January recap and February plan

So I wish that I could emerge from my long blogging absence to report intense training and amazing progress with my running. Unfortunately, the running stats don't say much. In the month of January, when I thought that I would be reaching some higher mileage totals, I cut out a lot of long runs and worked more on total body fitness with the Wii Active Personal Trainer. So in January, I only ran 35 miles when I expected to run almost twice that much.

The good news is that I did exercise. About twice a week, in between and along with short runs, I did the Wii Active Personal Trainer workouts. And you know what? It has been getting me into better shape than years of running has. Look at this picture of how my pants are now fitting:


These are pants that I bought for work in August. The style was a good fit, so I bought a lot of different colors in that style - about $200 worth - and now, after a couple of weeks of these personal trainer workouts, they're all a few inches too big. If I get more serious and complete 3 or 4 workouts in a week (4 is recommended) and start watching what I eat, 2011 could finally be the year that I could be able to wear a bikini without fear of flab.

But what about running? I know for a fact that my body will not respond well to exercise without a lot of rest, and I can't increase my mileage and do the workouts with enough rest in between.

So... I'm not going to increase my mileage right now. That means that I might not be on track to run a marathon this year, but it could be good for me. I think that I'm benefiting a lot from exercising so many muscle groups. Maybe I'm building hip strength and when I do go back to focusing more on running, that nagging hip/IT band pain I developed just before the half-marathon last year won't be an issue. It also can't hurt to get rid of all of that pudge. Stronger muscles having less fat to lug around has to equal increased speed, right? And I really want to finally have a flat belly.

So the plan is to do the Wii workouts 3 times a week and run between 1 and 2 miles before or after each workout. Then a long run every Sunday, if possible. If a run is not possible on Sunday (and lately it's not, thanks to the weather making roads and sidewalks icy and very narrow), then do another Wii workout.

So that's it. And I'll try not to disappear from here again.

What would it take?

I have a problem. I've never logged more than 20 miles in one week. I keep getting injured or turned off by bad weather conditions, and so I haven't given myself the opportunity to improve. Just this week I stopped running because I've had some pain in my hip/iliotibial band/knee/lower leg. And today I sat down and wondered to myself "what would it take for me to run a marathon?" At this point, it seems almost impossible.

I'd like to try and do it, though. It might not be for a very long time, but completing a marathon is high on my list of things to do. And to get there, I need to gradually build a base and maintain it. So my long-term goal is to slowly work my way up to 20 miles per week and maintain it. Then I can evaluate whether or not I can handle a marathon.

My first step now is to buy new shoes. The second step is to get out and use them.

"We ran the race, the race was won by running slowly"

And apparently the theme of this week's posts is Jethro Tull lyrics that mention running.

There's actually a lot to say about running slowly in order to achieve a goal. For me, I'm going to take my time training month by month to improve my 5K time, and then hopefully run another half marathon in the fall.

Here's my race schedule for the foreseeable future:


June 25th: Summer Solstice 5mi Trail Run
I just sent the registration in for this race, and I'm getting more and more excited about it. It will be on a mix of single track and rail trails in a local state park.


July 14: XC Series 5K
This is just a maybe. If I really feel the need to race, I'll try out this 5K, which is part of a series of races every Wednesday all summer long.

July 24: Ole Towne Festival 5K
This is a race I've never run before, but my co-worker's husband will be running in it, too, so they'll both be there. Not only does it look like a nice annual event, but there will be extra company both on the course and at the finish line.

August 5: Christmas in August 5K
This isn't the easiest course, but I've PRed every time I've run it, so it's time to give it another try!

September 18: 5K Spirit Run
This run is held at my former high school, so I really want to do my best. The course is hilly, and there are a lot of very speedy people running it, so it will be a challenge, but I definitely want my return to the track there to be fulfilling (if not gloriously triumphant).

September 25: Fall Foliage 5K
This run is held in the town where I work. I walk around town during my lunch breaks and run there in the winter. Now it's time to race there, too!

October 10: Hot Chili Challenge 8mi Trail Run
This is held along the same trails as the Summer Solstice run and will definitely be a lot cooler than the summer run. And there's chili afterward. Yum.

November 7: Thunder Run Trail Half-Marathon
I think that I'm going to try another half-marathon! This is also held along the same trails as the Summer Solstice run. I plan on keeping my long runs between 8 and 10 miles all summer and fall, so I should be ready for the distance. I just have to get out on more technical trails.

November ?: A Turkey Trot
What is Thanksgiving without a turkey trot?

December ?: Beach Blast 5K
This is the race where you can get your registration refunded if you run in a swim suit. I will not be one of the bathing beauties, but I am looking forward to running this race again.

February stats

Happy March!

I tallied up my miles for February, and here's what it comes to:

Running: 42.5
Cycling 25.5

I will continue to gradually increase my mileage as per my "let's-run-a-half-marathon-without-getting-injured training plan", and I'm happy with how it's coming along. I think that I'll avoid burnout and injury and still be ready to do the distance.

This past Sunday I had an 8-mile long run, which I did on the road, since the trail is snow-covered. The 7-miler the week before caused a few twinges and annoyances, so I was a little worried, but no need - it was one of those runs where everything goes right and you feel amazing. I started smiling at mile 2 and didn't stop.

This week is a mileage cut-back. I'm scheduled for 2 miles today, but I think that I'm going to adjust that and do some cycling on the bike trainer, walking on the trail, and stretching instead.

Here's to another great month of training!

Ever on.

New goals

Since last winter, I had the goal of speeding up my 5K pace to an average of 8 minutes per mile. I came very close with my last 5K, which had an average of 8:07 per mile. (That was actually my fastest mile time in high school, so I'm happy to see that I'm in better shape now than I was then.)

I'm confident that if I had been able to continue running throughout August and September, I would have been able to reach the 8-minute mark. That didn't happen, though, so I'm re-setting that goal for next year. For now, I need the time to rest and recover from whatever is wrong with my shins. If I let myself recover fully, I should be able to slowly get back into running over the winter and build up safely to the half-marathon in May.

I'm not going to think about a plan for reaching the 5K goal pace yet. I think that the half-marathon training will give me the base I need, and then I can work on that elusive goal-pace next summer, or even next fall.

Squelchy run

Miles: 3

The rain kept the support staff and me from taking the mountain bikes out yesterday, but today was bright and sunny, so I went for a 3-mile run.

The trail was nice and squishy from yesterday's rain. It was either deep, black mud that sucks your sneaker down and makes squelchy noises, or slippery, slimy-leaf-covered mud that you could slip on if you weren't paying attention. Once I almost landed on my butt, and I was very glad that I didn't, because even the towel I brought to protect my car upholstery probably wouldn't have done its job.

I didn't have any shin pain, which is a good sign, although I've noticed that they feel a little sore when I walk around wearing heels (which is all the time at work). I know that wearing heels isn't good for your feet/legs and it will be better for me to use flats instead. I wouldn't be surprised if my constant high-heel wearing is a major factor contributing to the shin splints.

After today's run, I've been trying to devise a way to ease back into running without overtaining. I'm thinking of starting at 9 or 10 miles this week, keeping the mileage the same for 2 weeks, and then only increasing by a half mile every other week. That's really easing into it. It's probably not enough training for me to reach my goal 5K pace by the end of 2009, but it might be a nice, slow, safe way to build a base for a half marathon in the spring.

A look back at June, a coincidence, and a new swim suit

Miles: 4.1
Pace: 9:51
Total miles for today: 4.6

I ran today, after having done a short run on Monday and yesterday, partly because I don't think that I'm logging enough miles. I know that mileage goals must be reached gradually in order to prevent injury, so instead of taking days of full rest in between long and/or hard runs, I'll do an easy mile or two. When I get used to that, I can then increase the distance of the long runs. I'm thinking about this because I looked at my June stats and saw that on days when I was supposed to bike, I didn't do anything (mainly because of rainy weather). In fact, I only biked 5 miles during the entire month of June, and almost every week in May and June, I only ran 3 days a week. Rest is good, but I can probably handle more work, and I think I will need to if I ever want to move beyond the plateau I've reached in the 5K.

My run today was a little hot and humid, but the sun wasn't very strong by the time I ran, so it wasn't bad. I wanted to do a distance that was somewhat substantial because I'll be busy this weekend and might not be able to run that much. It turned out to be just over 4 miles and felt a bit easier than yesterday's run. Yesterday's run was a little more interesting, though. I had the late shift at the reference desk, so I ran in the morning, at around 9:30. It was a short, sweet 2-mile jog on the back roads by my house. On my way home, a car passed me, and I thought that it really looked just like the library director's car, although I knew it couldn't be because he lived about a half-hour away and had no reason to be driving around back roads in the middle of nowhere. When I got into work, there was a party being held for him, because he is retiring and yesterday was his last day. I popped into his office to congratulate him and wish him well, and he asked if it was me that he had driven past that morning. He had been driving from one library branch to another to say goodbye and thank you to the staff, and he happened to take a very scenic route to do so. ("Very scenic" meaning "totally out of the way" - I guess you're entitled to that when you're the boss and it's your last day.) I know I was gross and sweaty, and I just I hope I wasn't also flailing my arms around too much or bouncing ridiculously on my toes, as I have been told I used to do. Oh well. It was interesting. I wonder who I'll come across next in my travels...

Speaking of travels, the next place I'll be running is ... the beach! On Friday morning, my support staff and I will be making our annual trek to his friend's shore house for some 4th of July festivities. We'll stay there until Sunday, so I hope to get a run in at some point during the weekend. Luckily I have a new bathing suit to wear this year. I was feeling woefully inadequate in my last bathing suit, since I lost a lot of weight since I bought it, and the top is too big now. (Some people drown in rip currents -- I would have drowned in my tankini.) I stopped at Kohl's on Sunday and was so happy to find one that I feel completely comfortable in. It's somewhat sporty (Nike Swimwear) but also very cute and modest, too.


If I'm feeling confident, I also have a new not-so-modest suit, but the few inches of pudge that won't budge off my belly might prevent me from breaking it out this weekend. I feel so much better about my appearance than I did at this time last year, but I don't know if my confidence is that high yet. I bought the suit, which is a step. I'll be sure to get lots of use out of the Nike one, and hopefully I will get some use out of my Nike sneakers as well!