Training Tuesday: when you just aren't training

I'm going to come right out and say it...I don't want to run.  I don't want to do much of anything to be perfectly honest.  I have nothing on the horizon except a mud run in about 3 weeks and I have no hope of completing it with any level of success.  I guess just getting through it and trying to have fun with my daughter is all I can hope for on that front since I can't even do 2 real pushups at this point.

I think not wanting to workout makes me lazy.  Am I just being lazy?

According to DailyMile, I had a "stellar" week last week.  By all accounts, it looks like I did, but to say "stellar" is a bit of a stretch.

Yes, I did *something* every day last week, but if you were to examine it a bit closer, you'd see that none of those workouts were longer than about 40 minutes and most were 30 minutes or less.  Shit, you can get pizza delivered in that amount of time.

Now I want pizza.  And the copious amounts of treats in the teacher's lounge today.  It's taking an enormous amount of willpower to not go in there.

I'm certainly not going to get into shape at this rate but I've lost all motivation to workout.  Even knowing I'm going to the Florida at the end of the month and will need to put on a bathing suit isn't enough motivation anymore.  I forced myself to lift for a whopping 15 minutes yesterday and then get on my bike for 30 more minutes, but it was half-assed at best.  I didn't even hook up my Garmin because Why? It just doesn't matter.

Do I run or do anything tonight before my girl's Varsity Letter Reception?  Even knowing I'd have to shower again makes it seem like too much hassle to get dressed to workout.  In fact, I have stuff every night this week and I've been too tired in the mornings to drag my lazy ass out of bed.  Between graduation last week, commitments this week, personal life shit, and trying to get ready for my twin's graduation party this weekend, I'm just done.

What do you do when you just don't want to do anything?

Training Tuesday: Watchless April

As I was getting ready for work this morning, my dear friend, Judi, texted me this picture.

This was me after my first half marathon in October 2010 - The Grand Rapids Marathon.  The race that started the obsession, I guess you could say.  I have no idea where we were (Peppino's maybe?) but as you can see from my face, I was a happy girl (and so much younger - wow). 
Somewhere in the last 4 1/2 years, I lost that happy runner girl.  I got wrapped up in paces and splits and training plans and whenever I didn't have a run that went perfectly according to the plan, I got pissed and pretty darn hateful towards myself.  Sure, there's a time and place for all that data, but who am I kidding?  I'm not doing this for prize money or to win races. I'm always going to be a mid to back of the pack runner and there's nothing wrong with that. Yes, I worked hard to improve my times and become a better and faster runner, but along the way I lost what it felt like to run just for fun.
I want that feeling back.
Another good friend, Deb, challenged me yesterday to a month of "gadget-free running".  No Garmin or watch, although she said I could use it for the key parts of some workouts, like speedwork, and for the 2 races I have coming up.  We chatted back and forth on DailyMile a bit and I said I thought I could give up the Garmin but not my music.  We agreed music was OK since we both run with music.  I talked with a couple other runner friends to get their perspectives, too.  They all decided it was a brilliant idea and would go very far in helping me find that love of running again just to run.  (DAMMIT! And here I thought one of them at least would take my side and say it was a terrible idea!)  
So yesterday, I started what will be a month (at least) of watch-free runs (jury is still out as to how I deal with bike and swim workouts). My plan is to leave the Garmin at home for all of my runs, even the speedwork.  I was told I could run by feel - I've been running long enough to know what a tempo effort or Yasso effort should feel like and to focus on that.  My explicit instructions for yesterday's run were to "Have fun".  I did 6 miles on my familiar rail-trail and just soaked up the sun and tried to get lost in my music.  Did it feel 100% fun? No.  But, it's a start.
What about you?  Do you want to join me in a gadget-free month? Have you ever taken an extended vacation from your data?

Training Tuesday: #runDonna race week!

I'm calling this "Training Tuesday" because when I was blogging regularly that's what I post on Tuesdays.  I've been training to not completely lose my running base but haven't really been training, if that makes any sense.  My longest run was a 12 miler a few weeks ago.  I did 8 last week and bagged my 10 the week before that.  13.1 might be painful on Sunday.

This weekend I'm running the 26.2 with Donna Breast Cancer (half) Marathon in Jacksonville.  I'm super excited to see my Floridian friends, but not super excited that it isn't going to be a whole lot warmer than Michigan down there.  Temp at race time on Sunday is only supposed to be in the 30s.  Maybe low 40s if I'm lucky.

I'm packing layers but also trying something new for this race since I don't really care about my finish time.  My fuel belt has been driving me nuts, so I'm bringing a handheld with the thought that I might toss it mid-race if it's bugging me or at the last minute, not carry it at all and just go with on-course hydration.  With temps that cool I should be fine not carrying my own water.  The problem is having no place to stash the rental car key.

I haven't decided if I'll write a race report, but knowing myself, I'm sure you'll see one sometime next week.

Now, where did I put that handy packing list I created for my last out-of-town race?

Training Tuesday: back to double digits

With numbers like this, you would think the scale would be moving in the right direction, but sadly, no.  Le sigh.

Yes, I know there are other ways to measure progress - like being able to run a 10 mile long run and feel ok afterwards, even if it took 8 miles to find my groove.  Or getting in all your strength workouts and feeling like you've kicked your own ass.

I like the strength training I'm doing and the spinervals make the bike work go faster, but overall I just feel like I'm literally spinning my wheels and getting nowhere.

Running: 15.5
Biking: 39.26 miles
Strength: 4 workouts

Training Tuesday: trying to get my groove back

I still have no real purpose for training other than to try to get my pants to fit better again.  I guess that's good enough for now.

Running: 4 runs for 16.37 miles (all in the 10:40ish range)
Cycling: 3 spins for 34.12 miles
Lifting: 5 workouts

I started a new lifting plan mid-week and I could barely move by the weekend, which is why Sunday was a big, fat ZERO.  I guess one day completely off per week isn't the end of the world, although it makes it very difficult to stay within my calorie budget.  I didn't even eat much and I was over by 200 calories :(.

Training Tuesday: When is a fail a not fail?

I was having a discussion with a couple of my friends on Twitter this weekend.  We were talking about how many miles we each ran in 2014 and we all had an impressive number of miles.  1500, just shy of 1000 (and she'll hit it by the end of the year) and then my 771.  Now, 771 miles running in the first 11 months of the year is nothing to sneeze at - that's like running from my home in Grand Rapids, Michigan to Atlanta, Georgia.

But when you realize you're so close to hitting 1000 miles and knowing there is no way you can get there, it stings a little.  It doesn't help that I only ran 34 miles in November and 8 miles in January.  Looks like both ends of this year are going to suck because I'm not running 229 miles this month.

They were both quick to point out my killer marathon PR this year - I'm very proud of that - but I also set a goal to run a sub-2 half.  I never even came close and didn't even try.  I only ran 3 half marathons this year and my best was 2:17. It wasn't even close to a PR.

So, was the year a fail?  I only met 1 goal - going sub-5 in the marathon. I crushed that by going 4:52.  Hitting 1000 miles running was never written down as a goal, but that's always a good number to shoot for.  I didn't even come close to my sub-2 goal.  I have friends who believe I have it in me but setting both goals in the same year was probably a really stupid idea.  I didn't do nearly enough speed work because I spent half the year training for distance.

This is supposed to be week 1 of River Bank Run 25k training but since I haven't registered yet and I've been too sick to run, no training to report.

Maybe next week or next year.

Training Tuesday: sick sucks

I've been trying to get my 2-a-day workouts in but it's getting harder and harder.  I've been sick now for over 2 weeks and I'm finally admitting defeat.  I have a doctor's appointment this afternoon.

Running: 3 runs for 12.25 miles (paces ranged from 9:56 inside to 11:19 in the snow)
Cycling: 2 rides for 19.5 miles (averages around 15-15.7 mph)
Lifting: 4 30 minute sessions.

I hope this week is better (so far it's sucked - I lifted yesterday but only lasted 4 miles on the bike).  I need to get my workouts in or I'm not going to be eating anything I'm making for Thanksgiving on Thursday.  Plus, I challenged my friends to a virtual Turkey Day 8k Thanksgiving morning - I can't very well not participate in my own challenge.  Suck.

Training Tuesday: mixed bag

Nothing much to report this week. I'm just trying to maintain fitness while fighting off what is probably another sinus infection.

Runs x 3 for 13.6 miles
Strength workouts x 4

Never biked or swam.  Oh well.  Better than nothing I guess.

Training Tuesday

The picture makes this week look better than it really was.  I had an incredible run on Monday, where I ran a 28:32 5k (9:12 pace) and then on Tuesday and strained my right quad.  It's still not totally ok and it's pissing me off.  No sooner do I feel like I'm back to "normal" after the marathon and even thinking I should sign up for a Turkey Trot and see if I can set a new 5k PR, I fuck things up.

Running: 1 run for 3.1 miles
Walking: 2 walks for 9.5 miles
Biking: 2 sessions for 14.5 miles
Swimming: 1 session for 1/2 a mile
Lifting: 2 abs, 1 legs, 2 arms/shoulders

Training Tuesday: what should I post?

Since I'm not currently training for anything - other than to continue to fit in my "skinny" jeans throughout the winter - I'm not really sure what to post here.  All of my workouts are on DailyMile (see the widget to the right) so it seems a bit silly to rehash them here.

My current plan is to work on some speed and strength and hopefully lose about 12-15 pounds in the process.  These are two areas I can focus on when the weather starts to go to shit because I can either lift at home (which I did all week), run either inside at the gym or hit the trail, and I have my bike on my trainer at home.  If they translate to some weight loss, that's great.  If not, I won't be devastated since my body seems pretty content to hang out right around 148-150 pounds right now.  More than that would be a problem.

The goal is two-a-days most days - not two runs, because that would be dumb, but a strength and a cardio workout everyday.  There will likely be at least 1 rest day per week as well.  Since I'm just getting back into running after my marathon, the runs this past week were all pretty short - with my longest being a whopping 5 miles.

Weekly totals:
RUNNING - 3 runs for 11.2 miles
BIKING - 2 spins for 19 miles
SWIMMING - 1 swim for about .7 miles
LIFTING - 3 sessions abs, lower body, upper body

Crowd sourcing - What would you like to see here? More specifics, less details, help me out.  I like to look back and see what I've done on a weekly basis but I also want to provide content that is helpful and interesting to you guys.

Training Tuesday: Next Stop, the Detroit Marathon!

It's kind of hard to believe that I'm running my 2nd full marathon in less than a week!  The training is done (except for 2 more short runs this week) and I'm as ready as I'll ever be.

Monday: RUN 3.2 watchless miles in the crisp, fall air.

Tuesday: A 60 minute massage.  Dude. She beat me up so I'm totally counting it.  I had DOMS for about 2 days.

Wednesday: RUN 4 mile progressive at a 9:37 pace.  Where the heck is this speed coming from?

Thursday: BIKE 20 minutes.  STRETCH/STRENGTH 25 minutes.

Friday: NADA

Saturday: RUN 12 miles in 2:09:xx (10:45 pace). I ran the first 8 with about an 11 m/m pace and then the last 4 with paces around 10 m/m.  Crazy awesome 32* run and just what I needed going into race week.!  Now, if the temperature can be in the mid to high 30s next Sunday, I'll be thrilled.

Sunday: NADA (maybe some rolling and such)

To paraphrase Forrest, taper is as taper does.  I've had the usual sniffles, sore throat, aches, pains, etc. I've freaked out over my car not starting on Sunday - it now has a new battery after it left me stranded at the grocery store.  I'm trying not to go stir-crazy and make my loves ones crazy in the process.  So far, I'd say I haven't done a very good job on that front.

But, as for the running piece?  I'm ready.

Training Tuesday: Detroit Marathon T - 2 weeks!

I read a post yesterday on Women's Running written by one of my running/blog heroines, Dorothy Beal from Mile Posts.  In the post, she discussed how so many runners - pros and mere mortals alike - doubt their fitness during taper.  I was just discussing with one of my friends how 12 days now, I'm going to find out if I worked hard enough.  I'm notorious for questioning my abilities and doubting my ability to reach my goal, so seeing this post pop up in my Facebook feed on Monday was so timely.  You can read the entire post here.

Dorothy likened training for a marathon to banking.  She said, "The money is in the bank.  It's time to cash the check."  All of your workouts leading up to race day are deposits into your account and on race day, you get to withdraw all you've saved.  If you go nuts in the week or two leading up to your race and try to overtax the system with extra ATM deposits, you're going to find your ATM machine "out of service" for a couple weeks.  Not what you need.

I think I've done a pretty good job this time around "managing my money" (at least where marathon training is concerned - actual cash is an entirely different post).  I've run a ton of miles - easy, speed and long.  Strength trained more this time around than every before.  Cross trained.  It's almost time to cash that check.

I'm almost done writing these Training Tuesday updates.  Last week was my last "long" week before taper.  I finished my 5th 20 miler on Saturday and I'm hoping I worked out some of the kinks.  The money is in the bank, baby.  Just a few more small deposits and it's time to cash that check.

Monday 9-29-14 RUN 2.25 miles (11 m/m pace) then YOGA for 60 minutes. I actually ran TO yoga.  Who the eff am I???

Tuesday 9-30-14 BIKE 12 miles (15.6 mph) with squats and lunges every 3 miles.

Wednesday 10-1-14 RUN 7.25 miles of intervals (10:27 ave).

Thursday 10-2-14 WALK 2 miles of fresh air.

Friday 10-3-14 STRENGTH mostly stretching and rolling, some glute work.

Saturday 10-4-14 RUN 20 miles in 3:57:37 (11:52 pace).  3 bathroom stops killed my average pace, but I ended with 3 very fast miles to at least get in under 4 hours.

Sunday 10-5-14 RECOVER and REST

Training Tuesday: Detroit Marathon T - 3 weeks!

Oh my word - less than 3 weeks to go and I'm going to be running THIS!

I have one more week of hard running and then it's taper time (although since I don't do well with an extended taper and I haven't been running 4-5 days per week, it won't be quite like a "normal" taper).  This past week went fairly well, with my 4th 20 miler completed.  I think when I trained for Grand Rapids a few years ago, I only did one 20 miler.  Hopefully, all the longer runs this time will pay off on October 19th.  I'm planning to run a couple hills this week to get ready for that bridge at mile 3 and tunnel going into mile 8.

Training this week included:

Monday 9/22/14 - STRENGTH in the form of a 40 minute tabata workout

Tuesday 9/23/14 - RUN 5 easy plus strides watchless in about 57 min (10:57 ave pace)

Wednesday 9/24/14 - STRENGTH 30 minutes

Thursday 9/25/14 - RUN 6 mile tempo in the dark in 1:01:25 (10:14 ave pace)

Friday 9/26/14 - REST

Saturday 9/27/14 - RUN 20 miles in 3:49:10 (11:27 ave pace)

Sunday 9/28/14 - REST and EATING ALL THE THINGS

I really need to work on those eating all the things days.  Just because I run 20 miles does not entitle me to stuff my face and drink all the beer.  The scale so rudely reminded me of that Monday morning.

Anyone who reads this running a fall marathon?  How has your training been going?

Training Tuesday: Detroit Marathon 1 month to go!

It occurred to me as I was running Sunday's half marathon that my full was 4 weeks from that day.  GULP!  I'm definitely feeling confident one second and completely panicked the next, which sounds about right for marathon training.

This week went pretty well.  I wish I could say my foot feels fine all the time but it doesn't.  I'm just dealing with it and accepting it is going to hurt to run.  It is what it is.

Monday 9-15-14 BIKE 11 miles in 44 minutes (14.8 mph) - I put the bike back on the basement trainer and I can really tell I've lost all my biking mojo.  Guess that's what running does :)

Tuesday 9-16-14 RUN 4 miles plus 4 strides (ave 10:43 pace) And "easy peasy" run as I titled in on DM.

Wednesday 9-17-14 Just 30 min of stretching and rolling mostly.

Thursday 9-18-14 RUN 6 mile with 4 at tempo.  "Couldn't hit the prescribed tempo paces but I averaged a 9:59 pace, so I'll take it.

Friday 9-19-14 Zip.Zilch.Zero. - Drove to Detroit to set up for the Detroit Women's Expo, so if carrying boxes and lifting suitcases counts, then a did a tiny bit.

Saturday 9-20-14 Again, a big, fat zero.  But, I was on my feet for a lot of the expo so there's that.

Sunday 9-21-14 RUN 13.1 miles in 1:77:44 (10:30 pace).  I ran a beautiful negative split and had a great time at the race.  This was half number 13 and ended up being my 3rd fastest.  Not too shabby for a training run.  Full race report will be coming!

Training Tuesday: Detroit Marathon week 16

Week 16 was a pretty decent week.  I managed to get in 4 runs this week and came within 3 minutes of my 10 mile PR on Sunday at the Bridge Run.

I struggled a bit to hit paces this week but for the most part, I made it.  I did not get enough strength work but on at least a few days I did my Kinetic Revolution workouts.  I need a kick in the ass to get the tabata going again.

I don't really feel like listing everything out this week so basically I had 4 runs: 7 miles at 10:43, 6 mile tempo at 10:15 ave (tempo miles were around 9:45), 6 miles easy at 10:59, and the 10 mile race at 10:24.  Rest day on Saturday and strength work on Tues and Thurs.

This coming weekend I'm running the Detroit Women's Half and working the expo for Another Mother Runner.  I can't wait!

What's on your plate for this week?

Training Tuesday: Detroit Marathon week 15

I had a pretty decent week, with the beginning starting rocky but an incredible long run on Saturday.  The good definitely provided redemption for the past couple weeks of crappy runs.

Monday 9/1/14 RUN - 7 miles (5 easy, 2 medium) - I wussed out and used a friend's TM because I was sick of the humidity. This wasn't a great run (averaged 11:07) but I got through it.

Tuesday 9/2/14 STRENGTH-ish - Saw my chiro for a very sore ankle and he diagnosed more glute/hip issues.  It's crazy how something that doesn't even hurt results in pain somewhere else.  I now have a bunch of exercises I can't really do right and I spend time doing those instead of the TABATA I was supposed to do.

Wednesday 9/3/14 RUN - 7 miles (averaged 11:07 again - at least I'm consistent???). This was supposed to be a progressive and it sorta was but then it wasn't.

Thursday 9/4/14 STRENGTH - stretching, rolling and a few pushups.  I"ve started doing Kintetic Revolution 30 day challenge based on a friend's recommendation.  It takes a lot longer than I wish it did, but hopefully it will start fixing some of my strength and flexibility issues.

Friday 9/5/14 STRETCHING more KR.

Saturday 9/6/14 RUN I crushed my 16 mile run with a 10:58 average pace.  Switched my intervals to 5 min run/:30 walk and it was perfect.  Helped the weather cooperated, too.

Sunday 9/7/14 WALK and STRETCH - I've loved my Sunday morning active recovery walks.  No watch, just a meandering walk to sbux and home.

This coming week's schedule is a little goofy because I'm running a 10 mile race on Sunday.  I need to make an effort to get more actual strength training in, too, instead of just KR.

Training Tuesday: Detroit Marathon Week 14

This past week was kind of a bust.  I significantly underestimated what a toll getting one stupid wisdom tooth removed would have on my body.  It wasn't the pain so much as it was not eating or drinking enough to fuel workouts.  I tried to run on Saturday after having my procedure on Wednesday afternoon and it was a disaster.  Lesson learned too little too late.

Now, I'm back to work as of today, so my runs are moving from early mornings to after school.  I'm hoping the heat and humidity don't have too much of an impact because I'm at the point in this plan where I need to start kicking it up a notch.

Not much to recap for this week - I tried to run my 16 miler on Monday but only made it 4 miles.  Lifted on Tuesday.  Ran a decent interval run on Wednesday at the gym.  Did nothing Thursday or Friday.  Had a horrible 3 mile run on Saturday and then walked 4 miles on Sunday.

Let's hope this week is better.

Now for a little funny - I had a great spam comment last week and thought it would be fun to share.  Enjoy the stupidity of a spambot.

Training Tuesday: Detroit Marathon week 13

Well, this past week I celebrated a birthday and my 2nd 20 miler of this training cycle.  I've now done more 20s for this marathon than I did for my last. Maybe the ones I still have in the next 9 weeks will pay off on race day.

Monday 8-11-14 RUN 3.1 miles easy in 34 min (11:00 m/m pace).  Took a long time to work the kinks out from the relay. I don't think I felt right until the 3rd mile and even that one was kind of rocky.

Tuesday 8-12-14 LIFT 40 min total body tabata workout. I didn't want to do anything on Tuesday but I made myself get out my home gym equipment and at least do something.

Wednesday 8-13-14 RUN 6 mile temp with goal of 4 at 9:49 pace.  I nailed this workout and averaged a 9:59 for the entire run.

Thursday 8-14-14 LIFT 30 min arms and abs only.  I woke up stupidly sore and decided the 90 min heavy lifting on the schedule was not going to happen.  Really just phoned this one in and probably shouldn't have even counted it.

Friday 8-15-14 Happy Birthday to Me.  I ran 20 miles in 3 hrs and 47 min.  Didn't hit my goal (I really need to get under 3:45 at the 20 mile mark) but overall it was a good run.  I was reminded that I'm not supposed to be hitting goal pace yet anyway, so I'm trying not to stress about still being so slow with the intervals.  Even so, I think the 5:1 is the way to go and will be the method I use for the race.  I'm very close to goal pace now with the intervals and hopefully I can up the speed a touch on race day and still hit my goal.

Saturday 8-16-14 REST.  I earned it.  What I didn't earn was all I ate on Saturday.  This is why people get fat while marathon training.  You burn a bazillion calories one day and don't feel like eating but then the next day when you burn zero calories, you eat all the things.

Sunday 8-17-14 WALK. I walked about 3 miles in the morning.  Needed to stretch my legs.  My ankles were both feeling kind of wonky.

Overall, this was a decent week.  I really need to work on getting back into lifting.  I like the new tabata workouts so I shouldn't have any excuses.

Training Tuesday: Detroit Marathon Week 12

This was supposed to be a step-back week but I got hurt on Monday, didn't work out Tuesday or Wednesday, and had my relay this weekend, so the training got a little messed up.

Monday 8-4-14: RUN 6 miles in 1:08:xx (11:20 pace).  A really awful run and then my hass flared. up.

Tuesday 8-5-14: NADA

Wednesday 8-6-14: NADA

Thursday 8-7-14: STRENGTH just a 20 min arms and abs tabata session.

Friday 8-8-14: RUN (relay leg 1) 6.34 miles in 1:07:xx (10:32 pace)

Saturday 8-9-14: RUN (relay leg 2) 7.05 miles in 1:18 (11:05 pace).  RUN (relay leg 3) 4.3 miles in 44 min (10:15 pace)

Sunday 8-10-14: WALK about 4.5 miles

Now I'm ready to get back at regular marathon training.  Sadly, I had kind of a crappy run Monday morning and then a bunch of dental work Monday afternoon.  Hopefully I'm not too derailed.

Training Tuesday: Detroit Marathon Week 11

Wow - where does the time go?  Here it is already August and I'm about half way through my training for the Detroit Marathon.  I'd say, overall, the training is going well.  The biggest thing I'm noticing is that I seem to be recovering from long runs much quicker this time around.  Maybe it's the intervals or maybe it's just that I'm in better running shape.  Probably doesn't really matter at this point. I was mildly bummed to finish out July about 3 miles short of 100 miles, but since I knew I had a 16 mile training run on August 1st, I resisted going out on July 31st just for the purpose of hitting that number.  Pretty mature of me, don't you think?

Monday 7/28/14 - RUN 2 miles at a 10:17 pace on the indoor track.  LIFTING 80 minutes.

Tuesday 7/29/14 - REST (actually, lots of walking in Chicago)

Wednesday 7/30/14 - RUN 6 miles with 4 at tempo. Averaged a 10:03 pace overall and a 9:48 for the tempo miles.  Not too shabby.

Thursday 7/31/14 - LIFTING 90 minutes.  Went horribly.

Friday 8/1/14 - LONG RUN - since I had plans all weekend, I moved my 16 miler to Friday morning.  I had a very rocky start but finished strong for a negative split and 11:20 overall average pace.  Somehow I even managed a 10 m/m for mile 16.  I'm pretty sure it's the horse to the barn phenomenon.

Saturday 8/2/14 - REST

Sunday 8/3/14 - WALK 5 miles.  I didn't need to head back out of town as early as I expected, so I got in a nice 90 minute walk.

This coming weekend is my 2nd 200 mile relay.  Team Screaming Thunderboxes will be running full throttle up and down the Fred Meijer White Pine Trail 200 Mile Relay.  We have a twitter account and you can follow us here to watch all the craziness unfold!