New Shoes and Phoning It In

This past weekend, my good friend Elizabeth and I stopped by the store Running Revolution in Campbell after a training walk on the Los Gatos Creek Trail. What an educational experience that was! We went through a series of assessments, including running on a treadmill while the clerk guy videotaped our feet/ankles then put it on the screen in slow motion. I learned so much about overpronating, crashing arches, ACL's and IT-bands, and a bunch of other running lingo that makes me sound like I actually know what I'm talking about.

After we completed the assessments, Clerk Guy (sorry for forgetting your name, Clerk Guy. Jeff?) brought out different pairs of shoes to try on. One thing I never really thought of is just how similar choosing the right running shoe is a lot like choosing the right mate. There's the really cute ones that are all wrong for you, ones that fit right but don't look so attractive, the comfortable ones that leave you wondering just how long they'll be comfortable before they start giving you blisters, the ones you sort of settle for...you get the idea. After trying on about a half-dozen pairs, I had got to the point where they all felt the same and I was afraid I was about to drop $100+ on something I was just settling for. I decided to not buy that day, but to take a break and come back another time. What I didn't tell Clerk Guy was that I just bought some Saucony's at DSW for $60 that seemed to fit exactly the same as all those other shoes I was trying. Although not successful in that I didn't buy anything, the trip itself to Running Revolution was extremely educational and helpful. I'll probably go back to talk to them about hydrating gels or some other runner-sounding things.

With new shoes taken care of, I thought I'd be all kinds of motivated to run my best, farthest, fastest, etc. Not so. Running still sucks. My long "runs" over the weekend were walks without any jogging at all. Tonight was my first actual run of any type in nearly a week. And I felt it. I hate settling, but I have a feeling I'm going to be settling on walking a lot for this half marathon. Which is fine. I guess.

I'm trying to find motivation through two weeks worth of "Biggest Loser" episodes. All I can focus on though is how irritating Migdalia is and those stupid product placements ("So I can get this at any Walgreens?").

On a positive note, I am starting Week 5 of training, which means I've reached about 100 miles. When I say it like that it sounds impressive. Nevermind that I got there in 2.5 mile increments...but who's counting. :)

No turning back...

Ok, now it's official: I will be participating in the See Jane Run Half Marathon on June 5th. Otherwise, I just wasted $73 that could have gone towards countless other useful and important things, like shoes or makeup for example. Why someone would actually pay to be put through this type of torture is beyond me. Perhaps it only further proves my insanity.

Speaking of expenses, why is it that the things you need most are often the most costly? I'm in desperate need of a new, good pair of running shoes (my Marshall's clearance rack deals apparently aren't good enough to train for a half marathon in. Who knew?). After spending the greater half of the morning searching around the internet, deciphering between underpronating and overpronating, high arch or normal arch, and about a hundred different makes and models of running shoes, I decided I'm way in over my head and need to seek professional help. Yes, you read right, I'm going to seek the professional opinion of those wise, experienced (and expensive) people over at Running Revolution in Campbell. First I need to build up the courage to walk in and tell them "I have no idea what I'm doing but am competing in a half marathon regardless and can you help me find some shoes for this?". I'm also waiting until my bank account trains a little more for such an excursion, so to speak. More on this later.

So far, I'm two weeks in with the training schedule. All in all I have to say things are going relatively well, besides the fact that I still am not a fan of running by any means. I learned that at least 10-15 minutes of stretching at the end of a work out is critical, otherwise I wake up the next day and my hip flexors are the equivalent to an 80-year-old woman. I also learned that having a good playlist on my iPod really helps. I'm bored with all the songs I have on mine already, so I've been bouncing back and forth between various Pandora stations. Sometimes I even throw a little NPR on when I'm feeling REALLY crazy! "Wait Wait Don't Tell Me" is a personal fave.

Other feel-good endorphins come from the fact that I've managed to convince 28 other teachers/parents at school to do this silly race with me. Unbelievable! We've started a once a week, after school running/walking club to help us "train" ("train" meaning socialize with a little bit of jogging and walking dispersed between conversations). Now I definitely can't back out, because it looks really bad if the leader flakes.

I'm off to Macy's to use the rest of some wedding gift cards to buy a couple sports bras. That is definitely a topic worthy of its own post...

Training Schedule

Mmmkay, so if anyone's interested and/or curious, I'm posting the training plan I'm somewhat following...or plan to follow...or I should probably say hope to follow. It comes from this book (which I've read exactly one chapter of. I had too many issues of "Women's Health" to catch up on). It's 19 weeks long, and the race is about 23 weeks away, which gives me just enough cushion for those not-even-remotely-interested-in-running weeks, i.e. my birthday, cruise to the Bahamas in April, etc..

Keep in mind, this is a run/walk plan. There's no way in h I would try running this entire thing at the first crack. I'm crazy, not stupid. Also, "Cross Train" refers to any type of weights/strength training activity, but it should be 45 minutes-1 hour. Here we go:

Week # /Sun/ Mon/ Tues/ Wed/ Thurs/ Fri/ Sat

1. 35 min./ Rest/ 35 min./ 40 min./ Cross train/ Rest/ 45 min.
2. 35 min./ Rest/ 35 min./ 40 min./ Cross train/ Rest/ 50 min.
3. 40 min./ Rest/ 40 min./ 45 min./ Cross train/ Rest/ 60 min.
4. 50 min./ Rest/ 50 min./ 55 min./ Cross train/ Rest/ 60 min.

Not so bad, right? Just wait...

5. 40 min./ Rest/ 45 min./ 40 min./ Cross train/ Rest/ 90 min.
6. 35 min./ Rest/ 45 min./ 40 min./ Cross train/ Rest/ 110 min!!!
7. 45 min./ Rest/ 45 min./ 40 min./ Cross train/ Rest/ 3 miles

After week 7, everything is mileage based, rather than time. Which makes me wonder, what if you're going farther than 3 miles in those earlier trainings? Doesn't matter, I'll be in pain either way.

8. 4 miles/ Rest/ 4 miles/ 5 miles/ Cross train/ Rest/ 5 miles
9. 4 miles/ Rest/ 5 miles/ 5 miles/ Cross train/ Rest/ 6 miles
10. 4 miles/ Rest/5 miles 3 miles/ Cross train/ Rest/ 7 miles
11. 4 miles/ Rest/6 miles 3 miles/ Cross train/ Rest/ 8 miles
12. 5 miles/ Rest/5 miles 3 miles/ Cross train/ Rest/ 9 miles
13. 4 miles/ Rest/7 miles 5 miles/ Cross train/ Rest/ 7 miles
14. 4 miles/ Rest/5 miles 3 miles/ Cross train/ Rest/ 7 miles
15. 5 miles/ Rest/5 miles 4 miles/ Cross train/ Rest/ 7 miles
16. 3 miles/ Rest/ 4 miles/ 4 miles/ Cross train/ Rest/ 12 miles?!

Here's where I would maybe deviate a little bit. I sorta feel like I need to hang out in that 7-10 mile range before jumping all the way up to 12. I'm thinking about doing a week working up to 10, then 12, then back down to 10. At any rate, on with the plan:

17. 4 miles/ Rest/ 5 miles/ 5 miles/ Cross train/ Rest/ 6 miles
18. 5 miles/ Rest/4 miles/ 5 miles/ Cross train/ Rest/ 4 miles
19.* 4 miles/ 4 miles/ Rest/ Rest/ Rest/ Rest/ Rest
(*or, the week before the race)

Obviously you will have to adjust the timing, since I don't think there is a half-marathon exactly 19 weeks from now. And I'm a firm believer in using your rest days wisely. I'm making Sunday and Friday my rest days, mostly because those are my busiest days personally, and because I think I freaking deserve to rest after going 10 miles on the previous day! Another swap I'm making is having Wednesday be my cross training day. No real reason, just fits my schedule better and because I'm a little bit O.C.D. and feel like it divides the week in half nicely.

If anyone is interested in just a walking training plan, let me know because the book has that too.

I still haven't officially signed up for the race yet. I was going to be all symbolic about it and do it New Year's Day, but I was out of town. Then I found out there is a 10% discount for groups of 10 or more, so I'm waiting to see if I can wrangle 9 other people to sign up with me. Any takers???

That's all for now. Training starts tomorrow. So does school after 2 weeks off. As if Monday weren't bad enough.

Bye!

This just in: 13 miles is really far

I ran at the gym today for the first time since, oh, July. I must say, I was pretty pleased with myself for giving it a try. I only set out to do a mile, and I ran about half of that until deciding a break was probably a good idea. I walked another quarter of a mile before running the last quarter.

Keep in mind, when I say "run", I'm talking about what's probably referred to more as a jog. On the treadmill I usually aim for 5.0 mph as my pace, and 3.5 to 3.8 as my standard walking pace. But like I said, not out to be a hero or set any records, just trying to finish without dying. That applies to half marathons or one milers alike.

I must say, that one mile wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, not having ran in over 5 months. Once I got over that initial hump of actually starting the run, I was fine. That seems to be a problem of mine, in other aspects of my life besides just running. It's always that initial hump I have to get over before I realize the thing I set out to do really isn't so bad. (btw, I hate that word "hump", it makes me think of my dog. But I can't think of a better one, so I'll just go with it.) Once i got going, I focused on my breathing and posture, which were good distractors from the time, and the mile was over in under 15 minutes.

Now enter the pessimistic side of my brain. It took me nearly 15 minutes to do a mile casually, that's not (overly) huffing and puffing and sweating to death. Had this been the half marathon, I'd still have 12 more to do after that. Here's a little 4th grade math problem: 13 miles x 15 minutes = 195 minutes. Divided by 60 and that's 3 hours, 15 minutes to do the whole thing. That's a really long time to be running/walking. Even after that one mile, I was already running out of stuff to think about and focus on, other than being distracted by stomach cramps or tight leg muscles (both of which have been notorious deal breakers in past runs). So the thought of having to entertain myself for 3 hours more seemed a little daunting. That's longer than most movies! That's a flight from San Francisco to Seattle! Seems to me that part of this training is not only going to be focusing on the physical, but the mental as well.

By the way, my training book arrived in the mail the other day. I haven't opened it yet, other that to leaf through the training pages, but it looks pretty good. It's called "The Nonrunner's Marathon Guide for Women: Get Off Your Butt and On With Your Training".

I got in on Amazon for about 10 bucks. Not too shabby.

Until next time!

Here I go (for reals this time)

Darn that stupid show "The Biggest Loser" for making me feel like I can accomplish any physical activity if I just set my mind to it. Because of that, I'm signing up to participate in a half-marathon on June 5, 2010.

Notice my use of the word "participate", not run or walk. I'm not planning on being a hero by any means, my only goals for the race are:

1) to actually show up on race day
and
2)finish all 13.1 miles (preferably before the sun goes down)

I'm still in the "psych myself up and believe I can really do this" phase. I bought a training book through Amazon that I plan on reading over the holidays, and I'm researching a few different training plans through various online running sites (when I finally find a good one, I'll post it on here, but for now, you can check my links). My plan is to start training on Monday, January 3, which is almost 5 months to the day before the race. Like I said before, not trying to be a hero. It's going to take me all 5 months to prepare, that much I'm certain about.

So...who else is in?

Here I Go...

I find all the time in the world to set up my training blog, but then when it comes time to post I suddenly have to go do something else.

Little bit of foreshadowing?