Accidental half marathons and new goals

Xmas break is all but over and, delightfully, I managed to stay on point and not drop my training regime - although did have to modify it.  I spent Xmas in Vegas and, thankfully, the MGM has a great gym (even if it did cost me $15 a day for the privilege).   Four of the six days I was there I worked out, a little on the treadmill (which I really really loathe) and on the stairmaster (which I really really love).
Arriving home I then proceeded to run the "accidental half marathon"!  I had mapped a route to run 11 miles, this based around dropping the rental car back and creating a loop with the car yard as my start point.  Hmmm, so slight hitch with the car and I ended up starting the run from home and slightly altering the route along the way.  Good grief about 3/4 of the way in it occurred to me that this wasn't going to be a 11 mile run - but what do you do?  You are already out there???  So I just kept to the path and ended up doing  12.8 miles (not far short of the half).  I did feel really great though, it wasn't until the last mile that I began to feel some real discomfort (and my pace dropped accordingly) - still I ran it in just over 2hrs so that's made me optimistic for the actual half in February.
I am back seeing Case and our second (and last work out for 2009) turned into a big one.  Case bought along the weight vest and we proceeded to put me through a very high intensity work out wearing, what he claimed at the time, 10lbs in the vest.   I really should have picked it, especially when I started to do the box jump and very near smashed into the damn thing....need to jump a little higher/explosively when wearing the vest.  Didn't give up though and mastered three sets.  At the end of the work out we get me and the vest on the scales.....17lbs thanks very much.....even Case was shocked - we both laughed though because he even had me doing lunges with two additional 10lb weights and added a 25lbs weight to my plank (not giving up, not giving up, not giving up).  Delightfully we also discovered I'd lost another 3.5lbs and 2% body fat over the last three weeks, this startled both of us.  This also prompted a discussion around new goals for 2010.  I've still got my heart set on the NYC Marathon in November so we discussed what would be an optimal weight goal.  Case thinks if I lose another 5lbs then that would be awesome (his words)...so new goal.

10 miles and counting!

Ran 10 miles today (well 10.3 to be precise, 1hr 36mins, I'm happy).  This was grand (as the countdown clock shows).....Feb 7 is racing towards me.  The course has a three hour limit - Case tells me when you line up everyone is grouped based on their anticipated finish time and, more importantly, everyone lies!!!!  Gawd racing is tricky, me being me I would never have thought to lie.

New challenges

Omg, Case is continuing to find new forms of torture for me.....I mean it in a kind caring way.  For the non-runners/gym goers on the left is a bosu ball.  It can be used for different types of torture (much like the box I mentioned in my last post).  For some months now I have been using it to do push ups - you turn it over so it has the ball side down and them hold the sides and go for it.  New world, no more girl pushups, it's all boy push ups from now on.  One exercise I've done from the beginning is the plank.  Put your feet on the top of the ball, straighten your body into a pushup or rest on your elbows, hold your stomach muscles in and count the minutes!  Case has variations on this now too.  Go into the plank and he adds a 20/30 or 40 pound weight to my back, depending on how he feels - now that has you focused on holding the plank so the darn weight doesn't slip off.  One of my favs is he turns the ball over and I stand/balance on it, he hands me a weight bar and I have to crouch and stand up, over and over and over again.  It's not easy but that one is really good for the stabalizer muscles in my ankles i.e. reduces the risk of injury.  When I first started I could hardly balance on the ball, let alone hold a weight - Case told me I'd get good at it and he was right.  Getting good with the bosu has been one of those deeply satisfying things where you see improvement relatively quickly - now that appeals to me.

On to new things

Moving along.  My first race is done and there will never be another first.  Well yes I guess there will be the first half marathon then the first marathon but now I have done my very first race I at least have some idea what happens. Case is wasting no time.  Today I ran 9 miles....in a thunderstorm complete with lightening.  It was all okay, my focus was on distance not time but I did it in 1hr 26mins, which was better than I had expected.  Toward the end my right knee started to ache a little - I am completely paranoid about injuries now, I haven't got long until the half in Feb and in-between I am going to Vegas so will have to spend a hideous week only being able to run on the treadmill, which I have decided I dislike intensely as it seems really hard on my body.  
On a sweet note, over the last months Case has commented that my legs are very strong. We have been doing these hideous exercises that involve leaping onto a box.  It's really all about having explosive muscle power, or some such thing.  Anyway this week he had me literally jumping onto a box just below my waist height!  Honestly if you'd told me I'd ever be able to go from flatfooted to leaping that high anytime before Tuesday at 7pm I would have laughed you out of the room.  Just because he's Case he also had me do 5 of them after I had already completed 20 jumps on the medium box and don't go thinking getting my toes on the edge was enough either - hell no, gotta land in the middle on top of the box!  I got a high five out of it and a few claps from the audience....sweetly gratifying!

Today I showed up

My race is done.....it was remarkable, nerve-wracking and a great thing to do, I will do more.  The stats are important because what's measured matters.  1hr 05 total run - I didn't break 1hr (a little part of me is disappointed....) but I beat my best by 6+mins, I'll reconcile it.  84th in a field of 213, boys and girls (beating boys matters to me, it's an Army thing, when you are me in the Army it was always tough to beat boys).  4th in my age group of 21 - Case had me see this matters, his text "4th outta 21? WOW...now thats what im talking about....CONGRATS..." ends "yay Jody".  It was cold, really cold....I had to decide to run with my running jacket - point being that when you begin you have to decide a whole lot of things, how you dress being one, I didn't regret it.  I got to see the 1st and 2nd place runners come in from the 50k and 50mile runs, remarkable - I didn't get to see the first women come in but I did hear two women next to me talk about wanting to see them too - I would have stayed but I was cold and had run the event with no support at the end, I wanted to go home, needed to get warm so I left.  It was grand and it was fun and it was unexpected.
Half marathon in Feb - I'll bring some pals to help, it would be nice to share in the moment, but if they can't come (they would have today to btw, but it wasn't possible), then I'll do it again, just me and love it.

Counting down

The clock is ticking down to my "race".  I am starting to feel a little nervous - silly really as I've run it before it's just the thought of all those people is freaky.  There are 200 men and women in my 10k. Case says I will be more prepared than most (that is why I love Case, he is good for my confidence) - I don't much care about where I place so much as I run well (okay I am not keen to come in last either).  Nerves are supposed to be good; hrumpf really?  I guess they only hit me when I think about it so maybe the answer is to not think about it and just remember to turn up on the day!

Wilder Ranch and breaking the 9min mile

I had the sweetest thing happen on my run today.  I went to do a 7 miler through Wilder Ranch (which is this lovely State Park that offers expansive views of the ocean, grassy meadows and winding trail runs through the trees).  I was literally trudging up a rather steep incline when a guy on a bike comes flying down the hill, big grin, puts out his hand and we high five on his way through.  Way cool and completely inspirational. So glad as I was going to turn around but kept going and discovered the most delightful track.  Then as I hit the end of the downhill I look across to a trail nearby to a woman on a mountain bike grinning at me - we'd met in the carpark way back when i.e. before I'd run 5miles and she'd biked I don't know how many - sweet interactions with folk!  

Best achievement of the week.  I did my standard 3.8 miler and hit 8:49min miles.  This is amazing because when I first started that run it took me over an hour, now I can do it in a little over 34mins....wow.  

Seriously....

Case has found new forms of torture....all in the name of my health.  Yep today I worked out in a weight vest.  As he dropped 12 pounds on me I had flash backs to the Army days and the body armour we wore in Bosnia...seriously. We then proceeded to run through a series of exercises just like the good 'ole days, only this time carrying all the weight I have lost then some.  Is it too weird to admit that at the end I felt kinda proud of myself for surviving it.  I am going to be so sore tomorrow!

Truck'n on

I guess I've gained some confidence that this running thing is going to last....I've entered into two more races including my first half marathon.  The half isn't until July but Case hinted at thinking I could do one in February (yikes, that doesn't seem far away).  Today I ran 7.5 miles, add another 5.6 and I've got my half.  Easy to type I am thinking.  Funny too, ended up chatting with my hairdresser about running and nutrition.  Turns out she volunteers as a marathon charity trainer, she is currently training folk for the Hawaii Marathon, which is my fall back if I don't get into NY. This whole running thing is changing my world.

Kill'n it

Okay so while it might appear I am obsessed with animated characters that shake their butts (Percy was a little creepy).....boogie bunny does pretty much capture how I'm feeling. Just ran a trial run of the trail run - killed it! Actually I ran a little more than the run itself (yes, yes, I got a little geographically challenged). Whatever, assuming I can hold it all together I might actually be able to complete the run in under an hour (although I think that's a stretch.....). The run up wasn't as hideous as I thought it was going to be so I think I can run faster on some sections. Woohoo!
Of course I did have the previous weeks run in Nisene Marks Park to compare it to. OMG, that really did prove to be a trail - single lane, tree roots, river beds, up and up - did have me appreciate all the work Case has done on getting my core strength up!

Feel the fear and try not to panic

Two weeks back I had a terrible workout where we were training in the weight room and it was really humid.  I was working really hard (cardio and weights) when I literally felt like I couldn't breathe.  For the first time ever I had to stop the training and go outside to calm down.....kind of like a panic attack (although I've never had one before, so I am guessing).  I've never had anything like that before.  A week later I was doing another cardio session and it was like my body remembered and I had to pause again.  It really freaked me out.  My head knows/knew that there was plenty of oxygen but my mind body connection was going haywire.  Cos I'm not proud (well actually because I am proud and hated feeling like I wasn't able to control my mind/body) I asked a couple of people at work who workout a lot if they had any strategies. Two good pieces of advice - ignore anything that freaks you out and a breathing exercise. Combining these two strategies while Case putting me through a workout tonight (that included the freaky burpee exercises)  I willed myself not to think about panicking (well I don't know if that's what actually happened but that's what I was aiming for) and focused on the breathing exercise.  I can't say I was entirely comfortable but I didn't panic and feel my confidence returning.  Long may I never experience that feeling again!

Groan

Hideously hard workout on Tuesday has left me with very strained thigh muscles.....so strained that I couldn't work my legs out at all Wednesday and cancelled my training for Thursday.  It's annoying and makes me feel grumpy and out of sorts.  Want to go running, want to go running, want to go running...can't, grumpy.

A lesson in recovery

So feeling both the agony and the ecstasy!  Ran the 6 miles in record time Friday, did 3.5 miles on the beach Saturday then 45mins on Stairmaster Sunday with 3.8 miles (in record time) Monday. Tuesday back to Case - did my fastest mile on the treadmill at 8:44mins...then proceeded to quietly collapse during the training as we worked on my legs.  Yikes, really felt the fatigue set in. Even Case commented that was the first time he'd seen me that fatigued, so today (Wednesday) is a rest day....  My legs felt so tired I could hardly drag myself around the office.  On the upside (always an upside), I am getting to experience first hand the importance of rest days!

Broke the 10 min mile

Upping the stakes

I've just agreed to move to three sessions a week with Case. The hardsell is that I get three free sessions if I complete 12 sessions in October.....of course we know that all comes out in the financial wash when I end up buying more sessions earlier. That said, it's a great idea as it will accelerate my training hugely (I don't really care about the economics of it, but can't help but think through the business math of it). I've lost 7lbs and Case wants me to lose 7 more in October - yikes, can't remember last time I would have been that size. The goal has never really been to lose weight but it seems to be coming together as a package so I'm not fighting it.
Case has discovered new levels of torture. Once a week he gets me on the treadmill and has me run as hard as I can for 1 mile. Last night was the first time we tried this, see already I see it as the norm - "we" had already run for 5 mins up hill on the treadmill!).....new levels of pain. I did do under 10mins (9.36), which I hope I will one day look back on and laugh saying "was I ever that slow" - okay so trying to boost myself, I did work hard for it though. He didn't stop there, that was a mere half way through my alloted 50mins...we carried on with other exercises! At the end of the session he declared he was "very happy" with my progress, which made me feel ridiculously happy........

What a difference a week makes

I can't claim to really understand why or how Case mixes up my training days with him. Some days it's obvious and I'm either doing upper or lower body, always with "intervals". Intervals are little torturous moments where I either get on the treadmill or bike and he has me running/biking inclines at various speeds. They can last anywhere between 1.5 to 3mins (although he did put me through one very long 5mins). Now I've read enough to know intervals are the key to getting stronger and faster and achieving your goals or not....or so it seems. Friday I went for another 6 miler. While it would be going too far to say it was a "breeze" it was remarkably different from any of my other runs. I really did feel 100% stronger, my legs carrying me with ease and comfortably able to keep my body in line - it was lovely. It's these moments that keep me going.

Feeling good

Sunday I tried the 6 miles again and did it with "relative" ease. Relative because it's only the second time I've done it. I'm still pacing at over 10 min miles so have a way to go before I can do the trail run with any credibility. On the upside this evenings PT workout was very rewarding. I feel a thousand times stronger and did some credible intervals on the treadmill. It's all baby steps but so much more rewarding when you are at least able to stand and take a few tentative steps before crashing to the ground.

Sometimes you're on and sometimes......

I think forever I've largely ignored my body or thought of it as inconveniently rotund (I still don't accept any notion that I might be on the short side).  Training is bringing a new focus to, not only the totality of this thing that houses my mind, but individual parts as I try to get everything aligned to create something like a running machine!  Thursday's training was tough, Friday I thought I would try the 6 miler again - challenge 1. body feels weary, challenge 2. going to the State Fair so have to run at 4pm....still way too hot outside.  Ended up giving it a shot but conceded at 3 miles that this wasn't all coming together. Woke up bright and early, today (Saturday) and promptly started surfing around running websites an Amazon.com looking for books and inspiration.  Decided it was a gym day (cardio and core strength....CS requires a whole entry all its own, I'll get to that another time).  Body still a little weary but did spend a lovely sweaty 30mins on the Stairmaster (fatburn, lovely terms they use), did some core exercises then spent 30mins on the bike doing cardio, finished with core exercises.  All of which was thoroughly enjoyable, so today is one of the days where "sometimes it all comes together".

Personal Training Day

As part of this crazy dream I got myself a personal trainer through the gym (24hr Fitness).  Case is a sweet 22 year old who aspires to be a nurse.  Funny I don't really think of him as 20 years younger than me - I guess I seem very "old" to him!  Mostly I see him as the boss, for the 50 minutes twice a week I spend with him.  He cuts me no slack, unfailingly working me hard. When you have a PT there is no cheating nor pretending you are doing better than you are.   There is also no such thing as an "easy" day - even when he says it will be....it's really just a different kind of hard.  Today was one of those days.  We did circuits; upper body exercises then 1 min cardio on the bike, then started all over again - it hurts and I am stubborn and my body tries to keep up!

To add to the pain every few weeks we do a weigh in and body fat test - so far I am trending in the right direction.  It's all worth it though because I feel my body changing and I feel fitter.  

No pain no gain, it's probably the one "truth" I've held for years that I haven't questioned. 

Two firsts

Today was my first time running on the sand at Seabright Beach.  I went out gently as I am still sporting a minor calf injury.  Overall I was surprised though.  I think I could have run harder and actually enjoyed the whole experience.  Sun was setting so it was also a beautiful evening to run. Second "first" was wearing my trail shoes (as opposed to my road shoes).  They were grand and fit perfectly.  I love my runners - very comfortable.  Downside and a little funny - my trainer has me on a diet and I think that means I am about to need to buy some new running shorts....they are getting a little loose on me - or maybe really it just means I am wearing them out quick (hard to believe I have lost enough weight to require new shorts just yet!).