Goal in the Works - Turkey Trot 5k

As I mentioned earlier, I made an attempt at my first run since hurting my leg and it did not go so well, but I finished. 24 miles to go before I complete my 30 miles before I'm 30.

Tough Princess Ain't So Tough

Bad news....I sprained or pulled a groin muscle. I haven't ran in nearly 3 weeks. I went to the doctor to make sure there wasn't a blood clot or hernia. I won't try running again until next week. I hope I am healed up by then. Wish me luck!

My Ears Froze But I Did it Anyway

Our first real cold front came today. The high was 65 with frigid gusts of wind. We mostly stayed inside except to walk Dyno. I love the smell of fall and winter and even the refreshing air but the cold part I can do with out. In my opinion, it shouldn't get any colder than it was today. Unfortunately that's not how the seasons work. At least it will be better here than it was in Portland. Boy, I do not miss running in Portland fall and winters. Freezing + Rain = Miserable Nicole! My least favorite part is when my ears get cold. Even when we used to go up to Timberline on Mount Hood my ears would freeze like popsicles. It hurts, I feel like they're on the verge of frostbite. Yes, I wear a hat. What can I say, I just have sensitive ears.
Anyhow, I did another 3 miles this evening. It was 53 degrees with a 15 mph head wind. Brrrrr. I still walked for about a minute and a half about half way through. I managed to complete my run in 30 minutes 12 seconds! I was so happy to get inside when I was done that I kept running to get home faster.

Super Run!!!!!

Yeah baby! I haven't run 3 miles in 2 weeks when I did the run with my mom. Don't get me wrong, I have been training but haven't done 3 miles until today. And I did it in 29 minutes 28 seconds!!!! I only stopped once about half way through! I am so pumped! I think I was a little discouraged after the 5k we did so have been a little timid about doing it again. The run was tough but I've got my mojo back now!

Goal in the Works - 5k

While we are here in Florida, I went ahead and signed up for a 5k. My first competitive run on my way to accomplish 30 competitive miles by the time I'm 30 as well as preparation for the half marathon in February. My mom has also started running so we signed up to do the run together. The run was part of a surfing competition going on at Jacksonville Beach so it was appropriately named the Surf and Sun Run. What a gorgeous morning for a run!

So overall I did decent although I wasn't very happy with my performance. Derrick keeps telling me not to be so hard on myself. I hadn't run in a week and it was a very busy weekend with a bit of wine. But I have to be hard on myself to keep myself in check.
I have never run on a beach before. I enjoyed the fresh salty air however, the beach is at a slight angle so going the first half I had a lot of pressure on my left leg and coming back it was on my right leg. Something I had not considered. I managed to run the first 12 minutes and then took a minute walking break. Then ran another 12 minutes and took a 30 second walking break. Ran 8 minutes and another 30 second walking break. Then ran the rest of the way in. My final time was 39 minutes 23 seconds. Like I said, decent. That's about a 13 minute mile.

 

When I finished I continued running. I circled around and went back to Mom to run the rest of what she had left with her. After all, we were doing the run together. :-)

20 Minutes

Oh boy! It was an interesting week in the training schedule. Each week I run 3 sometimes 4 times. Each run is the same for the week, until this week. I started out running 5, walking 3, running 8, walking 3, running 5. It wasn't awful but it was a challenge, which is what I need. Then it was run 10, walk 5, run 10. Oh yay! That wasn't awful either but once again, it was a challenge. Well, the third night was run 20 minutes. I had to do a double take when I looked at the schedule although I should have seen it coming. And perhaps I did see it coming I just didn't want to acknowledge it. So I did it. I ran 20 minutes with no walking break. And again, to my surprise, it wasn't awful but it was a challenge. I was so proud of myself! Yay for me! The part that I really love is that my breathing has not been an issue at all this go round. I'm just working on the endurance in my muscles. Perhaps a little more lower body and core workout should be in the works. Next week is similar but I build up to 22 minutes. Inch by inch, minute by minute, quarter mile by quarter mile - I will run the half in February is less than 2 hours and 30 minutes!

Tough Princess Training Week 1

The week started off with a little kick ass Brazilian Butt. I made it through the 40 minute workout of a variation of lunges and squats. It was definitely a killer, toward the end I was unable to do a full squat. I was afraid of what I would feel like a couple of days later.

Tuesday was my first run of training. Since it's been 2 years since my last run, I felt most comfortable easing into it rather than jumping in. I decided to do run/walk intervals. Run 60 seconds, walk 90 seconds, repeat for 20 minutes. Doesn't sound too bad until you do it. It was just slightly less hard as I remember it the first time. I got through it nonetheless and felt great afterward. Felt proud of myself!

Wednesday was a rest day. Thank goodness! As I suspected my legs and booty were sore, I don't think I would have been able to run. I hesitated going down the 2 steps in our home. Pathetic. Well, all I can think of is the phrase, "Pain is your body's way of ridding itself of weakness." Weakness is spot-on. I can't wait to be strong again. I don't mean strong so that I can lift my 200 pound husband out of his chair but strong as in a lean mean fighting machine who can lift the cast iron skillet out of the oven with 1 hand. But seriously, I'm looking forward to feeling more alert, having more energy, sleeping better and just feeling great! All that will come soon.

Thursday I felt great after my rest day yesterday, ready to hit the pavement. I did another 60/90 run/walk. Toward the end I started to feel my groove or my stride. I was breathing well - one, TWO, three, one, TWO, three. The weather wasn't awful since it had rained early in the evening. I felt great!

Friday I did a Pilates workout that focused on arms. I wasn't impressed. I will definitely have up the ante on the arms.

Saturday was my last day on the 60 sec/90 sec run/walk. It felt great! While I was running, I was keeping in pace with another lady. It's like we were doing the same training. I started off walking just behind her then I would run past her and start my walk and then here she would come running, pass me and then walk. I wanted to ask her if she was doing the same training but I didn't. I promised myself that if I see her again I would. Then I might get a running buddy and some bonus encouragement!

Well all in all I am off to a great start. I know I have a long way to go but I just keep focusing on my small accomplishments. Next week the runs get a little bit longer. I'm ready. I know it will probably kick my butt but the 60/90 is too easy. Can't wait!!!!

Tough Princess

Preparation and Overview

Well it's official, I will be participating I my first half marathon in February. I'm registered for the Disney Princess Half in Orlando. I am very excited but a bit nervous. The last time I ran was right before we found out we were pregnant in November of 2010. So I will be starting my training from scratch just like I did when I trained for the 5k nearly 2 years ago. I'm going to share my training with you in order to hopefully keep me more accountable. So I'm all geared up. I got new running shoes and a few new running outfits for my birthday this past weekend, which means I'll be excited to run for at least the first few weeks because who doesn't love to wear new things. :-) While I'm busy training, Derrick is also training for a Tough Mudder, which is basically a half marathon intense obstacle course.

My Gear:

New Brooks running shoes from Louisiana Running Company. The store was pretty cool. They video taped and took pictures of my foot while I ran on a treadmill. Based on my foot and stride they found several shoes for me to try that would be ideal. After an hour of trying shoes on and testing them on the treadmill, usually wearing two different shoes to compare, I decided on my Princess Jasmine Brooks shoes. (that's the name I gave them since this is all in the name of the Disney Princess Half).

My Schedule:

Monday: cross training (lower body)

Tuesday: running

Wednesday: rest

Thursday: running

Friday: cross training (upper body)

Saturday: running

Sunday: rest

Pre- Half Marathon Goals:

Although I'm training to run 13.1 miles and not too concerned about speed at this point, I decided it would be smart to participate in a few organized shorter runs before February.

I am currently registered for the following:

Oct. 7 - Surf and Sun 5k in Jacksonville, FL

Nov. 22 - Turkey Trot 10k in Miami, FL (this was my very first run 2 years ago)

Dec. 16 - Ole Man River 5k in New Orleans, LA

Modified Diet:

We already eat pretty healthy; we don't keep cookies or chips on hand, we don't eat out a lot, we shop from the outside of the market rather than the isles and we drink lots of water. That being said we are going to up the ante a bit by trying a Paleo diet. Derrick learned about it at Crossfit. At first we thought only he would do it and I would do a modified version. Well since I have to cook slightly modified meals for him anyway I figured I may as well go all in. I will be sharing only good recipes with you but please keep in mind that I am not a recipe writer and usually cook like the Italian I am- a little bit of this, a little bit of that- so measurements will be a challenge but I will try to keep them in mind.

What is the Paleo Diet?

In a nut shell, we will be eating like cave people. Veggies, farm-fresh meat, fruit, nuts. No dairy, no sugar, no legumes, no grains, no processed foods. It's going to be really hard not eating pasta or dairy. Cheese is one of my top two foods depending on the day.

So let the games begin.