p*ss poor planning = poor performance

Me + exercising have not seen eye to eye this summer.

As I've mentioned before, this is pretty ironic because this weekend I'm going to ride 150 miles to Sandusky and back. On. My. Bike. (Bicycle, for those of you who needed that clarification).


It's not that I don't think I can do it, but I just don't feel like I prepared adequately for it. In other words, it's a matter of how sore I am going to be next Monday.

This is no body's fault but my own, and it's not even because I've been lazy. It's simply because I didn't have a plan. It can be pretty easy for me to get burnt out on training, but I freaking LOVE running, or biking, or just BEING active. Regardless, I still need to force myself to make time in my day for it...otherwise it hits the back burner pretty quickly.

In the future I am going to do a few things to avoid that "I am riding 150 miles in a few days and have not trained a lick" feeling. I know have one bridge to cross before getting to the next, but after the Pedal to the Point ride, I am going to start training, in earnest, for a half marathon on October 9th.


4 Tips to Avoiding The "OMGIhaven'ttrainedandI'mrunningamarathonin3days" feeling:


PLAN. I am coming to the realization that I have to have a plan to stay active, even if that plan is just what I'll be doing for the next week. "Monday, rest. Tuesday, run. Wednesday, bike..." etc. etc. etc. Whatever your plan is, put it on paper...or on your calendar, on your blog, on your facebook page, whatever. When you can see your plan as a whole it makes it much easier to plan around, keep track of, and make changes if necessary.


BE FLEXIBLE. Here's the other side of the "make a plan" part...be flexible with it!! Life is a lot like the ocean; fluid and unpredictable. If you have dinner plans, you can always switch your workout day with your rest day. If you are feeling extra tired, take an extra day off. If it's too hot (or too cold) out, move your workout to a different location. Most importantly, whatever happens, be totally okay with it. I am the first person to feel guilty for a missed workout, but I've been working very hard on just being. Every day is a new beginning and tomorrow is never going to remember that you had to skip today's workout.


CHANGE IT UP. Although doing the same thing day after day provides certainty and consistency (if you're into that) most people tend to get bored of the same 'ol, same 'ol after a while. Physiologically, your body even gets bored of it and will refuse to continue improving. You don't have to actually work out to be active; if you have a rest day on your schedule, take the dogs for a walk or clean your bathroom (no lie, I get a s.e.r.i.o.u.s. workout scrubbing my tub).  Go to the rock wall instead of hitting the weight room. Do a body weight circuit instead of 45 minutes on the treadmill (ugh. dreadmill).


REWARD YOURSELF. This is probably the most important part. Be generous with your rewards. Make sure they often come in the form of gratuitous amounts of ice cream (or popcorn!!!) I know this only from empirical evidence, but when you first start potty training your kids, it's often done with some sort of treat. Peanut M&Ms perhaps? Positive reinforcement is a powerful tool...there is no reason to skimp on it just because it's for you and not someone else.

Where am I going with all this?? I am taking my own advice (for once). I planned my half marathon training and I'm putting it out there; it's in my google docs and now it's out on my blog. I am going to be flexible with it though, because - unlike the Cleveland Marathon - Brandon and I won't be able to train together as much unless I can learn to bend and flex my plans. I'm changing things up, I want to incorporate speed into my training more and get faster (running faster is something I plan to rely heavily on Brandon for, because he was a soccer speed demon in a former life). AND I'm going to reward myself, because, let's be real...I never skimp on engaging in activities that make me happy!

Here is my big plan:

I will get into specifics more as I update you throughout the next eight weeks, but my end goal is not to just train for this half marathon. It's to get up to running regularly and being able to run a 10k-15k race without much prior planning and to eventually PR a 5k, then a 10k..etc. etc. 

In the meantime, wish me luck for the next 150 miles of my life!!! Have you ever experience that "I just haven't prepared well for this {insert event here}" feeling? What do you do when it happens?

Ride Recap: Medina Twin Sizzler

Since I'm going to talk about my first "organized" training ride today, I want to do some promoting for a BikeMS fundraiser first.

What: FireSide Symphony Concert for MS

Where: Dewey's Coffeehouse, 13201 Shaker Square (NE quadrant) Cleveland, OH

When: Friday, July 15th

Time: 8pm - 10pm

Details: 

This is a performance to raise awareness and money to fund scientific research for Multiple Sclerosis. In August, Team "Baby Got Bike" will be biking 150 miles in 2 days in August, to show our love and support for those living with MS. 

Funds raised from this BikeMS ride is crucial to the National MS Society and the services and support they provide. This is a free performance, but all donations will go directly to Team Baby Got Bike's fundraising efforts for the National MS Society. Please come ready to support the services and research they provide to those living with MS with a night of music!

Dewey's Coffeehouse offers a small cork fee and glasses for any wine/beer you want to bring. If adult beverages aren't your thing, they have lots of coffee and snack options.

OK, so that's that. If you're in the Cleveland area, please please please come out and show your support! Brandon's got a lot of fun songs planned and there will even be a special guest performer...you have to come out to see who it is!

On the Fourth of July, Brandon and I rode in our very first bike race as a bit of training for Pedal to the Point. The Medina Twin Sizzler was a combo of a few races; 5k run/walk, 10k run, and 27 mile bike ride. I've done 27 miles on the towpath before, but this was my first official, ride with other people, bike ride. 

Prior to this ride, I had only ridden once in Medina. Despite this fact, I have done a handful of runs at lunch and I definitely know how hilly it can be. It's a stark contrast to the flat flat flatness of the east side. You know what? Hills are downright fun on a bike! I actually enjoy riding hills much more than running them. It might be something about the coast down the other side ;-)

Anyway, it took Brandon, his sister Tanja and I about 2 hours and 10 minutes to ride the 27 miles on this course, so we're talking about 12 mph. A few people have mentioned that it's pretty easy to ride about 20 mph on the Pedal to the Point course...but I'm not convinced I can ride that fast. We shall see. 

Overall, it was a fun and pretty challenging ride. I think I'm in for it when it comes to 150 miles, because I haven't ridden more than 27 in one shot thus far. BUT I'm less concerned about the mileage and more concerned about my butt. Riding 75 miles, two days in a row is going to do a number on that part of my body. 

Now that I'm back from my Cali/Chi-town vacay, I'm going to get back on my bike in earnest. I've got a few good rides planned for the weekend, maybe a run or two, and plenty of yoga!

Want to donate to Team Baby Got Bike? Click here! Or, you can click the link on my sidebar anytime! 

Marathon Monday: Training Week #17

Ready, set...taper!

We're in the home stretch for training and last week was our last big run before the marathon. This is the before:

and the after:

Yeah, that's dried salty sweat all over my face. This is my glorious post-run chocolate milk. Probably the best post-run drink ever (and if you haven't had Hartzler Dairy chocolate milk, you haven't lived!)

It was a really tough run, because we went all the way up MLK and then ran back into the heights via Shaker Lakes. A.K.A. the second half of our run was all uphill. I have had a really tough time with hill training this time around. We have done very little of it, but I basically just hate it, so I don't even want to do it. We took a 10 minute walk break on one of the big hills on the way back to shaker lakes, and I was totally okay with that. We finished, and that is what's important. Brandon and I had some company to lounge around on the deck with after our run. These guys love to soak up the warm sunlight!

They also love to lick all the sweat off of our faces after we get back from a run. Oh well, it's better than Buck eating our socks! (Brandon has lost at least three to his stomach)

With two weeks left of training, our week is going to look something like this:

Our cross training this week is going to consist of removing sod to ready the yard for our raised garden beds, rototilling the garden to get it ready for planting, painting the upstairs bedroom so we can move into it and walking the dogs, if the weather is nice. Please help us pray for dry weather...our plants want to be in the ground!!

Two more easy weeks that we can focus on keeping our bodies and minds healthy, eat clean whole foods and [hopefully] get ready to welcome the summertime!

I'll leave you with one more picture...

Don't mind the dried mud all over Buck's nose, he decided he wanted to try to dig up our Japanese Maple. Regardless, I'm in love with my dogs.

Peace, Love & Bagels,

Race Recap: St. Malachi 5-miler

The results are in...

5 miles

44:58

9:00/mile pace

I'm happy to report the first race of the 2011 season was awesome. The St. Malachi 5 Miler really gave me the chance to see how much stronger I'm getting, and I attribute that (and am uber grateful) to having Brandon to train with. He pushes me at times when, if I were training alone, I would have slowed down or given up. So, Brandon...thank you!

I thought race day was going to be shoddy Cleveland weather again (as I stayed home from work the day before, because of the massive amounts of wet snow falling from the sky) but it turned out to be an incredible day! Sure, there was still snow on the ground and things were a little bit wet, but the sun was shining and that counts for about 5-gazillion happy points here in CLE.

Apparently I missed out on the big hill at the end that was part of the course last year, but I was kind of impressed with the "hills" they threw in this year (one hill is a bridge). It was a fun course though, out and back  that went around Browns stadium and the Rock Hall. This is what the elevation looked like:

(according to my Garmin)

The hills toward the end were definitely not to be taken lightly, but in my opinion, we killed it. We did start out too fast though, and I should have known better in that respect. I have a watch that tells me my pace and I generally know what I'm capable of, and a sub-8:30 mile is not something I can hold for 5 miles. So we had to stop to walk a couple of times, but we still ran it in 9:00/miles!!

I was surprised that there was only one water station at the turn-around though. Brandon said that he definitely needed more water than that. So, from now on, we are definitely bringing our own water bottle to races. Even if it's just my 10-ounce hand water bottle, it will be beneficial if I have something to drink between water stations, should I need it. 

Overall, great race! Well staffed, fun long-sleeve race shirt, lots of post-race food and water...although, I didn't go to McCarthy's for the post-race party (since we gave up booze for Lent) but I'm sure that was a good time too! It's a race I'll definitely participate in again and it was a really great halfway-through-training-checkpoint to re-motivate me after a week of slacking off (our mileage totalled 10 miles last week with a few yoga practi sprinkled in). I'm definitely ready for the week to come:

Monday: rest

Tuesday: 5 miles easy

Wednesday: rest/cross-train

Thursday: Speedwork - 6 miles with 3x1600 and 800 jogs

Friday: rest/cross-train

Saturday: 12 miles

Sunday: rest/cross-train

As always, lots of Peace, Love & Bagels,

Marathon Training Re-remixed

First of all, there was a 7 foot surge that hit Maui this morning because of the earthquake in Japan. My mom had to evacuate her house, but she's alright. She said the roads were flooded and closed but everyone is okay. My dad didn't have to evacuate because they are above the tsunami evac zone, but they were "housing some evacuees" (direct quote from my stepmom). Thank god that all is well with my family but my thoughts and prayers are still with anyone else who had any flood damage!

Now, lets talk training. Brandon and I decided to change the rules in the middle of the game and start a new training plan.

New training plan, new philosophy. I like.

I got the new plan from the runnersworld.com Smart Coach (you might need to register with the website to use it) but what I like about it is one less day of running, one more day of crosstraining. Also, the fact that it's a slower increase in long run mileage than my original plan.

My shins were starting to hurt again a couple of weeks ago, and I cannot end up with another stress fracture. So, one less day of running and a slower mileage increase is definitely going to help that. I am listening to my body, taking the time off that I need to and adjusting my training when I need myself to!

With a few exceptions because of races we already have planned, the new schedule will look something like this:

Our running has been all over the place this week. In part because of being very very tired from last weekend's debauchery, but also because we are doing all kinds of new things for the next 40 days. Oh yes, and the weather of course. 

We decided not to do our runs until last night because we were so tired. We were supposed to run on Tuesday, which was sunny and 50 degrees. Instead, we ran yesterday. We did our tempo run in the middle of the Cleveland rain/snow hybrid. Yick. But it was a good run, and tonight we're planning to try to run in the 8 inches of snow that is currently on the ground. Then, tomorrow is the St. Malachi 5 miler! Super excited for our first race of the season! Our running schedule this week looks like this:

Monday - rest

Tuesday - 30 minute yoga practice (sidebends are awesome!!)

Wednesday - 30 minute morning yoga practice, afternoon push-ups/sit-ups/squats

Thursday - 6 mile tempo run, including at least 4 miles at a 9:26 pace

Friday - 5 miles easy, or yoga...depending on the conditions outside

Saturday - St. Malachi 5-miler in downtown CLE

Sunday - mayyyybe a nice long yoga practice, depending on how we feel

So, next week we'll get back in the groove after today's snow day and a nice weekend at home! How is your training going? 

Peace, Love & Bagels,

Marathon Monday: Training Week #9

This week marks the [drumroll please...] halfway point of our marathon training!

Last week went something like this:

Monday - 48 minute, run 4/walk 2. Fairly easy run, south on Belvoir and back home. Brandon and I had a good run talk, which I think distracted me from over focusing on the fact that it was our first run back after a weekend-long break. I love having a running buddy!

Tuesday - 7 mile run. We did this 4 on, 1 off and discovered some new neighborhoods while we were at it. That was the best part! I mapped a run on mapmyrun.com so we could get away from our regular loops around the house. It was definitely a good move - broke up the monotony.

Wednesday - 6x800. This was supposed to be our Thursday run, but since we're doing our long run on Friday this week, we decided it's better to have a day in between hard 800's and the long slow run. I felt really good with these splits! We walked in between instead of jogging, but that's what both of us needed. My body was like "ok, I'll run these 800's hard, but you better give me more rest in between". At our slowest, we ran a 4:07 (for the 800) and at our fastest, we ran a 3:50. Stronger everyday!

Thursday - rest! Although, I might do some of my pushups, situps and squats. I decided to spread the workout out over the whole week instead of trying to get 5 sets in, three days a week. That might sound silly, but I am still doing the same amount of strength training in one week, just not concentrating it into three days.

Friday - 13 miles. I mapped a course similar to our 7 miler on Tuesday and it ended up being a pretty nice run. It wasn't too cold, until the wind blew of course. Yay for 13 miles, three days off and HOBOKEN ST. PATTY'S DAY!

Saturday - Sunday - REST (plus, green food and green beer!)

Our training last week essentially looked something like this (I love the garmin website, because it gives weekly mileage)

Next week will look something like this:

except, Monday is a rest day due to a seminar at Great Lakes Brewing Co. on keeping backyard livestock and the 7-hour, turned 10-hour drive back from NJ we had yesterday. There was a freak snowstorm in PA that absolutely covered the roads and had us moving at 30 mph (at the fastest!) Needless to say, we need a day off before getting back into it.

How did you spend your weekend??


Peace, Love & Bagels,

Marathon Monday: Training Week #8

So long, warm weather. Last week we had to do a little mixing and matching of our run days:

Monday - 48 minute run turned rest day. Problem #1: I broke one of my Yaktrax. Problem #2: snowing/icing all day made the road/sidewalk conditions unsafe. Problem #3: I hate treadmills. So we decided to do this run some other time during the week.

Tuesday - 7 mi pace. This was an awesome run, paired with a few sets of push-ups, sit-ups and squats. Our longest tempo run yet! We warmed up for a mile and ran the next 6 miles at about a 9:30 pace. It was so cold, but I felt strong. These tempo runs are becoming one of my favorites, because they are very telling of how strong we are getting. About a third of the way through our training, I am feeling very confident, especially after tempo runs.

Wednesday - 48 minutes run 4, walk 2. Lunchtime run, in the sun! I don't necessarily like running at lunch from work, because that either means running laps around the parking lot (boring and more importantly weird - my colleagues already think I'm nuts) or running for about half a mile down Route 18. The speed limit is only 50 mph, but cars frequently drive 65 or 70 because it's a big long stretch of road. I chose running on 18, it turned out fine.

Thursday - 48 minutes run 4, walk 2. Again, running at lunch along route 18. The run actually felt a little better than yesterday, but I'm starting to become a bit concerned about my left calf/shin. My calf is ALWAYS very sore when I run, which has been the case sine our trip home to Maui. My shin has always been a problem child for me, but I'm trying not to end up with another stress fracture.

Friday, Saturday and Sunday - yoga and rest. We decided to take this weekend off because my shin has been hurting a bit. I want to nip this before it becomes a bigger issue. No stress fractures this time around!! Resting now is the best way for me to just listen to my body, and let myself heal before a shin splint turns into a stress fracture.

Here's what is coming up this week:

We will be doing our long run on Friday instead of Saturday, because we're taking a trip to Hoboken, NJ for the weekend. Parade Day is Hoboken's day to celebrate St. Patrick's Day and not compete with the New York City St. Patty's Day parade. It's basically the happiest day of the year; lots of green bagels, green beer and Gio's pizza! It's also become a quasi-reunion for my friends from college...and I'm thoroughly looking forward to it. Even if that means running 13 miles and then driving 7.5 hours to Jersey.

Peace, Love & Bagels,

Marathon Monday: Training Week #7

So last week, our runs went a little like this:

Monday - run/walk for 30 minutes. I did this one at lunch and it was kind of a nice change of pace, running in the daylight instead of dusk/darkness. I felt really great about it all (well, except the half mile long stretch of Route 18 that I have to run to get anywhere). It was a little colder and definitely windier than I anticipated, as I (regrettably, I might add) wore my thin spandex. Plus, it's always fun coming back from a run in spandex to work...I can't wait until the summer so I can wear real clothes that I don't look ridiculous in.

Tuesday - 6mi pace. This is our bi-weekly tempo run, and we KILLED it again. I can't begin to tell you how great this makes me feel, because I can tell I'm getting stronger. We averaged about a 9:30 pace for our 5 tempo miles! That pace used to be very difficult for me to hold. I attribute it 100% to having a running partner to keep me motivated. If I was running alone, it's highly likely I would slow down if I got uncomfortable. Now, I have Brandon to look to. If I get uncomfortable and I see that he is still going strong, I just dig a little deeper and keep it up. That is making all the difference this time around. Thanks, Brandon!

Wednesday - rest!


Thursday - 5x 800. Wow! I am so amazed at how strong we've gotten. We ran all of these half mile repeats consistently at about an 8:00 minute/mile pace. Last time we ran 800's (three weeks ago) we did four at about the same pace, but by the fourth one I felt like I couldn't possibly do another. This time we slowed it down at the start a tiny bit, and ran all five very strong repeats. I was dreading the run all day, but it's much less intimidating now that I am feeling real changes in my running strength. Oh and guess what? It was 60 degrees out!

Friday - yoga. Brandon and I generally practice at home for our cross-training day (speaking of cross training, I started doing my sit-ups on an exercise ball, which seems to be MUCH more effective than on the ground - so if you're following the twohundredsitups plan, try making that change if you hate sit-ups like I do!)

Saturday - 11 miles. Ok, so this run turned into a 9.2 mile run because my Garmin froze on me 10 minutes in, so we had no clue about the time or mileage...and we got lost. It was the best time though! An absolute Cleveland adventure, and even though we didn't do all 11 miles, I feel really good about it! We got to see the city of Cleveland from a whole new perspective, and we spent the last half of our run trying to figure out where the heck we were. I'd like to do more runs, sans watch.


Sunday - rest!


Here is what Week #7 is going to look like:

So, despite the fact that there is another half inch of ice on the ground and it took me two hours to get to work this morning, hopefully we can have another strong week. I need go to Dick's straight after work and invest in a new pair of Yaktrax so I can actually run tonight. 

Oh Monday. 

Peace, Love & Bagels, 

Marathon Monday: Training Week #6

This week's running schedule!

Last week was a strange week. Let's start with, the temperature was below zero for 3 out of the seven days. Instead of a nice easy 6 miler on Tuesday, we got out, ran for 3, then I decided I was just too uncomfortable to finish. Thursday was, again just too damn cold...so we decided to practice yoga INSIDE instead of doing our 800s. Training is supposed to be fun, not torture. I'm still going to be able to run a marathon in May regardless of whether I skipped a few training runs here or there.

Besides, every now and then you need an easy week.

Friday and Saturday were both pretty easy runs. We just did a 10k on Saturday and it was the first time we ran in the sun since we were on Maui. I overdressed because it was supposed to be cold and WINDY. Windy, it was, but the sun is stronger than the wind (I believe there is an Aesop's Fable about that) and I had to take off my sweats within 5 minutes of beginning.

This week, we're only going to do five 800s, instead of seven, since that is what we were supposed to do last week and we skipped it. Plus, I haven't updated my training schedule but it's really only supposed to be six this week anyway. I'm looking forward to a tougher week, mostly because the weather is going to warm up. So maybe, just maybe I won't have to spend 20 minutes getting ready to run!

Some things I want to keep an eye on this week:

• My left shin, it's been nagging a bit on the last few runs. At the very least, I need to do a few toe taps before heading out the door to warm up those muscles a bit. 
• Brandon's right foot, which has been hurting him again. Two of his metatarsal bones (2nd and 3rd ray I think) sit very close together and rub against each other. Painful.

Today, I'll be venturing outside for my run at lunch. I'm excited to have the afternoon off because of running earlier in the day - that's what I love so much about running in the morning. When it is lighter and warmer earlier (like maybe in April or May) we might begin to do a few of our runs before work instead of afterwards. 

I can tell I'm getting stronger. The most telling thing is the number of push ups I can do in a row. I think I'm up to about 23 right now, which is awesome!! That's 11 more than I could do two weeks ago! I'll try to get some in before or after my run today, but I always feel so ridiculous working out in my office. We really need a dedicated workout room!

This week, I also want to pay close attention to how I'm fueling my body. We have several tough runs coming up, so gorging on sugary snacks and pizza is probably not my best choice (guilty, there were a lot of those things last week!) Although, I'm not gonna lie, one of my colleagues brought in the most adorable "conversation heart" sugar cookies. I will be enjoying one of those shortly.

If you're training, how did your last week go? What's in store for this week?

Peace, Love & Bagels,

Marathon Monday: Training Week #5

Last week, the weather threw a curveball at us; lots of snow followed by an entire day of ICE!

Needless to say, Brandon and I made the smart decision to spend Tuesday and Wednesday inside resting so we could get back to running on Thursday. 

Our run on Thursday was awesome. I don't know if it was the two days of rest beforehand or the fact that we were running on snowless streets rather than snowy sidewalks. Probably a little of both. It was a tempo run that we absolutely killed. Now, I know most of my running friends run faster than 10 minute miles, but our goal pace for tempo runs is a 10:15/mile.

We did five solid miles averaging about a 9:35/mile pace on Thursday! With the first a slow warm-up, here were our splits:

I think I'm still in shock!

For those of you who were in Northeast Ohio this weekend, you know it snowed all day on Saturday. Our 10-miler started out really nicely, with no snow on the roads. About halfway through we were getting pelted in the face with little ice-balls and the roads were getting slick. Finishing that run felt awesome! We followed it up by sharing a (saved from Christmas) Great Lakes Christmas Ale!

This week, it's just going to be cold. All week. I can hope the the roads will be clear, but those hopes will likely be dashed by the Cleveland Weather Gods. I'm looking forward to an easy weekday runs (except for our 800s) and an easy weekend run.

In other news, I'm up to 25 push-ups in a row! I've started the path of strength training, sans gym and I am absolutely loving it. 

Oh, and for the record, I did my push-ups routine in the fireproof room in my office last Friday after work. We really need an office workout room. 

Peace, Love & Bagels,

Marathon Monday: Training Week #4

So this past week was an interesting one in the world of "Becca and Brandon Train For A Marathon". First week back in the cold, sub-freezing snowy tundra that is Cleveland right now. Thank goodness it didn't actually snow while we had to be outside running, but there is about six inches of snow on all the sidewalks and there is no sign of it melting anytime soon (according to accuweather.com, the "real feel" in Cleveland is -1 right now, and it's only going to get colder!)

Monday's are generally an easier run for us, so we've decided to start taking Pele', our puppy, out on our easy runs. Last Monday, that meant trudging through 2 feet of snow in Bexley Park (I know, I know...dogs are not allowed). It blows my mind how different it is to run in the snow! I would invest in a pair of snowshoes, but living in the 'burbs of Cleveland doesn't really lend to the terrain always being snowshoe friendly.

Last Tuesday and Thursday were two challenging runs; one tempo and one speedwork run.

The tempo run was a 5 miler. We warmed up for a mile, did three hard miles - which ended up being slower than our goal pace...thanks, in part to all the snow on the ground, then cooled down for a mile. The speedwork came in the form of four 800m repeats. For those of you that think in English, not metric...that's about half a mile. Luckily, that's exactly how long our street is.

Here's our schedule for this coming week:

Hopefully it'll be a bit easier than last week. 

We're going to start doing our push-ups, sit-ups and squats this week too! AND, we're bringing back our daily morning yoga practice. It was a little too difficult to begin yoga again last week because I was still highly jetlagged...mornings were more difficult than they normally are! It's amazing how even just a short yoga practice helps get my day started off on the right note. 

I'm really looking forward to this week.

Oh, and one more thing...

LET'S GO STEELERS!

(source)

Peace, Love & Bagels,

Marathon Monday: Training Week #3

Alright folks, back from the two week Maui vacay. Two weeks of training under our belts. Training on Maui has been a blessing (I absolutely love running in SHORTS!) but it has also been a whole different world. Running on the beach is much different that running on the road; even in the snow. Now I'm working on not getting sick because of the 70 degree temperature difference between Cleveland and Kihei.

This week should be a tiny bit easier than last week since we don't have much of a "long run"...instead, just a 10k pace run. That, and Cleveland is just flat, flat, flat compared to Maui. The lack of hilliness will be a welcome change to our runs, but the sub-freezing temperatures will absolutely not be.

So thank goodness that tonight is an easy run, because I'm pretty sure the weather looks something like this:

Um, that's approximately a 65 degree difference from what we've been training in for the past two weeks!! I have to make sure I take this easy so I don't get sick. I plan on wearing mucho mucho layers...I once counted twelve articles of clothing on an early winter run, this is going to have to be at least fifteen. It's an absolute must to get out of my wet clothing as soon as I get back inside. I'm definitely recharging with an Emergen-C, a shower, and dinner as soon as I get inside. 

Later in the week the weather shows a picture of a blue thermometer...I don't even know what that means!! I guess I'll be hanging up my running shorts for a while, huh?

Welcome Home to Cleveland!!

Peace, Love & Bagels,

Marathon Monday: Training Week #2

For some reason I cannot take a screen shot of my running schedule for the week, so I'll just write it out:

Monday: Rest or crosstrain
Tuesday: 30 min run 3min/walk 2min
Wednesday: 5 mile run
Thursday: 35 min run 3min/walk 2min
Friday: Rest or crosstrain
Saturday: 9 miles
Sunday: Rest

Our first week of training on Maui (yep, loving it!) was absolutely divine as far as winter running goes! We decided to forego our 800s on Thursday to go to my mom's spin class instead...holy wow! I forgot how tough her classes were. It ended up being a great stand-in for the 800s.

Our crosstraining day consisted of a private 2-hour yoga class and then a hike along Waihe'e ridge, which was basically a vertical incline for the first quarter mile and then a very steady uphill the rest of the way. No complaints though, it was beautiful. We finished just before it started to rain, but waterfalls were still going off. It was really incredible...I can't believe I never did that hike when I lived here.

Our pace run was really challenging. We held about a 10:15/mile for the first 4 miles, the last was the most challenging because of a huge headwind and a long hill to finish on. The hills here are nothing to underestimate, it's definitely a reality check compared to flat Cleveland.

Our first long run on Saturday was also challenging and hilly, but very rewarding as there was a jump in the ocean as soon as we finished. We did a run 4 minutes/ walk 1 minute cycle, which was absolutely my savior. Those rests were totally needed! With some maple syrup water and some of Angela's raw energy cookie bites we were well fueled for the first 8 miles of marathon training.

Sorry Cleveland...I don't miss you at all.

Anatomy of a Training Run

Anatomy of a Training Run: the Tempo Run

When I trained for my first half marathon, I followed a training plan that I got from the Smart Coach tool at runnersworld.com. If you're not used to running lingo, those training plans can look like Chinese. 

At least that's what I thought when I saw "tempo" workouts on the plan. They looked something like this:

5 mi, inc Warm; 3 mi @ 9:17; Cool

wtf?!? (yep, I'm using texting abbrevs even though I have a full keyboard and all ten fingers at my disposal)

According to Running Times Magazine, Jack Daniels (hahaha, what a name!) popularized the tempo run and defines it as such: "A tempo run is nothing more than 20 minutes of steady running at threshold pace." Basically, you're running for extended mileage (3+ miles, depending on what you're training for) at a pace that is right at your anaerobic threshold (holy college flashback, batman!) which is the threshold where lactic acid starts to accumulate in your blood because you're exhaling more oxygen than you're taking in. Anaerobic = the way your cells metabolizes energy without oxygen. For most people, that  is the pace that corresponds to about 90% of your max heart rate, or a pace that is 25-30 seconds/mile slower than your current 5k race pace. Well, unless you're like me and like to leisurely jog a 5k.

So your tempo run is higher intensity exercise over a longer distance (in relation to speedwork and long, easy runs). Back to my "smart coach"...

5 mi, inc warm, 3 mi @ 9:17, cool just means to run a total of 5 miles, which include 3 miles at my anaerobic threshold pace (or 9:17 according to smart coach) plus a warmup and cooldown for about a mile each.

The tempo runs don't have to be that specific though. For me, it's going to be all about perceived exertion. My training plan says things like "5 mile pace" which will translate into running 5 miles at a "comfortably hard" pace - one that can be maintained for an hour. Maintaining your pace over the course of the mileage is the ticket here, which is where my trusty Garmin will come in. (I love you Garmin!)

Some benefits of tempo running are:

• helps improving speed (over any distance, not just marathons)
• trains your body to sustain speeds over longer distances

And here's why it works (directly from Runner's World):

"Tempo running improves a crucial physiological variable for running success: our metabolic fitness.Tempo runs do just that by teaching the body to use oxygen for metabolism more efficiently.The better trained you become, the higher you push your "threshold," meaning your muscles become better at using [lactic acid byproducts]. The result is less-acidic muscles (that is, muscles that haven't reached their new "threshold"), so they keep on contracting, letting you run farther and faster."

So, get a couple tempo runs into your training regimen and you're likely to see an improvement not only in your race time, but your overall fitness. I'm down with that!

How long do you run your tempo runs and at what pace? Do you enjoy doing them?

Peace, love & bagels,

Anatomy of a Training Run

Anatomy of a Training Run: the Yasso 800

Anyone that's trained for any long distance race know that there is enough running jargon in one 16-week training plan to fill a dictionary...the Yasso 800 is no different (the workout is the brainchild of Bart Yasso, hence the name).You've probably been living under a rock if you're a runner and you haven't heard of them. At it's simplest, it's just another form of speedwork to enhance a training plan. The more complex explanation: if you want to run a 4 hour marathon, you train to run 800 repeats in 4 minutes each (a 3:30 marathon? run the 800s in 3 minutes 30 seconds, etc.etc.etc.)

In doing a little research on the topic, the Y800s are a pretty controversial subject when it comes to marathon training (you can read more about it here, here, here and here). Some people believe they are a good predictor of your marathon time, many don't, and others like to think they're simply optimistic. There is a lot of disagreement about whether or not they're even a good way to train for a marathon - after all, the energy system your body employs to run an 800 (anaerobic, running at a pace above your lactate threshold) is different than the energy system used for a marathon (aerobic, paces below your lactate threshold). I'm no running coach and I'm not a trained professional, but my training plans always come from a mix of professional running advice, advice from friends and my own experience. It seems like Yasso 800s aren't the BEST way to train for a marathon, but paired with long runs, short runs, pace runs and crosstraining...they become just another tool your marathon training arsenal.

For me, it's all about breaking my marathon up into smaller, bite-sized pieces...because speed intervals are the bane of my marathon training existence. Sure, running mile repeats would be a more effective predictor of my finishing time and maybe even more beneficial in the long haul. I've been through mile repeats and back, though, and I hate them. Yasso 800s are going to give me a chance to change things up. I've said it from the beginning, my marathon training is going to be flexible. If the 800 repeats don't work for me, then I'll try something different. This time around, it's all about listening to my body.

So here's the workout:

Begin running your 800s a few months before your goal marathon

On the first week, do four repeats:

    run 800 in your goal time (a 3:30 marathon translates to a 3 minute 30 second 800)

    jog in between repeats for the same amount of time

Each subsequent week, add one more repeat until you get to 10

Complete your last Y800 at least 2 weeks before race day

Have you used Yasso 800s in your marathon training? What do you think? What other types of speed work do you typically include in training, if any?

Anatomy of a Training Run

Anatomy of a Training Run: the Run/Walk Run

One "different" type of run that I'm following in my marathon training is the Run/Walk run. At a very basic level, it's just interval training: run for an allotted amount of time, walk for an allotted amount of time. 


I scoffed when I first read about run/walk training, thinking, "doesn't that defeat the purpose? I'm a runner for pete's sake!" Walking was the enemy in my training runs. It made me feel like less of a runner...lower on the B.A. scale. Well you know what? I was a runner, but one that was all too often plagued by injury. I'll be the first to admit, thinking that way was just plain stupid.


First, let's walk through some of the benefits:

• decreased chance of injury
• the mental benefit of breaking longer runs up into segments
• interval training often equals maximum results (be it a time goal, distance goal, etc.) many people have even PR'ed by following a run/walk training plan
• if you're trying to lose weight, intervals actually burn more calories and fat

According to Runner's World, Jeff Galloway pioneered the idea of taking frequent walk breaks during marathons and marathon training and it has been used successfully by thousands of marathon runners. So how does it work? ...and more importantly, why?


"By using muscles in different ways from the beginning, your legs keep their bounce as they conserve resources. When a muscle group, such as your calf, is used continuously step by step, it fatigues relatively soon. The weak areas get overused and force you to slow down later or scream at you in pain afterward. By shifting back and forth between walking and running muscles, you distribute the workload among a variety of muscles, increasing your overall performance capacity. For veteran marathoners, this is often the difference between achieving a time goal or not. Walk breaks will significantly speed up recovery because there is less damage to repair. The early walk breaks erase fatigue, and the later walk breaks will reduce or eliminate overuse muscle breakdown." (source)

There are a lot of different ways to utilize run/walk training. I generally follow a 4 to 1 ratio (in minutes) of running to walking, but my marathon training will be structured as follows:

Weeks 1-4: run/walk ratio of 3:2 on some weekday runs and long runs
Weeks 5-9: run/walk ratio of 4:2 on some weekday and long runs 
Weeks 10-18: run/walk ratio of 4:1 on some weekday and long runs

You can also structure your run/walk training based on your pace:

8 min/mi—run 4 min/walk 35 seconds
9 min/mi— 4 min run-1 min walk
10 min/mi—-3:1
11 min/mi—2:30-1
12 min/mi—-2:1
13 min/mi—-1:1
14 min/mi—30 sec run/30 sec walk
15 min/mi—30 sec/45 sec
16 min/mi—30 sec/60 sec
(source)

You don't have to follow such a regimented run/walk plan either, if spontaneity is your style. Just take walk breaks early and often. I tend to like the 4:1 run to walk ratio because it breaks those longer runs up into 5 minute segments and sometimes makes it much more bearable. But you don't need to run every single one of your training runs this way. As my own general rule, anything less than 3 miles is pretty much a run all the way run. Between 3 and 6 miles is always questionable...sometimes I like to walk a bit, sometimes run. 6+ miles is where I almost always utilize my walk breaks. If I'm feeling extra good about my run for the day, I'll just take a 1 minute break for every mile I run. It's all up to you and your body, the only advice I can give you is to listen to it! 


If you're stuck on determining your pace, but still want to use this type of training, you'll be happy to know that you generally only lose 15-20 seconds when you take a 60 second walk break. Over the course of 26 miles, this could end up being negligible or even add to your overall time, because you'll be less fatigued and able to put in more effort in those last few miles. Fortunately, Runner's World has a nice little chart to give us all a little bit more pacing information:

If you run a mile in... (Col. A) and then walk 60 seconds, your overall pace will be...(Col. B)

6:00		6:40
7:00		7:37
8:00		8:34
9:00		9:31
10:00		10:29
11:00		11:26
12:00		12:23

Will you use run/walk training in your next training plan? What other training techniques do you employ in order to stay injury free?