Perhaps the Experts Know What They’re Doing

Posted on July 21, 2013 by RunDedeauxRun

Today was Tempo Run/Drill day. 

YES!  

It’s Tempo Run/Drill day.  My husband did it with me.  Here’s what we did:

WARM UP:

-jog .5 miles very easy then light stretch

-drills (seven different drills like high knees, toe walking, heel walking)

-strides (running 100 meters x 3, getting faster each time)

By this point, I was tired.

uh oh

Uh, oh…

On to the WORK OUT:  -2 sets of running at tempo pace for 4 minutes then jogging/walking for 3 minutes.  Side note:  I calculated my ‘tempo’ pace based on previous runs and it seemed too slow SO picked a ‘fast for me’ pace and went for it!  Was I successful?  I’m not sure because the pace on my watch was slow to calculate.  I was running WAY faster than I would ever run on a ‘real’ run, though.   So, I guess I was successful!  Yay me!

COOL DOWN:  -easy jog .5 miles

While I was certainly tired and felt like I had a good workout afterward, it was easier than the first time we did this routine.  I have been kind of skeptical of my training program because there seems to be SO MUCH non-running activity involved and not enough running compared to my training plan for the other marathon. 

You may be thinking:  “But didn’t you think you RAN ALL OF THE TIME when you were training the last time?”.  You are so right!  I did.  I felt like all I did was eat, sleep and run. 

It just seemed like my current program (at first) was too much random stuff that was gonna cause me to lose all of the built up running ability that I had at the start of the training.

So…  I do believe I may have been wrong. 

I feel stronger and on my ‘long’ runs, I feel just fine.  Well, what do you know?

So, I guess I’ll keep trudging along.  Stick with the plan.  Trust the plan. 

Hmmm.  Maybe this could be my mantra. 

Stick with the plan.  Trust the plan.  Stick with the plan.  Trust the plan.  Stick with the plan.  Trust the plan.  Stick with the plan.  Trust the plan.  Stick with the plan.  Trust the plan.  Stick with the plan.  Trust the plan.  Stick with the plan…

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OMG – High Knees

Posted on July 17, 2013 by RunDedeauxRun

Let me just say:  I had NO idea how hard this ‘pace run’ workout would be this morning.  I have work to do!

I am following a RunCoach plan to help me train for the marathon in January.  Today, I did my first Pace Run workout.  It looked simple enough.  I only had to do a few drills, run a few strides and then do 6 minutes each of hard running and jogging in one minute alternating increments (did i lose you ’cause that was confusing?)…

Here are the exact exercises:

Warm up

Jog .25 miles (easy enough)

I ran with my husband this morning 🙂

Light Stretch (oops – I forgot to do this one!)

7 drills (NOT EASY…  My ‘high knees’ were sad and the ‘rhythm skip’ wore me out.)

+ 3 strides

On to the Workout:

fast/slow workout, 6 sets – ‘all’ I had to do was run 1 min @ hard pace, walk or jog for 1 min

Yeah.  I had to walk during the jog/walk minute.  After running hard for a minute, I had such a hard time catching my breath!  Whoa!  This was a shocker.  I’m not sure why I was shocked since I NEVER run at a hard pace.  I was huffing and puffing like the old wolf in Goldilocks.  It was a mess.  I managed to run hard(ish) the entire minute on the first 2 sets, then the third, fourth and fifth the hard running was more like an aggressive jog.  On the last one, I ran hard trying to finish strong.

Cool Down:

jog .25 miles – I did not want to start jogging after walking that last minute.  I wanted to use the walk to the car as part of the jog, but DH didn’t seem to have that same idea, so we jogged it.  I was beat down.

So, I’ve got work to do.  I’ll be doing this twice a week for the next couple of months.  I may shave 2 minutes off my mile before it’s all over.  One can dream, right?

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Random

Posted on July 2, 2013 by RunDedeauxRun

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I’m playing with the ipad app.

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Cross Training is Killing Me

Posted on July 2, 2013 by RunDedeauxRun

Sorry.  I run because I want to RUN not bike, use the elliptical or stair machine or water walk or any of that other stuff.

 

My Run Coach marathon training plan calls for days and days of cross training and two days of running for the next few weeks and it is kind of driving me crazy.  I feel bored and I am SO paranoid that I’m gonna lose all of the progress that I made BEFORE I started this program.  Is that rational?  I don’t know, but it’s how I feel.

I rode my bike a couple of times last week and while it was challenging and mildly exciting to do something new, I felt like I wasn’t really working out because I didn’t run.

I was out of town this past Friday and Saturday and I was REALLY tired and had a headache on Sunday, so I didn’t do a-ny-thing.  Nothing.  Just sat around.

Monday rolled around and I woke up with a headache then time just got away from me so I still didn’t do anything.  No bueno.

This morning, I got up and had a brilliant idea!

Since ‘all’ I have to do is a bunch of cross training and a very short easy run, why not do them all in one day and catch up with my training?  Genius, right??  It’s raining cats and dogs here today, so I went to the gym.  This is what I did:  30 minutes of running on the treadmill, 30 minutes of the elliptical machine and 30 minutes of walking uphill on the treadmill.  And today is when I decided I really don’t like cross training.  Theoretically, I know the value of it.  In practice, I was on the stupid elliptical thinking about how much it sucked.  When I walked on the treadmill, I wanted to start running but I knew I shouldn’t.  (Yes…  all this from the woman who’s doing 3 days of workouts in one morning.)  It seemed like drudgery and I was glad when those 90 minutes were over.  The jury’s still out on how smart of an idea this was.  If I wake up tomorrow feeling good, I’m a genius.  If not, well…

Anyway.  Tomorrow, I am going to yoga.  I like that a little better.  I think I have weird bones, though.  That ‘child’ pose KILLS my knees.

My knees have a hump on the top right where my knee rests on the floor for the child pose.  I try to lean over to one side but it doesn’t really help and then everything after that pose feels sort of uncomfortable.  I’m taking a little kneeling pad with me tomorrow.  Hopefully, the pad on top of the yoga mat will help.

Perhaps I have not found the activity that I enjoy.  Maybe I should give that Zumba teacher another chance.  Her music was TERRIBLE last year (I’ve never heard of country-leaning Zumba) but maybe she has some new stuff and maybe she is on beat now.  She was 1/2 a beat off the last few times I went and it was all just too distracting.  I feel like you can have one ding but not two.

Who knows?  Maybe I will grow to love riding my bike or going to yoga, but for now…

Cross training is killing me.

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Plans (so far) For My Second Marathon

Posted on June 25, 2013 by RunDedeauxRun

So, I got into the Chevron Houston Marathon.  I am excited because I know that under the fear and nervousness about training, this is something I really want to do.  I CAN do this.  I just gotta train, and train and train…

I’ve made a couple of decisions about the race since I WILL BE RUNNING ALONE (which is one source of fear and nervousness…).

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I am going to run with one of the pace groups.  I didn’t do it at my first marathon because I had my own group. It’s great, though.  There are a BUNCH of different paces being offered.  I’ll figure out which one is most appropriate closer to race date.  It won’t be this one, though!  BWAAAHAHAHAHAHA!

The other decision I made is to adjust down my goal weight.

Don’t worry – I have no intentions of overdoing it.  I know my knees will thank me and I need to give myself the best chance possible in this marathon.  Whittling off more weight than I’d initially planned will surely help.  I love desserts and bread and cheese and delicious breakfast stuff but none of that stuff is worth a DNF!

Maybe that’s a little overboard ’cause I’m not REALLY willing to die just to finish.  Or am I.  Just kidding.  No, seriously.

So anyway, back to weight loss.  I won’t bore you with the actual numbers but I HOPE to get to my goal by the end of the year.  Slow and steady are the names of my game(plan).

The thing I need to work on is eating BETTER.  I do fine with portion sizes and what I eat, but (wait for it…)  I don’t think I eat ENOUGH.  Yes, Virginia, I said it.  I don’t think I eat enough.  It kind of kills me to think I need to figure out how to eat MORE, but I do.

                                                                

I am on Weight Watchers and I’m allocated a certain number of ‘points’ per day, 26 to be exact.  I eat salads and fruit all day (which do not have points) and at the end of the day, I often have as many as 20 points left.  That is not good because my coffee uses 3.  I keep telling myself to ‘spread the love’, err… points, but I’ve not done a good job so far.

So, that’s my other decision.  I’m gonna eat more during the day.  I already got some black bean burgers/patties – which i love.  I just keep forgetting to eat one.  I like to eat them smothered in salsa or pico de gallo – whichever we have in the fridge.

That’s about it.

Let me know what your experience has been like if you’ve run with a pace leader/group.

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I WON THE LOTTERY!

Posted on June 24, 2013 by RunDedeauxRun

Sort of.  I registered in the lottery for the Chevron Houston Marathon and I GOT PICKED!  I got the email this morning.  Well, I actually knew last night right after midnight because they charged my credit card for the entry fee.

So – Yay me! 

Now, I am nervous and scared.  It’ll be alright, though.  I guess…

Well, that’s it.  I don’t have anything else to say.  Just wanted to share my news.

I’ve made some decisions about the race, but I’ll write about those later.  I’m cooking dinner right now.

The kids are having enchiladas.  I’m having a spinach salad.  #ImJealous

You can read about the marathon here: http://www.chevronhoustonmarathon.com/

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I’v Shaken My Drug Addiction

Posted on June 6, 2013 by RunDedeauxRun

HI.  I’m Mary and I am an addict.

I had a thought this morning as I was running my 1 mile for the RW Running Streak Challenge.  http://www.runnersworld.com/running-tips/runners-world-summer-run-streak-2013

I’m off drugs!  Yay!  I don’t know how many days, weeks or months it’s been, but I can’t remember the last time I popped a pill.  They used to be my crutch.  My savior.  My hope.  I was hooked and didn’t even know it.  They numbed the pain.  They kept the pain from starting in the first place.  They kept me going.

I’m talking about Aleve, of course!  What did you think?

I used to take an Aleve every day.  I’d take one if I was running, if I had run and forgot to take one beforehand or if I thought my run from yesterday was still gonna hurt.

Yes.  I realize this behavior was not healthy but honestly, I figured what could one little pill a day really harm.

So I was running (err, um, limping) along this morning thinking “Wow, my knee is kind of hurting.”  Then I tried to decide if I am in more pain NOW or if I was in more pain before – when I was running regularly.  The jury is still out on that one.  It’s complicated.  Some of my pain was from falling and hurting my knee then recovery from surgery and some of my pain was from running a lot.  But the real difference is that I took all of that Aleve so I don’t really know how much my knees would have hurt. 

I think my pain now is just temporary while my body really gets used to the daily grind.  It’s been months, now but I took months off from running so I’m guessing it’ll take a bit. 

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Before I go further, let me assure you that my ‘pain’ in my knee was short lived this morning.  It was kind of stiff and hurt for about a quarter of a mile and then I was fine.

I still think about popping an Aleve sometimes but I feel like I’m better off just feeling the pain so I know what’s really going on with my body. 

Alright – so maybe “I am an addict” is a little ‘dramastic’… 

That’s my randomness for today!  Have a good one 🙂

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Mind or Body?

Posted on May 30, 2013 by RunDedeauxRun

Today is my off day but I ran anyway.  Why?  I saw a FB post for a Runner’s World Run Streak and decided to join.  The challenge is to run at least a mile every day between Memorial Day (May 27) and Independence Day (July 4).  You can read about it here:  http://www.runnersworld.com/running-tips/runners-world-summer-run-streak-2013

So today was my first day to run on my off day and I must say, it was a struggle.  One mile.  And it was a struggle.

So I started thinking about all of my runs.  I am ALWAYS. ALWAYS. ALWAYS tired and sluggish for the first part of my run.  It doesn’t matter how long I’m supposed to run;  I always have a hard time for the first 2 to 3 miles.  Since my runs of late have been relatively short, this means I am struggling for nearly the entire run.  I don’t know what it is – maybe I need extra warm up time.  My husband suggested I incorporate some walk time before the run like I do for after the run.  I am too impatient for that so I’m not sure I’ll be doing it.

Okay – back to the point.  I was wondering if maybe I’m NOT tired and that my mind is just trying to get me to stop.  I seem to be held hostage by my mind sometimes.  I’ll be thinking “It’s too hot”, “This hill is going to be too hard”, “There’s no way I am going to run without stopping” AND then I stop and walk.  But then, I think “Ugh – I’m not tired.   Why did I stop?”

Have I just convinced myself of stuff that ISN’T true?  I hope so.  I would like to keep believing that hard work and training pay off.

As I’m writing this, I think I remember writing about this before.  Does that mean I haven’t made any progress in the positive thinking arena or does this mean I’m asking too much of this skin, bone and flesh that I call my body?  How does my desire and hope factor into this equation?  I guess we’ll find out!Keep Running

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The Road Less Traveled

Posted on May 24, 2013 by RunDedeauxRun

Hi!

I know. It’s been a while. I haven’t really been in the mood to blog. I keep thinking that I should but never have anything to say.

I’m not sure how much I have to say today, but I FEEL LIKE BLOGGING! 🙂

I started a 30 week marathon training plan and I’ve stuck with it for 12 weeks. The marathon that I want to run was over 30 weeks away when I started, so I’ve repeated a couple of weeks so far. I’m on week 10 of the plan.

This morning, I ran my longest run in who knows how long – 5.5 miles! Confession: I walked uphill on some steep parts. Hills hurt me and it’s just not worth an injury so I walked uphill 2-1/2 times. On the ‘half’ hill, I started walking and decided it wasn’t as steep as I thought and ran up the second half. Yay me. I used to stress about having to walk but now I don’t care so much.

When I first started back after my breakup with running, I couldn’t run a mile without feeling like my heart was going to explode. I just think about that when I’m feeling kind of down about my training and it instantly makes me feel better.

Today, I ran around Forest Park. I’ve posted a couple of pics on my other blog TexanInStLouis.com. It is a BEAUTIFUL park. It’s huge, too. St. Louisans like to tell you that it’s bigger than Central Park. I don’t know if that’s true or not, but it is a very nice park. There are museums, golf courses, lakes, ponds, the zoo – all kinds of stuff over there. I live 1/2 a mile from it – which is GREAT!

Anyway… I ran around the park. I’d only been around it twice before: once on my bike and once with my husband. I got to a fork in the road, so to speak, and wasn’t sure which way to go. As I look at the picture, it seems obvious, BUT when I was running earlier, in my head, the path could have gone either way. I was running on gravel and the gravel turned right, so I turned right.

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This is where I’ll tell you that the proverbial ‘road less traveled’ isn’t always the right way to go. I decided to go down the little graveled path and ugh…

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Stairs. Lots of them. Then a bridge and another bridge.

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After I got to a spot where I decided, Yeah – I went the wrong way, I looked up and saw a helicopter at one of the hospitals across the way. I was tempted to wave one down. I was tired!

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I back tracked, got on the right road and finished my run. No harm, no foul. I saw some new things in the park, so I guess the side trip was worth it.

At the end of my run, I had a leisurely mile and a half walk home. I was feeling pretty good.

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Yes, I know I don’t LOOK happy, but I really was. Maybe it was the hunger. It was time to eat!!

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Until next time – happy running!

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Completely Random

Posted on February 19, 2013 by RunDedeauxRun

So, I was running the other day and I realized something very different here in St. Louis.  I run in the late morning to early afternoon.  In Allen, TX (where I used to live), all of the runners at that time of day were very similar to me:  middle aged women.  Here, though, runners are almost all young – I mean early 20s. 

What difference does that make?  None really – except that EVERYONE is running faster than me, now.  I used to run past a person every now and then but now…  not so much.  Our neighborhood is adjacent to Washington University and I guess those kids like to run.  

That’s okay, though.  It doesn’t make my run any longer or slower even if it does seem like it!

Did I mention that this post was totally random?

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