Day 117 general run

R4.mphx2min/W3mphx2, 45 min, 2.4miles

Its official, running the short weekly runs is worse than the long slow runs, and I say that even tho we had a not-so-good long run this past weekend. tried to do the same routine which I have been doing for the past one month and again had the shinsplints after 20 min of the R/W. Its surprising that I dont get these when I am running outside-I hope I havent spoken too soon!!

Havent lost any weight, but have noticed that feel better the days I eat conciously and avoid processed foods- more awake and energetic.

Walk 50 min tomorrow. have to push myself to do free weights, I always miss that part of the plan. Its amazing how I know that I have to do free weights for allaround fitness, and it takes only 15 min 2 times a week, but still I just dont make the effort to be regular with them. Maybe one day something will click and i will do them regularly.

Day 117 - Speed Run

Completed 3 miles at 4.5 m/h - 40 minutes.

Good workout :). Had to stop for 2 mins due to side splits. Continued at 4.5 m/h. Thought of slowing down to 4.2 m/h but the idea of completing the workout quicker and earlier was very enticing, so did not slow down - another aspect of laziness....

No breathlessness, no aches, no pains except for the side splits - even though I think I pushed myself a bit as the last half mile was a tad difficult...all in all, this workout was a surprise and a pleasant one at that :)

8 mile run - I died yesterday

A very very bad run/walk/shuffle.

Started bad, had a weak feeling in my legs. I have written about this before - when my legs are too weak to take even a step - but usually there is a reason for it, I havent eaten since some hours or havent eaten right. But ate right the night before and made it a point to eat a pbj sandwich before the run. Well, started with that feeling and ended with that feeling, the last mile was the worst, just wanted to lie down on the pavement......

NB is insisting that it is because I dont workout during the week. That may be the reason, I dont know....I have told NB that I will not do the runs with her anymore since all I do is slow her down. Yesterday, I am sure she could have run the 8 miles in less than 2 hrs, but I just slowed her down :(

So from next week, either I am going to drop this whole idea which was not my idea in the first place OR I'll do my runs alone...

After the run, made sure I had adequate water and food so that wouldnt get a headache like always. Body was aching and tired, but had to go for car servicing which took 5 hrs. I was so tired at the end of the day. Had a headache which got worse - had to take an ibuprofen :(

Slept for 10 hrs and am as fresh as a daisy :) with no aches whatsoever.

Day 116 Long slow run 8 miles

Ok this is what I wish I could report--We did 8 miles as planned, the weather was amazing and GB and me finished the run with energy to spare.

The reality:
My husband was on call , so I had to choose the route next to the house which I did, a 3.5mile circle which we would do twice and make up the rest with a short circle around the house. What I didnot take into consideration was the hill we would have to climb twice. It had been raining for days before that and I wasnt even sure we would be able to make it.
GB on the other hand had been preparing by buying fanny packs, power bar, powerade and gatorade, getting her clothes ready for the 8 miler, got herself psyched up to run 8 miles, and done all the right things except the most important and that is doing the 2 requisite runs for the week. Monday she had done the 2.8 mile trail with me.
So we started, me not really into it because of the kiddos, i like to have someone in the house with them at all times, she all jazzed up. We reached the first part which was going downhill, which was fine, we walked down, GB trying to make me go faster , skipping all the way. Slowly we started running and as the street curved around the corner GB came to a sudden standstill. Because from there on it is gradually all uphill a distance of 1 mile, up approximately 469 feet( from mapmyrun). Well what goes down has to come up too.
So now we started the run up the hill. Within 2 min we were panting and GB was going"I am going to die and its all your fault". let me just say , it was a slow tortuous climb. I dont know how long we took to finish that distance but finally we came to the flat part and actually the last mile till my house is slightly sloping down so it was easier and we ran almost the whole mile.
Took a break of 10 min during which I ate half a banana and made an egg sandwich for my 13yo. GB drank some Gatorade/water mixture which made her feel more nauseous.
Started on the second leg of the 8miler and this time went down the long hill first so it was good, we managed to run almost the whole mile but again on reaching the short hill , GBs legs and my lungs were giving out. We took a small circle around my house to get up the distance to total of 7.5 miles. Anyway we made it home and both came to the conclusion that this time it was just not fun.
The mistake was to run the hill twice, couldnot be helped because this whole area is hilly, and I honestly thought we would be able to manage it as we had been doing the hill sessions recently.
Looking back our time wasnt so bad- 7.5 miles in 2 hours including 2 hills and we ran quite a bit. I even ran down the second hill which is new for me as I had been walking down the hills so far . I had read about downhill running having a bad effect on the quads and the knees. Surprisingly am not having any knee pain today and actually not much sore after yesterday.
Immediately after the run/walk wasnt feeling too good but on looking back I think we were OK. Its our attitude during the session that we have to work on, and yes, dear GB will have to do those 2 runs during the week to start and finish strong during the long run.

3-4 miles next week, GB will choose a flat course.

Day 113 kids and such

R4.8mphx1min/W3.0mphx1/36 min including warmup and cool down, 2.10 miles.

Ok, so imagine this scenario. Overweight woman climbs on the tmill after trying to avoid it the whole evening. Her kitchen is now twinkling like a x'mas ornament, she has broken her own self imposed rule and helped her kids do their H.W., she has talked to all her friends and even those acquaintances who she knew in 1999, shes hoping her significant other will call and say hes hungry and dinner should be on the table as soon as he enters the house, but he calls and lets her know he will be 40 min late. So now she has no other x'cuse not to get on the tmill. Which she does.

Now imagine said overweight lady trying to do a speed workout which she does once a week. She does not want to do it, but since shes preparing for a marathon 26.2 miles long, no less, she decides to bite the bullet and run fast at a fast speed of 4.8mph...,- dont smirk.

So she gets the tmill to 4.8 mph just for 1 min and at 45 sec when shes ready to drop dead her 6yo starts jumping up and down with three books in her hand." You do your treadmill and I will read these books to you, Ok, Mama?"

'So sweet' she thinks and nods OK because she cant get the "yes"out.

Then it starts, the 6yo reads one page and then holds the book in front of the treadmill for the lady to see and then asks her to describe what she sees. Or she asks her to repeat the last line just to see that her mama is listening to her. 'Are u listening to my book, are you, are you ? No you arent( said in a very whiny tone), Ok then tell me what I just read. This happens everytime the said lady is doing the 4.8 mph interval. Never at the 3mph interval, never.

Have you tried this, running on the tmill at your speediest speed and listening to a 6yo and answering questions like" what does this word say, what does this word mean"And you are trying to squint thru your sweat laden glasses trying to make out the fine print.

Thankfully I( yes said lady is me, if u havent guessed so far) have read Henny Penny one million times so I can say something relevant each time. once that is over she starts off with another book which I have never seen in my life, and the deal is that she will finish reading the books and only then I can get off the tmill. Oh man, I am dead by this time and since I dont want her to undergo the trauma of seeing her mom going to heaven while working out, I decide to stop now.

Moral of the story, never workout with a 6yo in the same room. Stretching is Ok , we do that all the time, yoga asanas and seeing who can stand on one leg for longer etc etc, but no , no tmill ever again.

Rest day tomorrow.

Day 111 - Update on marathon preparation

Have lost 3 pounds, don't think will lose 2 more by saturday for the 8 mile long run. Forgot a couple of days that I am supposed to lose weight - I know, some of you will wonder how that is possible, but ask someone like me and she'll tell you it is :(. So, am a bit disappointed but more than that, thinking of carrying my weight for 8 miles tires me...

Incorporated a good habit in my daily schedule since last week. I try to go for two 10 minute fast walks at my workplace. I don't know whether I'll see any benefits but I am sure it wont do me any harm :). So, for example for today, even though I have put down no workout for today in my excel sheet, I did make it a point to go for my two 10 min walks when the workload was light...

Went on a trail walk with NB yesterday. It's a beautiful winding hilly trail which overlooks a part of the city from where the sunset looks oh! so beautiful. We were discussing our progress (or not) yesterday when NB asked me - Are you sure you did only 8 workouts in Jan? What kind of marathon training is that??... We had a good laugh about it wondering what what you guys must be thinking - What are these girls doing? they say they are going to run a marathon in some months but they hardly train !!! or are they just updating the blog with how they are NOT training for the marathon???

Well, we are trying....actually I am. It has been NB's dream since 1996 that she wanted to run a marathon, she has been walking/running off and on since many years. In 1996 or for that matter till Nov 2007, I hardly knew anything about a marathon nor did I care much about it. Not that I care about it now, but I do get the info spoon fed to me. And ofcourse I do go on the runs with NB to give her company....

Bought the necessary gear for our 8 mile run on saturday - sports bars, drinks and fanny packs - review on saturday.....

Day 111 just plain running

R2min4mph/W2min3mph/45 min.

Just general workout, on the tmill, while watching T.V, had recorded these hour long programs aired on Discovery channel-You on a diet, You staying young and You - the owners manual. Eye-opening programs- show the insides of the overweight body and the weight increasing dietary patterns, to avoid enriched flour, high fructose corn sugars, unsaturated , or was it saturated , fats.

My head was spinning by the end of it, and I was motivated enough to change my eating patterns to check out the book from the library. Went thru all the foods I ate today for the unwanted ingredients- there is nothing which does not have some of those three.
Cereal has whole grain but then the second ingredient on the list is high fructose corn syrup. The breakfast bars all have HFCS, juices , even gatorade, bread, lunch meats, salad dressing, packaged snacks like cookies have all three. Starting with breakfast and ending with dinner, there is nothing you can put inside your body without a trace of that stuff- unless you turn totally vegan.The only good habit I have is that I dont drink soda- regular or diet and i dont smoke. The rest of my diet needs a major major turnaround.
More on this as I read that book.

Also took the Real age test at www. realage.com. Turns out that even tho am chronologically 40 yo, my real age in terms of health etc is 36 years- so that was the only saving grace in all that info I collected.

Yesterday walked a 2.83 mile trail with GB, lots of elevation and 'deflation'?, ending in a hill but we finished that in 50 min and felt good afterwards instead of sore and tired. I was feeling a bit anxious about the speed , or actually the non-speed and then realised again, the goal is to finish, and finish strong and with a smile, not to make a record, tho we might set a record for the last to finish- do they give a medal to the person who finishes last?- i mean, just because they didnt give up. I can imagine GB and me arguing over who will step over the finish line last.

Rest tomorrow.

Day 109 hill workout

Had a good workout today. Alternating with the Long Slow Distance runs, this was to be 3 miles today but we did our neighbourhood friendly hill 4 times. Will post a picture soon.

So we walked downhill, slowly and then turned around -1st time was a disaster, I could barely take more than a 100 steps, if that, and was so out of breath, it felt there were two strong hands on my shoulders pushing me down. I didnt time the whole hill but I am pretty sure it must have been very slow, pushed to complete it from tree to tree.
Going up the 2nd and 3rd times was slightly easier but we did not run the whole length of the hill, the 4th time we simply walked and that felt much better. the best feeling was coming down the hill, it felt as if i was rolling down like a cottonball.

The San Fransisco route has upto 3 hills and apparently from the various race reports its a mile long. So we have to keep doing this workout to have an easier time during the race- even if walk the hill we should feel strong at the end of it- today I could have easily collapsed at the end of the session if I had a plce to collapse onto.

8 miles next Saturday.Looking forward to it.

And I bought new shoes- New Balance, womens running 404. I am a New Balance fan ever since I saw they have the wide widths. My other ones are 409s.

Day 109 - Hills

After 4 days rest, completed 3. 5 m of hills, total of 5 miles. Remember the day I completed 5 miles for the first time - was so exhausted. Since not at all tired today, guess our endurance is increasing :)

Day 106 Happy Valentines!

2.2 miles, 40 min, 4mph-4.8 mph for 1 min ata time with break of 1 min at 3.0 mph.

In simple language, I have increased my speed by a bit, for a min at a time and I am very satisfied with my workout today. I have to maintain this for the rest of Feb. and will increase my speed marginally in March.

Did walk twice this week for 50-60 min each time , so have completed most of my workouts for this week. This weekend is short run so we will do the hill again, hopefully 4 repeats. We had done these hill repeats before the 6.5 miles and I feel they helped us do those easily- not faster, but we were not tired by the end of it. I had previously thought we would run a 5K on a flat course to see what our actual speed is, but I dont want to miss the hills.

Life is good.Today.

Day 102 - Day after the long run

Did a slow walk, completed 1.4m in 30 min.

Updated the excel - realised NB had missed a day and we had actually completed the long run of 6.5 miles on our 101st day instead of on our 100th day. Though updating the excel everyday is a bit of a pain, it does help as it gives an overall picture of where we stand.

Day 100 6.5 LSD Correction Day 101

6.5miles, 1hour 40 min.Ammazing!!
Did you see- HUNDRED days completed , 100.Good job!

Woke up feeling great. No aches or pains, no lingering sniffles. Ate a PBJ -half sandwich with a cup of tea. Started from GBs house- no preparation done- no water - havent still bought the water bottles or the paraphrenalia to carry the snacks and since GB had mapped the run from mapmyrun wasnt sure if there would be any restrooms or water fountains along the way- I need my bathroom breaks.

Started at 7.17 AM at a walking speed , climbed a small hill and then started the running. GB wasnt into it from the beginning and I too was feeling a bit stiff tho I didnt voice it- then we surely would have turned back- the poor girl keeps moving thinking I am the athletic one. Since the route was a loop couldnt just turn back after doing 2 miles. I hadnt been into this part of the town so the scenery was all new and I just loved the houses. Big brick houses surrounded by well kept lawns, old , shady trees, the birds have started coming out, we passed so many runners and walkers who all smiled at us, GB got into the run at about 3 miles so mile 3-5 went very good-smooth.
Also thankfully she ate half a banana and that gave her much needed calories- she came today without having eaten anything- can you believe that? I mean at home when we are sitting in front of the T.V we dont go without eating for more than 15 min and here shes moving a big object without giving it the energy for more than 2 hours!
Then we came to the last part and kept thinking the end would be near but the road kept winding in and out so we sort of got fed up. On looking back I think it was only the last 0.5 mile that we lost our direction.

Overall a good R/W. Average speed still 4mph. Not as tired at the end of it as I thought I would be.

Points to be remembered:
- Have to do the weekly runs as homework, feel better during the LSD after those. I would think 3 total runs in a week were too less, but was reading someones blog yesterday ( have got to remember the names but I skim thru so many..) and they felt that 3 runs a week were good to prevent injury and enjoy running. Since my goal is not only to run the marathon, but do it injury free and have running as my sport, I will accept the 3 times a week limit. The problem is not the limit, the problem is to run a minimum 3 times a week.

- I have to keep stretching, which I did this week, nothing formal, just flexing and extending my ankles and stretching the hamstrings and quads while sitting in front of the T.V. Just that much has made a big difference in the tightness/ pain I experienced in my knees.

- Have to lose this weight. After todays session both of us are motivated to lose the weight. During the run the thought is : Oh man! I have to lose to move better. After the run : I ran so much and my poor body deserves a treat. What I need to understand is that I am not burning much during those runs- a measly 250 cal if I r/w 3 miles and the PBJ sandwich I enjoy before the run more than covers it.

Satisfied today, walk tomorrow.

DAY 100 - Long run of 6.5 miles Correction Day 101

Whined and griped in the first three miles. 'Why am I doing this?, Why would anybody do this? I am not doing this again....I am crazy...I hate this....' As soon as we completed 3 miles, I was a happier peppier person. I had half a banana and thankfully (for NB) was quiet for the next mile. Walked the last mile. Completed 6.5 miles in 1 hr 40 mins, though I can't believe it as all I remember of the run was me whining and trying to run. I was slow and NB could have completed this much faster. I feel guilty slowing her down, but then I console myself by saying that I am helping her prevent injuries - slow and steady wins the race ;)

Things I have realised - yet again.....

1. It's all psychological - Today I think I was scared of the long distance and hence was whining half the way. Also, in all my runs, as soon as I realize that I have been continously running for some time, my subconcious says that I should be out of breath, and I start losing my breath :(

2. I have to, have to, have to lose weight. I know, I know I have said this before, but now I am going to work on it. For our 8 mile run which is going to happen in 2 weeks, I want to lose 5 pounds. So, here it goes:

Even though I am the laziest person on earth who has no motivation of losing weight and while running, does NOT want to run, I declare :/ that I will lose 5 pounds for the 8 mile run. Fot that, I will :

1. Not buy cookies or chips or icecream (will sustain on whatever is already in the pantry, aww!! come on!!!! just a little is left)
2. Will always try to have food in the refrigerator so that I don't eat junk food from McDonald's or Wendy's or Taco Bell or....
3. I'll remember that I have to lose weight.

So, I'll be honest in my posts and all of you will be able to see my progress.......uhhh, what have I got myself into?????

btw, my body is not feeling as bad as it was feeling after the 5 mile run :)

Day 99- Rest day Correction Day 100

Rest today, throat scratchy, eyes itchy,body aches started yest morning but against all good advice I still did the 45 min r/w in the evening. This whole week have managed to do only 3 of the 5 planned workouts. Very slow and unable to keep up the running pace for more than a min at a time. Keep reminding myself of the turtle and the hare-not that I am aiming to win a race, just to finish a run.
Thankfully felt Ok today , but was worried that would have to miss the long 6.5 mile tomorrow.

Was thinking- if this happened around the half marathon in May or the full in Oct- all this preparation gone to waste. I am sure it has happened to others, what do you do ?

Did go to GBs apt gym to see how much my actual speed is, could run on hers at 4.3mph so it means my tmill is faster by .5mph. Which is good that I am not actually running at 3.8mph and am covering more distance than 2 miles in 40 min, but it also shows me that I have not become faster since Nov when I got my speed down from 4.7mph to 4.3mph to run longer. Am I expecting things too soon- its been only 2 months since then, maybe the speed will come if becomemore regular with the workouts and train a bit faster.

HAPPY BDAY NB!!!!!

NB's bday today!!!! No workout, lot's of cake :))))))))

Day 96 - Depressed???? Correction Day 97

Have always wanted monday to be a rest day. But went for a run which turned into a 2 mile walk because legs started to hurt (hadn't had a proper breakfast/lunch, just cookies and junk, returned hungry) - went because won't be able to workout tomorrow.

Was exhausted, sleepy and low all day long yesterday. Slept for 8 hours yesterday so that would wake up fresh. Didnt help. All I did today was lay on the couch and eat a lot of cookies. Slept for 1 hr in the evening. Didnt go for a walk but went outside to run an errand. Returned, cleaned my kitchen which was a huge mess and now am feeling much better.

I dont know, I think it is because I am not sleeping enough, not resting enough, not eating right or simply bcos my obese body needs a rest day after 2 workout days???????? don't know.....

Day 95 confusion Correction Day 96

Walked 3.15 miles including the dreaded hill in 50 min. yesterday.

Today R/W 2.65 miles in 50 min.
Started out with 5min warmup , then kept speed at 3.8 mph and tried to run for 10 min continuously, was able to that once, next session after 2 min walk lasted 8 min ,again rest for 2 min and the run session lasted only 3 min, after that it was 1R/2W for the rest of the workout. Felt sort of let down because have been doing my workouts pretty regularly and there seems to be no increase in speed and now am unable to run the 30 min continuously. Had some time during the day and skimmed thru a marathon guide at Borders and realised, I dont have to be running continuously for 30 min at a time, I can run/walk the whole marathon- the point is to build endurance for the distance. Ok,so thats a good realisation.

Discussed this with GB, what we have been doing on our long runs is running continuously for more that 10 min initially and then getting tired by the last mile. So we will have to do the R/W sessions from the beginning and not wait till we are too pooped out to continue.This week LSD is going to be 6.5 miles so we have to prepare in terms of water and energy giving snacks, I still have to buy my shoes, and a fanny pack to carry all the stuff, till now I have been carrying my cell phone in my hand, imagine!, no wonder I cant speed up.

Spent half an hour on the web trying to learn how to caliberate the tmill, too many math calculations, pretty much beyond me, or I just dont want to use my brains. Anyway either will continue the way it is , tho thats pretty demotivating, to see me huffing and puffing and oozing sweat for 50 min and ending with 2.65 miles when I can WALK 3.15 outside in the same time. Or will ask the sales person at the sports shop we got it from. So much to do , so little time.

Day 93- Hills are not my friends Correction Day 94

2.5 miles

Did it in 60 min, yes 60 min. This included a 400 yard approx 400 feet, hill, TWICE!!. We were almost crawling by the end of it but did it twice.
Started by calling GB to get ready which she did unwillingly, then called her from outside the house - she said she's wearing her shoes.Our roads meet at a 90 degree angle and my side is 0.6 miles to her 0.8 miles, so I walked and ran maybe 100 yards and reached the angle and looked up and down for her. Thinking she couldnt have made it so fast, I started running towards her apt., in my mind getting irritated by the min. Then I called her cell-phone- got no answer, so went back towards the hill we were supposed to do.The poor girl had been standing there the whole time. And my poor inflated ego couldnot believe that she had reached there faster than me so I just started yelling at her for not being in the right place at the right time- totally unrelated topics. Give credit to her- she heard me out.
Any way, went down the hill, its 400 ft , walking, came up running , running was slower than walking, going down felt that if I tried to run I would just roll down, But did it twice. Then parted ways and came home.
Have noticed that always feel better when I am done with the workout, I was actually humming when I reached home.
Its difficult for me to get out of the house for any length of time, I have a family, including my husband who love the word "no", so even if I say "I want water" they all say 'no' and my mental makeup is such that I stop doing whatever I am doing or want to do at that word- I am sure it must be something in the way I was raised- will have to confront my parents about it.So when I say i am going for a walk the husband says"no', the 13yo remembers something urgent she wants me to do like take her to the mall to buy a present for some friend whose b'day is 2 weeks away, and the 6yo starts whining about just anything. So that spoils my mood and I am mentally yelling, screaming fighting with them when I start out the session. Now I am trying to teach myself that all these people are self-sufficent and can take care of themselves for 1 hour each Saturday. So I am the one who will have to make the change.