Katie is a Runner: March 2014

Monday, March 31, 2014

Motivational Monday: 3.31.14

Week 7 of Grandma's Marathon Training
3 weeks until Earth Day half-marathon

Feeling really good about how my training is going; despite some missed weekday runs. My long runs have felt surprisingly comfortable, and Saturday's pace left me feeling on top of the world. I am feeling very optimistic about a PR at Earth Day, and really starting to believe I will cross the finish line on June 21!

This week marks a shift in my training plan for a couple of reasons. First, the weekday runs bump up from 3,6,3 to 4,7,4. Second, my long run jumps up to 14 miles! That will be the furthest I have ever run! From here on out, unless it is a cut-back week, my long runs will be uncharted territory. Thus, this on-top-of-the-world feeling has come at a good time.

Onward with the plan for the week:

Monday: 4 miles

Tuesday: Interval Conditioning (kettle bells)

Wednesday: 7 miles

Thursday: 4 miles and Interval Conditioning

Friday: Rest

Saturday: 14 miles

Sunday: cross train (swimming?!?!)

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Have a great week! April is upon us! Fresh starts always feel good, and maybe Mother Nature/Old Man Winter will get their act together, too!

Sunday, March 30, 2014

Weekly Wrap-Up: 3/24-3/30

Finishing Week 6 of Grandma's Marathon training!

Monday: planned 3 miles; actual 3.26 miles. Whew. I ended up just taking this one slow. I was feeling really sore from Sunday's 12 miler. Even after my warm-up, the first steps running felt really hard through my hips especially. Since I was running on the track at the Y, I ended up doing a sort of ladder exercise. I ran 1 lap, walked 1; ran 2, walked 1. And went up to running 5. Then I started over. I was half way through the second set of running 4 laps when I hit 3 miles, so I finished the last two laps and called it done. Thankfully, the more I ran, the looser my hips felt. But I still didn't want to over do it. Final stats were 3.26 miles in 40:14 - a 12:19 average.

Tuesday: planned Interval Conditioning/kettle bells; actual IC/kettle bells. What will I remember about this class? BURPEES. As in she did 5 sets of them. 5 sets of 20 of them. Good Lord. I cannot do burpees that fast. Instead of 100, I ended up with 62 of them. And I feel pretty darn good about that. But wow. If they weren't such a good exercise, I would boycott against them. LOL

Wednesday: planned 6 miles; actual rest - unless you count the little walk Ava and I took around the block. I had been feeling so sore all week, that I decided since it was sort of my Friday (with spring break Thursday and Friday) I would treat it like a Friday and give my legs a rest.

Thursday: planned 3 miles and IC/kettle bells; actual 1.26 miles walking and IC/kettle bells. I had just started my run when one of the other ladies that goes to class started talking to me. I ended up walking and talking with her until class started. It was refreshing to just talk with someone; but I did miss getting the miles in. From there we headed to class where we did some swings of course, some plyometrics, and some bicep curls. I actually appreciated that we utilized just regular hand weights to mix things up from the kettle bells.

Friday: planned rest; actual rest! I wanted to try to make up some missed miles, but we also had fun plans to take Ava to the Minnesota Children's Museum. We wanted to leave by mid-morning to avoid large crowds and traffic, and I didn't get up early. (It is spring break after all ... not that it makes it a good excuse!). By the time we got home, the energy of the day had depleted me.

Saturday: planned 9 miles; actual 9.01 miles. It was a glorious run! Little slow on the start, but once I got warmed up I felt great. Ended with what is most likely my fastest time for 9 miles; plus had enough left in the tank to make mile nine the fastest! Other than that, it was a pretty uneventful run! Ended with 9.01 in 1:38:34 - a 10:56 average!

Mile	Time	Change	Avg Pace
1	11:48	--	11'48"/mi
2	22:38	- 0:58 (8%)	10'50"/mi
3	33:46	+ 0:18 (-3%)	11'08"/mi
4	44:40	- 0:14 (2%)	10'53"/mi
5	55:39	+ 0:06 (-1%)	10'59"/mi
6	1:06:21	- 0:17 (2%)	10'41"/mi
7	1:17:05	+ 0:01 (-1%)	10'43"/mi
8	1:27:57	+ 0:08 (-2%)	10'52"/mi
9	1:38:21	- 0:28 (4%)	10'23"/mi

Sunday: planned cross training; actual (approximately) 2 miles of walking and an at-home workout I found on Pinterest. I was determined to do the 6 miles I missed on Wednesday, and the weather was perfect for it! However; I also wanted to make sure Ava got some outside time, so I opted for the family walk - dog included! After our walk and stop at the park, I packed lunches for the week, folded and put away laundry, ate supper, and attempted to Skype with my parents. We ended up talking mostly on the phone because it kept freezing on us! I spent an hour waiting for them to tell us they were home and ready to Skype. Had I known it was going to take that long, I would have used that time differently! After waiting not so patiently for Ava to fall asleep, I finally got to the workout after 8:30pm. Ugh. Repeated 5 times in 36 minutes. It was really not that difficult; but I had a good sweat on by the end of it! I can see myself using this routine again in the future for a quick get-up; it would also make a good fitness test to monitor progress - you know, see how many times you can get through it in a set amount of time? Anyway. Not a bad way to end the week.

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Totals for the week are:

12.27 miles of running in 2:18:48
2.26 miles walking - took approximately 70 minutes
2 Interval Conditioning classes for 80 minutes
1 cross training session for 36 minutes

Total time training: 5:24:48

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low points of the week were how long it took to get over the soreness from last weekend's long run, and only getting 12 miles of running in.
high point of the week was the time of Saturday's run, hands down.

How was your week?

Friday, March 28, 2014

Budding Photographer?

I handed Ava my phone to show her this picture of us holding a friends 2-week old little boy.

Isn't that the most precious picture? Makes my heart long! She was so sweet with him.

Anyway. She proceeded to take about 50 shots along our way home! I asked her how she got into the camera, and she told me, "I just hit the picture of the camera, Mom!" Smart, smart girl I have! Most of them were repeats, but any photographer knows it just takes a bunch of good shots just to get "the one".

How's that for some Friday randomness?

We are starting our weekend with an outing up to the Minnesota Children's Museum. It's our spring break trip. :) The rest of the weekend should be business as usual.

What are your weekend plans? Anyone racing?

Thursday, March 27, 2014

Freebies!

Not that it is required, but I went to the Clif Bar website and signed up to run with their pace teams during Grandma's. In return, I got this goodie box in the mail last weekend! I had actually forgot all about it until it just happened to show up in the mailbox! How exciting.

4 goodies were included:

I've not used any of them yet. However they come at a good time! As my long runs get ready to go to 14 miles, fueling mid-run has been on my mind a lot.

I have used Gatorade chews in the past, so the shot blocks are what I feel the most comfortable trying. I actually compared a serving of the Gatorade ones to the shot blocks, and the main difference is the amount of potassium.

I am nervous about trying the gel, as I have no idea what the texture is going to be like. Knowing it is chocolate flavored helps a little!

I have not been carrying water with me when I run, but as (if) the temps start to go up, I could see myself using the drink mix.

Obviously I have heard of Clif bars, but I have never tried one. Unlike some of the other goodies, they don't say if they are for "during" a run or not. So would you use it to fuel or as an energy bar before or after a run?

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I wish I had more to say about what was sent. Like I've said before though, during my halfs I either used Gatorade chews or nothing. Which of the above (or others) are your go-to products for fueling before, during, and after a run? At what distance or time do you start fueling mid-run?

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Wordless Wednesday: A Pool Party

(and Ava's first time in the pool without one of us!)

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Tiny Kix: March 23

Ava's three year old dance class is the Tiny Kix class. On Sunday afternoon, we had the Pre - 3rd grade stage show. Although never formally explained, I take these stage shows as a means of getting the younger dancers used to dancing in front of crowds before competitions start in 4th grade. So, on top of the three shows all the grades/levels perform at (a winter show, the APDT - err ... Austin Packer Dance Team ... show, and the spring show), we've had three stage shows throughout the year. This last one was the biggest of the three.

It was also the hardest to get pictures of because they were literally up on the stage with lights and everything. Sitting in a darkened auditorium trying to get pictures of a dancer with lights in her face is difficult. You can see her form, but not her face. Still, what is not cute about 3 year olds in dance costumes?

she is third from the left. her face when they introduced them and the crowd started clapping was priceless! she loved it.

she loved this part of the dance when they got to frame their cute little faces!

wish I would have had my big camera ... such a ham when she dances!

did I say ham? I meant dramatic. Their song was about getting ready for a show. This line was about being nervous!

I am biased. But she makes me proud!

Monday, March 24, 2014

Motivational Monday: 3.24.14

Grandma's Marathon - Training Week 6

The Plan:

Monday: 3 miles
Tuesday: Interval Conditioning - kettle bells
Wednesday: 6 miles
Thursday: 3 miles and Interval Conditioning - kettle bells
Friday: Rest
Saturday: 9 miles
Sunday: cross train (swimming? boot camp? walking? all I know right now is the forecast says 50*!!)

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What are you most looking forward to this week.

Sunday, March 23, 2014

Weekly Wrap-Up: 3/17- 3/23

Grandma's Marathon Training - end of Week 5

Monday: planned 3 miles; actual 4.85 miles. finished in 54:40 for an average pace of 11:17. I don't know if was a half-way decent spring-like day, or the fact that I had missed some miles the week before. It felt good, and so I put in the extra miles.

Tuesday: planned Interval Conditioning/kettle bells; actual IC/kettle bells. This was not an easy class. I know it didn't help that I wasn't at class either day last week I don't even remember doing anything in class that was extra difficult, it was just plain exhausting! But, workout complete.

Wednesday: planned 6 miles; actual 6.01 miles. The route I did, I actually thought I was going to end just shy of 6 miles. And I was okay with that. Then, I looked down during mile 6 and noticed I was going the fastest I had gone all night, so I wanted to see what I was going to end with! That meant I was one of those crazy people that went a half a block past my house just to hit a certain mile marker! Finished in 1:06:20, for an average pace of 11:02. Love the surge at the end!

Mile	Time	Change	Avg Pace
1	11:09	--	11'09"/mi
2	22:02	- 0:16 (2%)	10'53"/mi
3	33:07	+ 0:11 (-2%)	11'04"/mi
4	44:55	+ 0:42 (-7%)	11'47"/mi
5	55:43	- 0:59 (8%)	10'48"/mi
6	1:06:08	- 0:22 (3%)	10'25"/mi

Thursday: planned 3 miles and IC/kettle bells; actual IC/kettle bells. Another great almost-spring day let me to come home to a husband and a daughter who had already washed one car at the car wash. She couldn't wait for me to get home so she could take mine to the car wash, too. And she insisted I ride along. So, I did. Then we went and drove past a house we were hoping to go look at with the realtor. So, the run didn't happen. But I did go to class. It was a good one. A nice mix of cardio and kettle bells.

Friday: planned rest; actual rest.

Saturday: planned 12 miles; actual rest. Our plans changed between the beginning of the week and the end. Initially, I was going to run and then we were headed to the Twin Cities for Chad's work party. Wednesday, Chad decided we weren't going; so instead I told a friend from work we would be at her kids' birthday party since we didn't have a reason to miss it! That was from 12-2. I knew getting 12 miles in before noon was going to be tough (we had a 25 minute drive to get there). My plan was to leave about 8:30 to have just enough time to run; until I looked at my weather app and it was 10*, but felt like -4*. Call me a wimp but wasn't happening!

Sunday: planned swimming; actual 12.03 miles. Today I knew I needed - or was supposed - to be out the door by 10 to have enough time to get ready for Ava's dance show. Let me tell you I wasn't thrilled when the trusty weather app said 10*, but felt like 1*. Some facebook encouragement from a running-friend made me put on an extra layer and get out the door .... by about 10:30. It wasn't too bad. Going in certain directions and into the wind was cold, but it would warm up when I got to turn. Everything was pretty steady until I had finished mile 9 - that was the first time I purposely walked for a bit knowing it would be a water stop mile marker on race day. The last mile was tough for reasons other than running. I had taken some wrong turns in a neighborhood I hadn't run in before, so had to change my route at the end - the volume on my app was annoying me - I was worried about what time it was. So, I end on the highest of notes, but still made it within my goal time. Finished in 2:15:53 - an average of 11:17.

Mile	Time	Change	Avg Pace
1	13:11	--	13'11"/mi
2	24:02	- 2:20 (17%)	10'50"/mi
3	34:58	+ 0:05 (-1%)	10'56"/mi
4	45:57	+ 0:02 (-1%)	10'58"/mi
5	56:59	+ 0:04 (-1%)	11'02"/mi
6	1:07:53	- 0:08 (1%)	10'53"/mi
7	1:18:47	+ 0:00 (-1%)	10'53"/mi
8	1:29:39	- 0:01 (0%)	10'52"/mi
9	1:40:48	+ 0:15 (-3%)	11'08"/mi
10	1:52:11	+ 0:14 (-3%)	11'23"/mi
11	2:03:36	+ 0:02 (-1%)	11'25"/mi
12	2:15:26	+ 0:23 (-4%)	11'49"/mi

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Still didn't get all of my workouts in, but better than the last two weeks were.

Ran: 22.89 miles in 4:16:52
2 Interval Conditioning classes for 80 minutes
Total Training Time: 5:36:52

Another week over; a new one about to begin!

(yes, the Christmas song with the line "another year over, a new one just begun" totally rang through my head as I typed that!)

Friday, March 21, 2014

Favorites: 3.21.14

These are a few of my favorite things .... right now.

1. Favorite new workout capris (I think they are the same ones; they don't show all of their clothes on the website)

2. Favorite time-~~waster~~ filler - meeting with a realtor tomorrow and possibly looking at one of the houses that have caught our eye. How does one ever decide!??!

3. Favorite TV show - Chicago Fire. With Chicago PD in a close second.

4. Favorite song - and for someone who doesn't listen to a lot of music, it says a lot that this has caught my attention. I've been thinking about adding it to a playlist, but I also associate it with stretching at the Y, so wonder if it would make me slow down!

5. Another favorite song - it helps that I work at a middle school, and they play songs during the first three minutes of passing period. If it weren't for that, I probably wouldn't even know half of these songs! LOL

6. Favorite day of the week - probably my least favorite song, especially because they played it the week we did our pennies for patients fundraiser on repeat - starting on Tuesday - and we had to pay to try and get it turned off. But it is my favorite day of the week!

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I am clearly thinking about playlists to have three songs on a favorites list, but it is something fun and different! What are your favorite, go-to tunes? What are your favorites in general right now? Share them!

Thursday, March 20, 2014

Three Things: 3.20.14

Changing things up this week and posting my three things list on Thursday instead of Tuesday.

1. I will post more about it in my weekly re-cap, but had an awesome run last night. Actually ended going my fastest of the night - which rarely happens for me! I was feeling pretty on top of the world. Love runs that leave you with that feeling. That is totally why we do this sport.

my upper body was warm during the run, but I didn't notice how warm until I got ready for the shower and noticed how sweaty I was! (this was my base layer) And, for the record, I am standing on Ava's stool!

2. We've been spending a lot of time looking at houses via the internet. We have been renting since we moved from central Minnesota to southern Minnesota nearly three years ago, and started the pre-qualification on somewhat of a whim. This is both nerve-wrecking and really exciting. It doesn't seem real yet that we may once again own our own home. Now if only we could agree on top priorities. Chad's is a double garage, Ava's a pink bedroom, and, honestly, I don't know what mine is!

3. Austin Public Schools currently rotates between a full week-long spring break one year and a shorter break the next. This year is a shorter one, but still looking forward to just a three day work week next week. I don't think we are doing anything, but we'll see! Now just to finish this week first ...

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Happy first day of spring!

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Wordless Wednesday: Bounce World

can you tell how sweaty she is?

Monday, March 17, 2014

Motivational Monday: 3.17.14

Training for Grandma's Marathon - June 21, 2014
(along the way I will run Earth Day Half-Marathon - April 19, 2014)

appropriate after last week

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Week 5 Training Plan:

Monday - 3 miles
Tuesday - Interval Conditioning (kettle bells)
Wednesday - 6 miles
Thursday - 3 miles + IC w/ kettle bells
Friday - Rest
Saturday - 12 miles
Sunday - swimming*

*I don't actually know what Sunday will look like; our plans right now are to go to the Cities for the 30th anniversary party for the company Chad works for on Saturday. It will just depend on what time we get home, chores, and everyone's moods!

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Have a good week!

Sunday, March 16, 2014

Weekly Wrap-Up: 3/10 - 3/16

Training Week 4 - Grandma's Marathon (June 21, 2014)

Monday: planned 3 miles/strength training; actual 3.14 miles and strength training. After heading to the clinic to get Ava's little fingers x-rayed, I was still able to get outside for my 3 mile run. It felt really good, even though I went way too fast. I ended up with a 10:43 average, but I think that is slow. I really did average that, I am sure. What I mean is that when I was running I was between 10:00 and 10:15, and then took a few quick walk breaks. At one point I was in the 9:40s. It felt good, just too fast to maintain. Had I been prepared for a 5K pace, I would have pushed to maintain it. Final time was 33:43. Then after packing my lunch and getting Ava to bed, I did 30 minutes of strength training. I did three sets of: 24 lunges with bicep curls, 15 squats with shoulder presses, 20 push-ups, 50 crunches, 10 single-leg dead lifts with upright rows (per leg), 15 shoulder flys, and 15 knee tucks with the stability ball. Overall, a good way to start the week! Here's the splits for the run:

Tuesday: planned Rest; actual Rest. Hello, conferences.

Wednesday: planned 6 miles; actual Rest. Ugh. Slightly frustrated with myself for this one. I did, however, sleep on the chair from 8-9, and then move to bed. I woke up Thursday morning feeling more awake than I had all week. I also didn't feel as nauseous or light headed. I still had some congestion in my head and a stuffy nose, but hopefully the extra night off will have a positive effect. Doesn't change my guilt!

Thursday: planned Rest; actual Rest. Thankfully conferences are done!

Friday: planned 3 miles and Cycle Box; actual nothing! :( First, let me say that Cycle Box is an awesome class the Y offers that is intervals of kick boxing and cycling. Perfect for someone who is intimidated by full classes of either! I don't know what happened tonight. There is no good excuse. Part of it was I gave up on the week being successful (even though some of it was due to events out of my control) so I justified it wouldn't matter if I just stuck with my normal Friday-off routine. Part of me just got lazy. I know I totally needed that workout, but I can't dwell on it. I knew this was going to be an off week, and now I just need to put it past me and move forward as planned.

Saturday: planned 11 miles; actual 11.01 miles. This was my first double digit run since October, and it felt surprisingly good. There was a little bit of a wall in the last three miles, and I went from a 11:05 average to a 11:12 average, but I am still hitting marks rightly aligned with where I want to be. There is truly not a lot to say about this run. It went off without a hitch; there were a few icy patches seeing as though it was the coldest day all week. And at one point at 9.5 miles I stepped on some ice that broke; I ended up with wet feet! It didn't feel as cold outside as I thought it was going to, but when I got ready to get in the shower, I had red blotches all over! Overall, ended with 11.01 miles in 2:03:21 - 11:12 average.

weather at start - cooler than I would normally run outside (yes, I'm a wimp that way). Didn't know what to expect!

Splits:

Mile	Time	Change	Avg Pace
1	12:05	--	12'05"/mi
2	23:01	- 1:09 (9%)	10'56"/mi
3	34:36	+ 0:39 (-6%)	11'35"/mi
4	45:35	- 0:35 (5%)	10'59"/mi
5	56:22	- 0:12 (1%)	10'47"/mi
6	1:07:09	- 0:00 (0%)	10'46"/mi
7 *Fastest	1:17:48	- 0:07 (1%)	10'38"/mi
8	1:28:41	+ 0:14 (-3%)	10'53"/mi
9	1:40:22	+ 0:47 (-8%)	11'40"/mi
10	1:51:45	- 0:17 (2%)	11'22"/mi
11	2:03:08	+ 0:00 (-1%)	11'22"/mi

Sunday: planned swimming; actual nothing .... again. I wanted to run and make-up some missed miles, but it was one of those Sundays where everything else came first. Laundry, cleaning, dishes. Prepping food for the week. Chad was gone for a couple of hours running some errands, so that didn't help. By the time I had finished everything, it was 5:30, and Chad went out to grill. Rather than ending the day feeling flustered trying to fit in a run, I took a shower and spent some time playing with Ava. Sadly, I still feel flustered and annoyed with myself.

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Weekly Totals:

2 runs for 14.15 miles in 2:36:51

30 minutes strength training

Total of 3:06:51 of training

I knew it was going to be an off week, but I am disappointed I let it get that bad.

Chin up; need to move forward.

Thursday, March 13, 2014

Currently: 3.13.14

wondering how much the x-rays on these poor fingers is going to cost us.

realizing it doesn't really matter.

loving that after we take her picture, she wants to take ours. and her own.

enjoying the sudden burst into spring.

hoping it sticks around; so over winter.

filling up our spring/summer weekends.

looking forward to it.

wishing I didn't know it is going to go way too fast.

getting over the busy hump at work that was February. just have to catch up on grades now.

feeling mischievous as I try to plan a surprise for Chad's birthday.

contemplating a few bigger decisions that would need their own posts to go into details.

drinking my share of shamrock shakes.

watching Chicago Fire and Chicago PD on TV. Addicting story lines, I think.

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Workout Wednesday

Really hoping to get past my self-confidence issues and incorporate a pool workout for cross training this weekend. Some things I am not sure about - do I have to wear a cap and goggles? What if my form is terrible? Will people notice if I try to keep my face out of the water? Am I going to be the only one in the pool? Will the life guard laugh at me?

I know - most of those are probably crazy things to even think about, much less worry about. I love swimming! Just don't often incorporate it into a workout - and we all know that is it's own entity! Still, I know it is a good form of exercise, and a perfect way to get some burn on while saving my legs for running. So - to pinterest I went!

original source here

My plan will be to either double the time shown, or team it up with some strength training. Or if 35 minutes feels like enough, I will just leave it as is.

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If you are not running, what do you do not only for cross training, but for cardio?

Any swimming tips to share?