Love the Short Runs on Tuesday

According to my plan - from runnersworld.com - the only day better than my Favorite Friday rest day is the short run Tuesday. The max miles I'll run on Tuesdays is 5 miles! That is AWESOME, I can pretty much get my training done in less than an hour first thing in the morning then bam! I'm done for the day!!

Today for example, my training took all of 23 minutes, I managed to burn about 251 calories and I got it all done before 7am!! Now for those people that complain that they can't find time to exercise, or are complaining about not being able to lose weight I just have NO sympathy. Yeah I had to get out of my bed at 5:45am but so what? The weather was nice, unless you live in a 24/7 busy place there is little to no traffic on the road at that time, the sun isn't up but it is not pitch dark so it really is the perfect time to exercise.

This week is going to be a fun one, Friday I am going to the beach for a family trip which will mean lots of running around and playing in the water, a 5k race on Saturday morning which I am excited about so I can see what kind of progress I've made since the 5k I ran in May. I'm excited about it and am really hoping to be able to keep up with Jason enough that he isn't waiting for me for 5 minutes after he's crossed the finish line. I want to be able to keep him in my sights!

Have I Mentioned How Humid It Is?....

Good Lord the humidity is not playing! I guess I never really paid much attention to it, other than the days it totally ruined my hair-do, back in my relaxer days (another reason to be SO very happy that I am a beautiful natural chick)..anyway, running in the humidity can be best described as trying to run in water, or cotton, or something like that.

You start out - early in the morning before the sun comes up or even in the late evening when the sun is going down- and you think 'hey this isn't so bad' there may be a slight breeze, you can smell the different blooming flowers (except that one house with the plants that smell like some kind of stinkweed) and you think it will be an easy run, nice run up the street and around the block..then BAM!! First the sweating, and not a nice light 'glisten' oh no once the sweating starts it is THERE...it is so humid and the air already has so much moisture in it the sweat on your body doesn't evaporate so it just builds, and drips off you, in HUGE puddles.

So there is the sweat, the feeling of running through thick soup (lol) which adds up to the breathing difficulties. Thankfully I think I am doing ok with this one, I am really paying attention to my breathing, making sure I am taking more deep belly breaths instead of the shallow chest breath that I found out doesn't help get the oxygen needed all through my body.

I look back at my training and race results and I am amazed that my last run before the height of humidity set in, I was able to finish in 35 minutes but now 3 miles takes me closer to 38 sometimes 40 minutes and I feel like I am struggling just to finish. But on the other hand, I ran 7 minutes faster today on my Thursday 5 miles run that I did last week. I stopped a lot less and was able to kick up my pace more and that felt really good.

Tomorrow is my FAVORITE training day - it is my rest day whoohoo! Then an easy 3 mile run on Saturday morning then comes Sunday (cue scary music) and my looooong run day...ok my long run right now is only 6 miles (ha I just typed only 6 miles) - thats just one more mile than my Thursday, I can do that no problem :)

Week One!

Well I have officially finished week one of my training and I am still alive and still able to walk YIPPEE!! The weather was unforgiving as I knew it would be - it was still 100 degrees at 6pm yesterday- I figured running in the morning would be easier but it is so humid out there that it just beats you down, but I still did it! I do hope that throughout this I am able to see improvement in my running, right now I still feel like it is a struggle to breathe - which I am sure has to do with the humidity.

I'm trying to remember to start off slowly, but I get out there and my legs are fresh and I just want to run and get it over with...of course 30 minutes into the run my legs are feeling like overcooked noodles that somehow weigh 20 pounds and it is hard to get my feet off the ground. So I take it easy for the first mile, talking to myself reminding myself how to breathe, to keep my feet light when hitting the ground. I stopped listening to music and just listen to myself and I think that has helped me get in better tune with what I am doing and how I am feeling.

Overall I knew going in this was going to be an uphill battle since my training is taking place during the hottest time EVER lol - but like they say what doesn't kill us only makes us stronger...yeah um yikes!

Still technically 'pre-training' but am realizing that this is really going to be tough. The weather is so humid this time of the year it feels like I am running in cotton or underwater. I had to slow my pace waaay down, and I was running with Daisy so that in itself has its own challenges - all good ones of course! She is a really good running buddy when she's not chasing lizards or investigating what is rattling in the bushes on the other side of the fence.

Yesterday's run was supposed to be 2 miles @ 12:52 pace which I thought would be really hard to go that slow but with the humidity there were times I was running at a 13 min/mile and it was wearing me out. I know this should get better the longer I am training and get more used to (ha) the humidity.

Wednesdays are cross training so I'm hoping I can do yoga when I get home today and take Daisy on a walk before I pick Taylor up from camp. Thursdays are tempo or speed workouts and I'm planning on going to 1st place sports to run with a group those evenings. Saturday and Sunday are my run with hubby days and the mornings are the best time to get out get it done and get it over with.

So I'm feeling good - my legs definitely know that I have been running, they are 'worked' but not so tired that I am miserable. Along with the really good night's sleep I am happy with the weight I've taken off and am able to keep off, I am also feeling stronger and can see the changes in my body...that is always a good thing!

Pre-training fun!

Ok I don't officially start training for my VERY FIRST half marathon (Marine Corps 1/2) until next Monday but I am just so excited about doing this that I decided to start writing about it anyway....I started my 'running career' (can you call it that if you aren't making money?) back in October 2008, me and my trusty running partner hubby Jason decided after running in a race my company paid the entry for that we enjoyed it and would sign up for more. So every weekend in October we ran a 5k, I would like to say it was fun, but at that point running was not fun to me (honestly it still isn't, but I do enjoy it more) I just really enjoyed doing somehting that was healthy and having Jason there cheering me on as I was crossing the finish line - yeah he's a lot faster than I am.

Well from the October runs I decided to keep it going with a 6k on Thanksgiving day, and we ran in a nighttime run in December and even got Taylor to run with us. That one was fun I have to admit, the Christmas spirit, lights and musis made that run very different. A few more months later and a run here and there then came the BIG ONE - the River Run, a 15k course that ended with the Hart bridge...that was the longest race I'd ever been in and I trained for it - though not as seriously as I should have. But above all I finished it - in a little over 2 hours but hey I ran across the finish line. Thinking back I now appreciate the training I did and didn't do becuase now I know that I HAVE to train and be mentally and physically ready for the 1/2 and hopefully for two more 1/2 - one on Thanksgiving and one in December.

So the fun (ha) begins, I have been running mostly on weekends with the 4 miles I did Sunday being my longest run in a while. It was tough, it is humid even at 8am, but I have slowed my pace way down and am able to run a lot farther with no walk breaks and that is such a wonderful feeling. I am going to add in runs on Tuesday and Thursday and do some kind of cross training on Monday and Wednesday - actaully I'm thinking about doing yoga and pilates on those days and maybe the kickboxing dvd I have. Of ocurse I have to fit in nice long walks with Miss Daisy - I haven't given her the attention she deserves with the rain and just letting other things get in the way but I'm going to include walk/runs with her into my training. I know she'll love the time we spend together.

So the journey begins - well it will officially begin next Monday but hey there is nothing that says I can't run now...