. On my "long run" this week (4 miles), take the road with the gentle hills.

3. Watch the Heart Rate
Start off SLOW and let my heart rate guide me. Don't worry if the pace is a 13 or even 14 minute miles, keep your heart rate and 70 - 80% and never exceed 85.

Can't wait until tomorrow

Oh yeah....My sister has a "Feeling" about tonight!

I'm so Mental!!

I love to hike! There is a state park about a 5 minute drive from where I live with lots of beautiful trails. One of the best short hikes is a steep descent to a beautiful, large waterfall.
However, once you enjoy the waterfall, you have to climb back up the trail to get back to your car. When I first started exercising a few years ago, I would have to take at least 5 breaks--because I was just so winded and my calves were SCREAMING! As I got more into shape, the number of breaks decreased until finally I could do the whole thing without a rest.

Today, I can still do the climb without breaks, but boy do I get winded! Now that I have the Garmin, I am meaning to do the climb and see where my max heart rate is--and then compare the climbs over a period of time.

Anyways...back to the mental part. When I'm climbing up, I really don't have any desire to take a break no matter my physical discomfort. However, when I'm running, I will think of a thousand reasons why I should walk.

The funny part is sometimes when I'm running I imagine that I'm hiking instead and then do a body check. My discomfort level is never anywhere near where it is when I'm hiking--yet my "mind" is pleading for a walk. Is it boredom? or something else? I don't really understand it...

My Marathon Running Partner

Well part of her. We are all patiently awaiting for her son to want to excape from his warm, watery balloon and join the world. He seems quite resistant at the moment.



Yeah, I know we only have 27 weeks to go and we definately have no goals other than starting, and finishing in time for a medal (a confirmed 8 hours). She's very ambitious...and in great shape.

Today is BEA-U-TI-FUL!!! Sunny and warm all around. Still have this darn naggy cough, so just a gentle run/walk for me. Kept my heart rate up to 65 - 85% though.

Beautiful, Sunny, Rest Day

I don't know how many people have heard about the horrible plight of us folks in Northern California, but it has literally rained 40 of the last 32 days. Ok, I'm stretching it a bit, but I do think we had 3 non-rain days in March and 1 non-rain day in April so far.

I've been training in Seattle!!! So today, I wake up to GLORIOUS SUN. Not a cloud in the sky. The absolute perfect day to run. My body is ACHING to go out and run--demanding it. But it's my REST day! So, I can't run and try out my new running shoes, garmin, and enjoy nature. To make things even worse, I'm on vacation today! I guess I can clean my bedroom (boring), go grocery shopping (pooh), clean out the fridge (ug). I can't even enjoy Easter candy, since I won't be working it off.

Maybe I'll just go back to bed.

It's Official! I'm a Turtle!

On Saturday, I did my first "run" with the Garmin 301. I have to admit I am quite smitten by it. Granted, I knew the outing was going to be crappy. I've had this damn cold now for a week now and I'm still hacking like a chronic smoker. I am on a schedule, dammit! I decided to do my 3 miles anyway possible (and by mostly walking).

I barely broke the "slow jog" or turtle for the entire run. GUH...how am I going to even be ready in 27 weeks?? When is this cough ever going to end??

Bowling, Babies, no babies, and Marathons

My little sister was the one that first put the thought in my head about running this marathon. It was a simple email with just one word: "maybe?" and a link to the Nike Women's Marathon. I had already resumed running for a couple of months and had just gotten up to a paltry 2 mile run fairly comfortably. Of course, without hesistation, we both signed up for it the same day.

Problem is she's pregnant.

She figures she can pop the boy out, recover for 5 weeks and hit the road. Mind you, we have no real goals for this race, other than starting and finishing it to get a medal (which I think has to be done within 6 1/2 or 8 hours, depending on what site you read). While I'm doing the novice "running plan", I'm sure the actual marathon will be more of a run/walk, or even walk/run endeavor. So what does this have to do with bowling?

The sooner this baby is out, the sooner my sister can recover and start training. This is besides the fact that she's HUGE, uncomfortable, and suffering from false labors almost every day. I'll be helping her in during her labor (an unofficial doula, I like to think of it) and it's hard to be put on alert and then have my hopes dashed almost daily. I heard from a friend that her friend (it's always how that starts) went bowling and then promptly went into labor. Something about the movement.....So our master plan was to go bowling, have a spicy dinner, and then top it all with a long walk. If she's ready, then this should work, right??

We executed the plan perfectly. Anyone who hasn't yet seen a near term pregnant woman bowl is really missing something! The spicy chinese was excellent, the walk long and pleasant. I stayed there for about an hour after the walk, trying not to hover and say "well, well?" at every sigh. The only pain she felt was a mild pain in her elbow..She assured me to go home, get ready for bed...or get into bed and she's sure to call.

Well, it's 7:53 the next morning and no call. Best laid plans.....

Best laid plans

Been sick this past week with a cold and gawd awful cough. I've really limited my runs to mostly a gentle waddle and walk. I do hope this cough goes away soon. I don't want to lose my will to train.

I did buy a new pair of running shoes and a Garmin Forerunner GPS running watch. I hope to be able to acurately log the country miles I run without worry about driving around them. I tried it out yesterday and it seemed pretty cool, although I discovered I can't walk a very fast mile.

The Training Plan

I've decided to adopt Hal Higdon's 30 week marathon training program--I've got 29 weeks to go so I started on week 2. I have already been running around 10 miles per week for a paltry 2 weeks before doing this.

I was a frequent runner about 4 years ago--I dropped about 25 pounds primarily through running and lite dieting. About 2 years ago I stopped. I mean stopped. No tapering...Nada. I went from one who ran 6 days a week habitually, to nothing. Looking back, I think this coincided with my husband's deep crash into depression (another story for another time dear reader).

What I'll think I'll do is have a weekly post of my weeks summary (d'uh), but may post along the week if any running/training related stuff comes up.

Why did I start again? I'll put that in my next post.

Life is Nutty

I don't think life gets any easier as you get older. I'm pushing 40 and I'm still fall into my old habits on an almost daily basis. I'll reveal more about myself as I go on, but I guess what I'll say now is I'm in transition in many ways. I'm separated from my husband, seriously training for my first marathon (oct 22nd), and trying do a good deed almost everyday. The purpose of this blog is to log my marathon training and possibly its completion; to help flesh out the emotions that go through a loss of a relationship, and to just generally use this as a sounding board for my thoughts, etc. I will probably post stuff here I may be reluctant to even say to a good friend. That's the beauty of being anonymous.