Planning for 13.1 in 75 days

I have very few pictures to share because I've pulled them off my phone, but haven't posted them to Shutterfly to print (I think I am one of the few people who actually still prints pictures and puts them into albums). I am very far behind - Once Halloween is over, I have to review all my pictures from mid-July through October 31.

So what is missing is our extra long weekend to Vermont over Columbus Day weekend. The leaves were absolutely beautiful!  We hiked a 4,000+ mountain (6.25 miles round trip!) with over 2,500 feet of elevation gain. And we ate and drove around.

But since 2 weeks ago I have done ZERO exercise until yesterday. With my complete lack of movement I was thinking about bailing on my 1/2 marathon in 75 days (yes, slightly less than 11 weeks). Originally I had been planning on running 7 miles every weekend starting last weekend and going through mid-November before picking up the mileage. Too many people of said I HAVE to do the 1/2 Marathon, so I am going to try to go for it. But with 3 weeks off from running, I decided to start with 4.25 miles (the .25 is just to get my annual mileage to an even number of 184) since all my runs will be full miles. I am going to TRY to get to 300 for the year but that will be a stretch - In order to do that I have to hit all my long runs (a couple of which will have to be done during the week do to weekend activities I have planned)

Thankfully the rain that plagued friends running the MCM in DC and that later plagued us did not hit during my run, which meant that I could run without my visor (which I will continue to need to run with since I will need it for my 1/2 in Disney). It was so freeing to run without a visor, sun glasses, nutrition or water. And it was a beautiful morning, around 44 degrees.

I ran 2.5 miles out (which is the distance from my start to a pond). Took a quick break to look at the leaves around the pond, and then ran 1.75 miles back and walked the rest of the way. I could have run the whole 2.5 miles back but 1) then my annual mileage would still not be a whole number and 2) why risk injury when I haven't run in 3 weeks? As it was my back was killing me the rest of the day, a part of me that usually doesn't hurt.

So here is my plan to get to the starting line on Saturday January 11th.
*Run every weekend, increasing the mileage by 1 mile, starting with 5 miles on 11/2 and reaching 13.1. I will need to adjust twice: 1 weekend I am going to New York for the day on Saturday and know I will walk a ton that day so I won't want to run on Sunday so I will run on Friday.
*Thanksgiving weekend I won't want to do a long run (I will be full on Friday, day trip on Saturday, will want to rest on Sunday), so I will run on Wednesday. Thankfully both of these are fairly early on in the training so the mileage is doable.
*Run once during the week - 3 miles, do some strides/speed work
*2 days of strength training
*1 day of biking
*Drink my water
*Only have extra sugar as a reward on my long run days (so in this case, I will be having NO candy on Halloween, but saving 5 pieces for Saturday) - And no, just because I am running 5 miles on Saturday doesn't mean I will get candy every long run!
*Get in steps during the week to keep my body moving

Notice that I said "get to the starting line" - I am a little nervous about the finish line mainly because of the time. You have to run 16 minute miles in order not to get swept. I run between 13:30 and 14:30 these days for the long runs so that doesn't leave a lot of extra time to enjoy the scenery, so I am going to try to run a little faster in my mid-week run to remind myself of what running faster feels like.

So there is the plan! Later this week I will be writing about a change at work that could help or hinder all of these plans!

10k by the ocean

I had my 10K yesterday, but before is a quick recap of the last 2 weeks:

Got up at 5:30 on a Tuesday to get in some strength training. I miss it so much!



But then did zero exercise the rest of the week :(

But I went apple picking with my daughter and friends and of course had to get some fresh apple cider donuts - they only come around once a year!

Last Sunday I got in 3 miles since I was just 1 week out from my race.

I had hoped to get in one more run last week before the race, but alas, it didn't happen. But I did get in yoga one morning, and I did try to get in more steps (though I haven't worn my FitBit in weeks) and I drank a ton of water and had no junk food from Tuesday on.

And then it was race weekend. This race is Ocean Road 10K - It is in Narragansett Rhode Island. It is the 4th New England state I have raced in. Originally the plan was for the whole family to come down (it is about 2 hours from our house) but then the fall sports schedule came out and my son had a late soccer game on Saturday and my daughter had 2 field hockey games on Sunday, so only I went. I cry over the fact that I had a hotel room to myself for the night :)

I drove down and got my bib and drove the course - It was fairly flat, but not completely.  Then I checked into the hotel and took a drive over to Newport, then came back and relaxed at the hotel. I had brought pasta with me to eat (I was worried that if I went out to dinner that the pasta would be too salty) but this hotel didn't have a microwave (some of the ones have in the past) so cold pasta it was!

The race started at 8 am and you needed to take a shuttle to the starting line and they wanted people to get parked early, so I was there early enough to see the sun rise. I wish I had had my real camera.



It was 6.27 miles of......mixed emotions. I had really hoped to average less than 12:30 a mile so I could submit my time for my 1/2 at Disney. I ran 3 miles in about 12:07 average and then mentally shut down, but a little but physically. I chose not to wear my vest but there was only water stops at mile 2 and at mile 4 but the volunteers barely put any way in each cup so I definitely felt a little dehydrated. So I did walk some. But I ended the race in 1:21:39 (average of 13:08). I had really hoped to run the whole thing and I physically could have, but I wasn't feeling it. There was tons of people walking so mentally it was just as easy to walk portions.

I love my medal - I haven't run a race in almost a year (that one was at Disney and before that it been more than a year). Getting the medal definitely helped my through the race.

During the race, I did have a lot of negative thoughts about my upcoming Half Marathon in January. I was thinking maybe I shouldn't do it. Was mad at myself for not having lost weight. Thinking I am crazy to be training during the holidays.

The race is slightly less than 14 weeks away. Next weekend I will get in a small run and then run 7 miles per weekend for about a month and then add on a mile a week through the rest of the year. But since right now 7 weeks sounds like a struggle I wonder if it is smart. Plus I feel like I may have a tad of plantar fascitis. For my half marathon 5 years ago I did train with only running 1 time a week because of my foot, but I was also 45 pounds less.

I want to do it - I am already going to Disney, so I am going to do the training. But I think if I eat right (except for the occasional holiday related indulgences), drink a lot of water, get sleep, and get in workouts then I think I will be okay.

Monday - Yoga

Tuesday - Strength Training

Wednesday - Run (plan on doing this in the daylight, not at 5:45 am)

Thursday - Strength Training

Friday - Peloton

Saturday - Rest Day

Sunday - Long Run

I need to work out more often because it is during those workouts that I can see the effects (positive or negative) of my poor eating. I need more reminders during the week, not just on Sunday, of how my nutrition helps or hinders my performance.

#OnToOrlando