Running Cycles

My most recent post about running after the 1/2 marathon spoke about a 6 week running plan, however, what I failed to mention was that during training you should increase your miles as well as do some periods of what is called "tapering" or reducing your number of miles.  Also, most running schedules are for a lot longer than 6 weeks, it was just merely an example if you wanted to see what some of my Saturday's look like.

The reason your running should be on cycles is to help you refrain from injury and change up what your body is doing.  Some of the best places to find advice on running schedules are listed below:

http://www.halhigdon.com/training/  --> this site goes from novice to advance and for many different distance goals

http://www.jeffgalloway.com/training/index.html --> another strong program, however less variance on the distance

Rock and Roll

This past weekend I completed my second 1/2 marathon at the first annual SunTrust Rock & Roll 1/2 marathon in DC.  It was my best time in any race ever!

I had been training for this race with a group of friends and our average longer runs were at the best maybe an 8:45 pace/ mile.  My goal for this race was 1:45 and got in the group with pacers running at that speed.  I felt good, so I pushed on faster around people.  Race day for me is so much fun; there is so much adrenaline and all I want to do is pass the people in front of me, it is super motivating, especially on a nice day like it was this past Saturday.  The route through DC was nice and not as tough as I was expecting. For fuel I did a gu rocktane pre-race and one gu between mile 9 and 10.  These helped me keep up my carbs and balance my electrolytes for more efficient hydration.   I only drink water on the run.

Our training was thorough for this race.  A large group of friends and I always plan out a longer run on Saturdays. For the run we will vary the distance and the terrain so that our training doesn't plateau. Here is an example of a 6 week Saturday training guide:

Saturday 1 = 8 mile mixed flat and hill route
Saturday 2 = 10 mile flat run - try and work your speed here
Saturday 3 = 8 mile hills run
Saturday 4 = 11 mile flat run - this should be a more leisurely run pace
Saturday 5 = 9 mile mixed hill and flat run
Saturday 6 = 8 -10 mile run for speed - goal to do your fastest pace per mile

This is an example of a good schedule for someone that has been running at least 6 miles regularly/ weekly for about 2 months and wants to pick up their training. I will do runs like this on the weekend even when I am not training for a race, just to continue to challenge myself and call me crazy, but I also find it fun.

Post run Bliss = Me + a well deserved shamrock Beer for St Patty's day :)

It's getting Hott out there, so....

Make sure to stay well hydrated.  I know, I bet you thought I was going to quote the old Nelly song and tell you to take off all your clothes, but no, sadly right now I am more interested in staying properly hydrated.

As mentioned in an earlier post of Q&A - I only typically drink water and possibly coffee throughout the day.  I drink between 2 - 3 Liters of water at work alone.  And, YES, I have to pee a lot!  But, I rarely feel dehydrated or get headaches from lack of water, which can be a common problem for people.

As the days get warmed and you are outside more, or your gym is warmer so you sweat more it becomes even more important that you think about proper hydration for your activity level.  I think that pre/ during/ and post hydration are all important. 

What I have found works best for me is to drink a lot of water at work and always keep a water bottle around for when I am thirsty.  It is usually  easy to bring  a water bottle to the gym and put it in the machine, but running outside is not as easy and who wants to be caught wearing water belt?  Just kidding, water belts are great or planned water stops are necessary for any runs longer than an hour.  After a work out you should also think about if you need water or a sports type drink.  For me, my stomach does not always agree with the sugary ones and I will go with non-sugar electrolyte drink, but it is all what works for you.

Here is my water bottle I use at work:

Marine Corps Marathon

I have successfully signed up to begin my journey to complete on of the items from my make it happen list - to run a marathon in 2012. I signed up to run the Marine Corps Marathon, on October 28, 2012! I am super excited and soo looking forward to training and working towards this goal. I will be posting my training schedule on here as soon as I have it completed. I plan to do a lot of my long training runs with running groups/ friends in DC. I am looking forward to meeting other people on this journey as well. I will also becoming up with fun marathon meals to be posted for your enjoyment.

 My first few pieces of advice if you are planing to run a marathon as well: - DO NOT by any means skip one of your long runs:
- Make sure you continue to cross train while you run to reduce your risk of injury
- I suggest yoga, the stairmaster, the elliptical, and any aerobics or low weight training classes that you might like at the gym
 - HYDRATE :)

 Here is a picture of me and my buddies from my first marathon at the 1/2way point

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Refresh, Reset, Reboot…

When all else fails, laughter is the fuel for the soul.  As follow on to yesterday’s somber and serious post about stress relief, I wanted to let you know how my experience went and be a little more playful today.  I am having some personal stress right now and I definitely took my own suggestions to get through the tough parts.  I took a yoga class, drank some tea, spoke to my parents, and vegged-out before bed.  Those things definitely helped clear my mind and be ready for the next day.  Yoga is such a great form of exercise to help you get zen and remove all the toxins and stress that builds up in your body.  The teachers always seem to know what is bothering you that day and just what poses to perform to help you “wring-out” the bad stuff.

I woke up this morning a little more clear and received a lot of love from all my friends. I have great friends and realized in a time in need how amazing each and every one of them is.  Thank you all again to all you that might be reading this. 

For lunch today, I finally had a bit of an appetite back; I went to the Lincoln on Vermont Ave with a co-worker.  If you have never eaten there and you like southern flair food – you should try it.  They have some super yummy and fresh and healthy salads as well as some staple guilty pleasures like mac and cheese and hush puppies.  The portions aren’t too big so there’s no fear of over indulging either.  See my chopped salad with chicken below:

My lunch was also like a therapy session and helped me get a lot of clarity.  I love that you have those people you can connect with and just be talk about anything without fear of judgment.  I was really honest with this person and myself and made me realize quite a few things, now I bet all you nosey nosey people want to know what this is about, but that’s not really the point.  The point is we talked, laughed and got into really good spirits.  In fact, we laughed so much that I am seriously still riding the high at 4PM at my desk from it.