Goals for April

Done with 5 months of this running business.
Completed my first ever 5K- that felt so good.
Half marathon next month-May 3rd, 30 days left for that, only!!
Have run thru allergies, possible asthma/cold/flu-I dont know what it is , but I am feeling better today, shin splints, side splits, something in the back of my left leg.
Havent lost a single pound of fat, and no, I havent been hogging away to glory to prevent the loss from happening, tho I havent actually tried to hold back either.
Found that I like doing this and would continue it even when am done with the marathon-I hope.

Goals for April:
1. 20/30 workout days.
2. Each session atleast 45min/3miles long.
3. 8 sessions of free weights- most imp.
4. 16/30 sessions of yoga/stretching.
5. Look forward and psych myself for the May half marathon.

Long slow distance-9.5m

9.5m, 2h30min,alone, GB ditched me again.

didnt run the LSD yest as had planned 'cos woke up feeling all clogged up, itchy gunky eyes, the works.
This morning woke up in the same state but visions of crawling at the half marathon finish line, which is 33days away, pushed me out of the bed. Called GB who refused to come with me today. Reason being my own two daughters who had a sleepover at her house and they played boardgames till 1.30 AM, so she was too tired to move.
For one moment thought of going back to bed, but comfortable sleep is rare these days because of the difficulty in breathing , so started with the routine of preparing for the long run.
Ate half a PBJ, 16oz water, cup of tea, dressed warmly, started off. Was worried that would be out of breath or feel tired soon because hadnt been pushing myself with the weekday runs, but the first loop of 5.7 miles went well. I had done this loop last week and was pretty much done by the end of it but today I felt good , maybe because of the PBJ quarters and the 8 oz water I took on the way.
Started the 2nd loop of 3.8 miles, had thought would do the 5.7 loop again but at the last moment turned the other way. Did manage to run most of it except the last 1 mile which was an elevation thru out . Have noticed that once I stop running and take a longish walk break it is more difficult to go back to running.
Only soreness noted post-run is in front of my knees on getting up from the sitting position or going down the stairs-runners knees, I'm guessing.
Had wanted to do 10-10.5miles today but only managed 9.5. Next week scheduled distance is 12.5m. I am hoping will be able to do atleast 11.5m.

Day 147, allergies

I know, havent posted in a long time. Havent been feeling well since last week, did force myself to finish a couple of workouts.
Last Sunday, started feeling very short of breath, suddenly.
First thought was that I'm having a heart attack! , then-oh no! not now when I am trying to run a marathon! So spent the whole night going over the important things I would like to do before I was taken to the hospital- hide my journals, clean my closet, say nice things to my kids etc etc etc, and yeah my husband too. Yup, God is going to give me time to do all that.
Then went over the reasons I could be having the difficulty breathing. Top of the list is ofcourse my increased weight and my dear hubby would agree whole heartedly with that, but the weight has been increasing over the last few months..., OK, last few years, a slow gradual, not noticeable process, so why now when I am more active.
It could be my allergies and I am having all the symptoms, itchy eyes, runny nose, scratchy throat, u name it. Maybe the allergies are changing into asthma, maybe I need to see a doctor.
What it definately is not, is deconditioning or lack of exercise. I went over my log and I have been pretty regular with exercise, tho I still want to add on the weights. I have these allergies every year and each time I seem to get better if I do a combination of yoga,free weights and walking. This incident has made me sit up and want to be regular with my workouts, how much I do it is a different story.
The workout today was difficult, I have been unable to run continuously on the tmill even tho I finished the C25k program, but today was especially bad. I got more out of breath if I tried to run slower, and I could keep the running speed only for a min at a time. Anyways finished the 40 min session and gloated to Gb who runs maybe once a week and can run a mile continuously-maybe I should learn from her and stop doing my weekly workouts so diligently. Tho I know the day I stop doing the 3-4 workouts a week that I do, I will swell up like a puffer fish.

LSD 11 miles this weekend-the one we were supposed to do last weekend!

Day 137 My first 5k!!

Our firstest 5k ever.

Ammazing experience.
GB had registered us both almost 2 months ago and I didnt realise I was running this till 2 days ago. Then the nervousness started, it was almost as if I was taking an exam. Got my stuff ready last night, was feeling apprehensive because its been very cold here for a couple of days , and I was feeling nauseous and headachy, had my fingers crossed that wouldnt end with the flu floating around. Slept fitfully, woke every hour, and kept imagining myself left at the start line while everyone else had rushed ahead, or needing a bathroom break, or having one of the usual aches and pains.
Woke early at 5AM, called GB to wake her up, ate half a PBJ and a cup of tea, dressed warmly, went to GBs house, and started off in her car. She told me she had worked out the last 2 days and developed some right below the knee pain. Iasked her why she had not taken a day off and the answer was " I had to practice for the 5 k!"
So there we were, me cold and nervous and she with probably a new injury. As usual whenever we go to this part of the downtown we got lost. Kudos to her for keeping calm and thanks to Him/Her for showing us the right direction right at the moment when I was going to freak out.
Reached the start point at 6.30 for the 8.10 AM race and there is a crowd of 4500 people collected for the half and the 5K.
The arrangements were good, we had easy assess to the restrooms, but it was very cold and windy and that does detract from the experience somewhat.
The race started at 8.10 and we were off! I started off really fast as usual and GB had to keep holding me back. But it is unnerving to see every single person overtaking you. Thanks to GB she kept an even pace thru out but I kept darting ahead and then having to stop because I was out of breath. The run did feel harder than the usual 3miles we do every other weekend, maybe because the route was an unknown to us. Also it wasnt a scenic route , no pretty trees or flowers, no beautiful houses and even the roads in some places were broken.
We did walk for maybe five min total, once at the water aid station, then while climbing a hill, and maybe a min or two after pushing myself when I thought the end of the race was near but it was only a turn.
It took me 2 miles to get into the pace set by GB and then I fell into step with her. After that it was OK till the end of the race. Thru out I was trying to overtake an older gentleman, Ok , he must be atleast 70 and was running at a seemingly slow steady pace, so I would sprint to oveertake him, then walk for a min and he would very nicely like the proverbial turtle overtake me, then I would again increase my speed and again fall behind, till GB told me to let it go. Moral of the story again is -slow and steady wins the race.
At the end we had decided to sprint and give it our all, and I did that but then realised GB wasnt doing it , so looked back and she was stil at her usual pace.Later she told me she was just not feeling upto it.

Final stats--931/932 out of 1500 5kers, time 40.52. , avg pace 13.08

But the experience was wonderful, and hearing your name blared over the field was great, we got the snack bags, we went to all the stalls to get more info on races we would run it the future, we discussed our next race- a half marathon in May, how GB wuld do the pacing, , how we wld be running faster by then because we will be good and lose some pounds which will help us run faster, etc, etc etc.

11 miles next weekend.

Day 130 - Long distance run of 9.15 miles

The run went very well.

Per NB's advice, I had been working out atleast 3 times a week. Maye that was the reason it was fairly easy. I have been trying to increase my speed over shorter distances throughout the week. Am trying to get used to the 4.5m/h-4.7 m/h speed so that can run at that speed for longer distances.

Ran the first approx 6 miles at 4.2 m/h. Hopefully in a couple of months will be able to run at 4.4m/h for longer distances, and some months later at a little faster pace...For the first time, running the marathon really, really seemed feasible. Comparing to older times when I couldnt run for long on 4.2 m/h or 4m/h for that matter, I am hoping that if I get this comfortable with a higher speed, it may be highly possible that I will be able to run the 26.2 miles....

At the end of the run was so hungry....it was kinda funny, I couldnt run the last mile bcos I was soooo hungry :), I had to walk....Did not get a headache for the first time after the long run. Reason may be the BIG breakfast NB served me as soon as we reached her home. I also made sure I drank lottttts of water.

All in all, a nice run - I really hope that the future long runs are as good or better..

Day 126 -torture

3.1 miles,i.e 5k in 45 min.

Had not done any proper running since Sat did a short 1 mile slowly in 20 min to test my left leg , felt ok with it, so decided to run/walk a 5k today just to see if I would be ever able to run a 5 k.

Started off slowly, legs felt like cement, then tried to pick up my pace ,and promptly developed shin splints. That usually happens if am going too fast!! too fast! so brought down the pace a bit , then felt like I was thumping along , again sped up a bit and went out of breath, panted along for a bit, took some walk breaks, developed side splits , kept waiting for the second wind everyone keeps talkin about , it never came.
Still felt OK because the left calf was quiet so far. Then just 2 min from my house , a time when I was thinking of walking the rest of the way, felt a slight twitch in the back of the knee , and there it went again.
So now I am left with the same left back of the knee pain, shin splints, sore knees, basically below the hips I need all new parts.
What made me go out there at 3.30 p.m in the bright hot burning afternoon, with a sore leg?
First was the official site of the October Nikes women marathon which states that the course will be closed after 6.5 hours, which means we should be able to walk/run at 4.3-4.5mph. I was just not aware of this. I thought this marathon had a closing time of 8 or more hours.
The second was thefact that I visit all these blogs on completerunning network, there are 1700 members approximately so I can take my pick, and almost everyone is running at amazing speeds, keeping an average pace of 10-12mph, which I wont be able to do in my dreams even.
The third is the fact that I looked back at my progress in the last 4 months , and I still dont know why I cant run more that 2-3 min at a time when I did the C25k program and was running 30 min at the end of it, then what happened? I have been pretty consistent but I think I am walking more that running and if I dont run now ,I dont think I will suddenly start running in the marathon. Running is difficult , my body just wants to walk instead.
What can I say-just keep running just keep running.
Also I need to learn how to pace myself, GB and I were analyzing , on our long runs, we start off too fast , and then are unable to finish strong.Actually now that I am think about it that may be only part of the problem , sometimes we are just tired or hurting even at the beginning of the long run.
Am taking two days off and then 9.5 miles over the weekend. Lets see will do it only if the left leg gives me the green signal.

Day 122 first running injury

Or more likely it was due to over zealous stretching.
I walked on tues and wed and was hoping to run on thurs but could not due to time constraints so did maybe 15 min of yoga. Felt a slight twinge at the back of my left knee but ignored it, on friday it felt as if it was swollen at the back of the knee.
Today GB wanted to give the 3 mile run a miss, so I went with my husband. Tried to run after the warmup walk and just couldnot so walked the 3.6miles in an hour. It hurt really bad while coming up the hill. When I started I kept thinking why I was doing this and really I should just drop this whole idea, but by the end of the walk, even tho I was hurting more, the decision was to carry on. Hey, 2 weeks relative rest, ice and compression and I should be good to go. As it is, next weekend its the 9.5 miles run and my husband is on call again, so I would have missed it .
It doesnt hurt when I am sitting still, only when I walk and that too if I take big steps. There is no visible swelling, nothing I can see on the surface. But yes have to hold back a bit and see how I heal.
In 2 weeks it is the Shamrock 5k and I hope I can run that nicely. So far the goal is 45 min, I know , I know, shuffle pace, but thats the goal, lets see if am able to do the race first, and then within that time.
Rest days ahead, really not looking forward to those.
As far as the diet, skimmed thru Dr Oz and Rozien's You on a Diet, liked the book in parts, the suggestions are all very practical and doable, basically it is eating conciously and eating right. Things to avoid are ingredients- enriched flour, partially hydrogenated fats, high fructose corn syrup, high fat dairy.
So since all premade , packaged goods are actually made of these four ingredients, what does one eat??
Their suggestions:
The one which I liked the most was to eat the same things regularly for a couple of meals a day e.g the same breakfast and midmorning snack everyday, for me that means oatmeal with skim milk everyday followed by a midmornig snack of V-8 and almonds. I have to focus on the afternoon period during which I haunt the pantry, maybe have the same lunch everyday and have variety for dinner. Sounds boring? but its health vs. feeling good temporarily and studies have shown that thin people usually eat the same boring stuff day after day.
Next the suggestion is to eat more home cooked meals, did not like this point much but it does make sense. We do eat home cooked most of the time , but my portions are huge.
The other suggestions like avoiding soda, more water etc I already am good about.My main pitfall is the chips and cookies, just finished a whole bag of chocolate chip cookies in 2 days, had got them for my poor starving kids who "hadnt eaten anything nice in days!!" Who finished the whole pack ?-their overfed mama. Have got the 100 cal snack packs to over-ride that problem, tho whats to stop me from opening the 2nd one after finishing the 1st is the real question.
And I am moving more so that too is falling into place. Just have to add free weights and that will happen when it will happen.
Another few weeks and I will be a lean mean fighting machine.
Will review the book for some more stuff next week once get the lunch into place.