Weekend Update

Well, this weekend's run was delayed because of my first Saturday class for grad school. It meets every other Saturday from 9-3, and I was pretty pooped by the time I got out of class yesterday afternoon. It was also a busy weekend in general, as I had a birthday dinner to go to on Friday night, and a birthday party to attend last night. So, I delayed my weekend run to this (Sunday) morning! Since we were out late last night, I was slow getting to the track, and it had warmed up outside!!
I had 6x800 on my training schedule for this weekend. Since I was pretty tired this morning from the busy weekend, I thought about reducing the number of 800s, but I decided to get through them, no matter what (barring injury), for the mental training.

This morning's 800/Yasso/half mile splits:

1) 9:47
2) 9:48
3) 9:45
4) 9:41
5) 9:39
6) 10:17

As you can see, I tanked on the last one, but got it done. I'm now halfway through my training plan! Next weekend calls for 11 miles.

This Week's Training and Life Outside of Running

I've continued my training this week, although it's taken me a little longer to recover from Saturday's 9 miler. On Monday, I ran 2.45 miles in 50:04 minutes, for a 20:27 average pace. I see a pattern now where I slow down the week after a longer weekend run. I wonder if it would help if I changed my runs to Tuesdays and Thursdays before work, instead of Mondays and Wednesdays. Maybe.

This morning, I hit the gym and rode 5.15 miles in 35:01 minutes. I felt like I worked harder than the clock and mileage indicated, but I did ride on a different stationary bike today, and am still a little tired. Huh.

Meanwhile, my laptop got wet on Sunday night (rain from leaky roof came through my home office ceiling and soaked my computer!!), and while it booted up last night, it wasn't as happy this morning. I was able to turn the laptop on and putter for a few minutes before it shut down on its own, and wouldn't come back up at all. I'll try again tonight, but I'm not hopeful.

[On a side note, I haven't been able to sync my Garmin Forerunner to my online training logs to update them with my runs, but as soon as I get set back on a personal computer, I look forward to doing that. I'm at my geekiest with numbers about my runs!]

On a happier note, I'm starting graduate school today! I'll be working on my Master of Library Science (MLS) at North Carolina Central University in Durham, and my first class is this evening! This has been a goal of mine for over 10 years, so I'm feeling a mix of excitement and nervousness today. :-) I'll have a class on Tuesday evenings and every other Saturday, so I'll have to be creative with my half marathon training, for sure.

Longest Run/Walk of the Season

Yesterday I completed my longest distance of this training season, 9.09 miles! I'm still tired this morning, so it's a rest day from exercise. Still, it felt good to finish the distance yesterday morning.


George and I Before the Run
(Thanks to George for the kiss, and thanks to Ashby for taking the shot!)


I started early in the parking lot where the Raleigh Galloway group was starting, since I wanted to be in the annual big group picture at 6:30ish. I tried 15-sec/45-sec run/walk intervals as Jeff Galloway suggested for my recent Magic Mile, but it drove me a little nuts, so I went back to my regular 30/30 interval again. Maybe I'll try it again, or fiddle with it and try 20/40 later. (I wish I'd done that at the end of yesterday's mileage, now that I think about it!)

After the group picture, Ashby was kind enough to take the picture above of George and me! (Thanks, Ashby!) Then I headed off to another part of the American Tobacco Trail to finish my run/walk. I felt pretty strong for much of the run on the other part of the ATT, but started to fade toward the end. I ended up walking it in, but wish now that I'd just shortened the running interval. But I finished, and I'm relieved about that.

9:09 miles in 3:14:32, 21:24 avg pace

According the Magic Mile prediction calculator, I should be training at a 23:48 pace, so I'm pretty comfortably ahead of the game there. My predicted half marathon race pace is 21:02, which I still have several weeks to improve on. (And I certainly wasn't doing a race effort yesterday!) Maybe I'll try another Magic Mile this week.

Yesterday's Run

I did another 45-minute run around Brier Creek yesterday, knocking out 2.31 miles for a 19:30ish pace. I was pleased to get the average pace under 20 minutes again. I had to focus and push a little, which is good training too. I've gone back to a 30/30 run/walk ratio, after trying 20 second run/walk intervals once. I like the feel of 30/30 better.

I decided to pass on water aerobics last night, since it's usually a pretty strenuous class, and I don't want to risk injury at this point. Crosstraining is great, but not at the risk of injury or knocking me out of a run very often. I did miss the exercise time with George, though.

Bike Ride at the Gym

I hit the gym this morning and rode the stationary bike for 6.01 miles in 35 minutes, with a few intervals thrown in for good measure. While I was riding, someone on the treadmill said she recognized me running through her neighborhood yesterday morning! So we introduced ourselves, enjoying the small world factor. :-)

After the bike, I did a little core work, not a lot, but enough to get me restarted on it. I don't do the core work much when I skip the gym and run outdoors. I guess that's one of the negative trade-offs of hitting the roads. There isn't any good reason I can't do some core work at home, except for the motivation thing. When I'm at the gym, others are doing the same sort of thing and it's a reminder. (And sometimes I get good ideas from watching the gym rats!)

Another Monday Run

This morning, I cranked out a run in slightly cooler temperatures, which felt great! My pace was better than both of last week's mid-week runs, but it's still slower than the sub-20:00 runs I was doing before that. Part of it may be that I'm running for a [slightly] longer amount of time, part of it may be a lack of sleep lately. I can definitely work on the sleep...except that I'm starting graduate school next week! I'll do what I can in that area, though.

2.31 miles in 47:01 (30-sec/30-sec run/walk ratio)

I've also reset my weight loss goal on Fitday.com (where I have the most weigh-in data), and have decided to make weight loss goals for a week at a time. I've been setting long-term weight loss goals this year, and have mostly floundered. Now I have a weight loss goal for the next week, and a new target weight for next Monday, 8/22.I'll post how that goes.

First 800s Workout in the Books

In place of a long run on yesterday's training schedule, the assignment was to do 4x800s at race pace. So, I used my projected half marathon race pace per mile based on my current Magic Mile average, which is 21:02, which translates into a 10:31 minute half mile, 800, or "Yasso." I decided that, since I only had four of them to do on yesterday's schedule, I'd try to pick up the pace. After a walking warm up, I nailed all four of them, with some walking in between. I walked a half mile afterward to cool down.

Here are my 800/half mile/Yasso splits:

1) 0.50 in 9:51 min
2) 0.50 in 9:42 min
3) 0.50 in 9:47 min
4) 0.50 in 9:43 min


Not quite the negative splits I was going for, but not bad. I felt pretty decent afterward too, so either I didn't run hard enough, or I'm getting in better shape. A little of both, perhaps.

Mid-week Runs

I haven't blogged as much this week, but I have gotten my mid-week runs in. On Monday, I went to the American Tobacco Trail in Durham, and completed 2.44 miles in 48:01 minutes for a 20:36 min/mile average pace. This morning I returned to the Brier Creek area, and completed 2.30 miles in 47:01 minutes, for a 20:26 min/mile average pace. I was happy to get a little faster today, but I've been feeling sluggish in my run/walks this week. Last weekend was pretty busy, with a lot of time on my feet both Saturday and Sunday, and I think that has factored in. I need to work on getting my mid-week pace back below 20:00 min/mile, though, on the way to getting faster overall.

This weekend's Galloway training schedule calls for 4x800 in place of the long run. I have a love/hate relationship with speedwork, but I hope it will help! I need to decide which track to hit.

I'm a Weather Wimp!

Thunderstorms abounded this morning, so I decided to head for the gym treadmill instead of running in the rain. I missed the Galloway group, and was looking forward to trying out my new long run run/walk interval outside, but I enjoyed the air conditioning and dryness of the gym for a change of pace--at least starting out! The treadmill got boring after a while, but I managed to get my long run/walk DONE! The goal was 7.5 miles, and I finished 7.61 miles in 2:29:27. Week #3 of my training plan is in the books. Next week's workouts will be a little longer mid-week, and next Saturday the plan calls for several Yassos in place of the long run. Huh. I'll let you know how all of that goes!


Clipart from Clipartheaven.com.

Small Running World

I'm in the process of getting many of my medical check-ups out of the way before I start graduate school later this month at North Carolina Central University. Yesterday I had my annual physical with a new-to-me gynecologist, and it just so happens that he just ran his first half marathon, the Inside-Out Sports Classic, back in May! He's signed up for the Outer Banks Half Marathon in November, and I did that one last year, so we really hit it off with the running thing! I liked his bedside manner as well, and also enjoyed talking with the nurse who assisted.

Although "going to the doctor" isn't my favorite thing to do, it feels good to be getting my health ducks in a row.




Clipart from Clipartheaven.com

New Run/Walk Interval Today

I emailed Jeff Galloway yesterday to ask his advice about my run/walk interval for the long run, based on an average of my recent Magic Miles. I received a nice email back from him, and he suggested 15-45 sec run/walk intervals for my long runs, and either 30-30 or 20-20 intervals for my mid-week training. I've been run/walking at 30 second intervals lately, so I decided to try 20-20 this morning. It felt different, but the jury's still out on whether or not I like it better than my regular 30-30 intervals. I'll try it out again next week.

I ran on the American Tobacco Trail again, and went 1.81 miles in 35:01 minutes for a 19:23 average min/mile pace. Nothing spectacular, but it's done. It did feel slightly cooler this morning, and it felt good to be out in the fresh air. What a nice way to start the day!

Here's a YouTube video of part of the course I was on this morning, though I didn't go as fast as the biking videographer, of course! :-)

Anyone Tried MyFitnessPal?

I've just recently discovered MyFitnessPal, an online weight loss/food journal/exercise website, and decided to register this morning. It reminds me a bit of FatSecret, but with a much better name (especially considering my interest in fitness and running)! :-) It has an iPhone/iTouch app that I've downloaded, but haven't started using yet.

I've signed up for several websites of this kind, and I keep looking for just the right fit to keep me motivated. It's interesting to see what's out there, for sure. Maybe MyFitnessPal will carry me through! If you happen to use MyFitnessPal, I'd love to know what you think about it, and whether or not it's worked for you. My "handle" there is lllooper.

Another "Magic Mile" Test`

I decided to head to the American Tobacco Trail this morning for a change of pace and do a timed mile, known in Galloway lingo as the Magic Mile.It's a predictor of finishing times for various racing distances, as well as a way to figure out what pace someone should be training at for different race distances. Anyway, I'd put off doing this Magic Mile test on last week's training schedule because of the pulled muscle in my lower back. My back's much better after buying a heating pad Friday after work, but it's still not 100%, and I felt it this morning during that Magic Mile! (Boo hiss!)

I did warm up for a half mile, first with walking, and then with run/walk intervals of 30 seconds each. That felt pretty decent. On the timed mile, I ran as much as I could, and walked a little bit. I did have to cross over a couple of streets along the trail, but I lucked out with little-to-no car traffic. I ended up with a 17:30 minute mile, 8 seconds slower than my Magic Mile time last month. A bit disappointing, but I'm sure it would've been faster if my lower back hadn't been a little sore.

When I worked with a running coach, she used to have me do an exercise called "alternate superman" as part of my core strengthening routine, but I've gotten away from doing it! I need to start back and stick with that part of my training, because a sore back stinks (and probably could've been avoided)!

Here's an example of the alternate superman exercise I'll start doing again soon:



Back to the Magic Mile, the Jeff Galloway website suggests doing 4 Magic Miles over several weeks, then dropping the slowest and averaging the fastest three times for a more accurate snapshot of current ability. I did that and came up with a 17:32 average. According to the Magic Mile calculator on the Galloway site, I should be training at a 23:48 min/mile pace for a half marathon, which makes my 21:05 min/mile average pace this past Saturday look pretty good. It also predicts I'd finish a half marathon in 4:35:37 in a hard effort under ideal conditions. Considering that my last half marathon (back in March) was 4:50:06 (chip), I'd certainly take a 15 minute improvement!! Still, I'm not where I want to be, which is definitely a sub-4:00 half marathon finish (and that's just for starters!).