Weekly Update (Weekly Wrap-up Edition)

This was a busy week for me, especially in the work out realm.

Monday I really didn't have anything planned on my calendar.  I had two good bike rides over the weekend and I really needed to give my legs a rest.  I could tell during my stretching and rolling that my quads and glutes needed extra attention with a couple of knots in them.

Tuesday I went to my regular FT class.

Wednesday I actually went for a run.  This was the first time I had in 2 1/2 months.  I know my relay partners are saying "Finally!"  I did 2 1/2 easy miles before work.  I kept it light and did a 30:30 walk run.  I didn't push myself and I didn't slack off and walk any extra.  It was good.  I kept thinking my run time was set to 15 seconds instead of 30, so that's probably a good sign.

Thursday I went to my regular FT class before work.  The gym at my job offers classes to take as well.  I have taken a couple over the last month and they added a new one on Thursdays.  It's a Core Blast class.  Basically 30 minutes of nothing but abs.  The class lasted about 25 minutes and I felt it as we engaged our abs and lower back the whole time.  While we were doing some leg lifts the knot in my quad from Monday started to cramp.  Oww!  I didn't feel soar after (not even my quad), but I know it was a good workout.  My core is something that always needs to be worked on.

Friday I went on a second run for the second time.  I did the same mileage and run/walk times from Wednesday.  My IT band was a little tight, but nothing that is no different from when it bothers me before so I wasn't worried about it.  I did notice that both these runs were not any slower then what I had done last summer when I was heart rate training.  So I really don't think I've lost too much taking the break over the summer.  There was a beautiful moon out shining through the clouds.  It's just weird getting a whole run in before there is any hint of the sun to come up.
 
I had decided to do the TRX class again at the gym at work.  I had enjoyed it the first time I took it as I feel it really worked my core.  While it was still a fun class, I don't feel my abs like I did after the first class.  So I probably will try to take one of the two classes a week to make sure I get some extra core work in.  My quad was bothering me a bit during this class.  Not bad, but it was talking to me some.

Friday night I took my friend out to a nice dinner for his birthday.  He loves Texas de Brazil, so it was a lot of meat.  I can't eat red meat, so I fill up on their yummy sausages and some wonderful goat cheese.  We then made our way to the Apple store as I wanted to check out their AirPods.  I wanted some truly wireless earphones and I wanted to make sure they would fit properly.  Well they did and they were comfortable so I bought a pair.  I'll post something about them in a couple weeks after I have a chance to use them and run in them.

This past weekend I wanted to try to get at least one bike ride in.  The weather would be nice for riding in the morning.  Saturday I knew my quad was still a little acky to head out.  And the only group going out was a little faster then I'm used to, so I knew I didn't want to push it.  I set my alarm to head out with a group on Sunday morning and when I woke up my quad hurt more then it had in the last few days.  So I decided to not go and stretch and roll it some more.  I decided to use that time to start looking into getting some Podcasts onto my iPod.  I've listened to Podcasts every so often, but it was never a regular thing.  I decided to add a few to my iPod to listen to during my runs.

How is your training going?  Do you listen to Podcasts?  If so any recommendations?

Linking up with Holly and Tricia's Weekly Wrap Up.

It's Marine Corps Marathon Weekend! (Weekly Wrap-up Edition)

So right now I am probably done with my marathon and resting my poor tired feet.  So this will be an abbreviated weekly wrap-up as I don't know what my time or wi-fi status will be this weekend.

This week I only had two training runs and both were only 3 miles.  I haven't run my 3 mile loop in ages and it was nice being done a lot sooner then normal.  That meant I could sleep in a little.  I'm currently on new medication so I didn't know how that would effect my run.  Well it elevated my heart rate a lot and made the run really hard.  I know now to not take it till after I run.  The picture below is of this weird face in a tree.  I keep seeing it on my weekly runs and each time I look for it I miss it and it makes me think it disappeared.  Spooky this time of year.

Wednesday was my last training run before MCM.  It was COLD when I left my house.  Like 39 degrees cold.  It hasn't been that cold yet this fall.  While I wore a light long sleeve shirt and tights, towards the end of the run my ears were getting cold.  Each year I go through this transition I never remember what I did the year before.  And I have running logs that I have, but never seem to get them out. :)

My heart rate monitor died about half way through my run.  I thought it might happen since I couldn't remember the last time I charged it.  I really like this monitor, but it has no indication light to tell me how much battery is left or if it is low.  So I basically have to charge it every other run just in case.

After the monitor died, I switched to 30 second walk/1 minute run.  The run felt really good despite the cold.  I was still as slow as usual, but I pushed the run a little.  I like to play a game when I run the 3 mile loop where I run the first mile at a comfortable pace and then the second has to be faster then the first then the third has to be faster then the second.  I can only play this game when I do 3-4 miles.  But I won on this run.  I think my next goal after Richmond is to get back to running the whole 3 miles.  

For the rest of the week I did a ton of walking, a shakeout run, and a marathon.  More details of each of these happenings to come.


Happy Halloween!!  

Do you ever play games on your runs?  How do you remember what type of layers to wear when the fall brings colder temperatures?

Linking up with Holly and Tricia's Weekly Wrap Up.

MCM Goals (Tuesdays on the Run Edition)

So here we are Tuesday morning.  Five more days till MCM.  So here are my plans and goals for the race.

Everyone says to have three goals for a race.  I guess that makes sense.  I have actually never done this, but I have also have yet to run a race during my short time of blogging.

A. To come in under 6:30.  This would be a huge stretch goal for me.
B. To PR - To come in under 6:58:16 - I think this is doable, especially after my 23 mile run.
C. To finish officially by beating both the Gantlet and Bridge

So this is my strategy for the race.  With the elevation being fairly flat, except for the first few miles, this is the plan.

 1. Get over the start line by 8:15.  The start line will be open from 7:55 - 8:55 and there are no assigned corrals.  I don't want to be in the first few corrals as I don't want to be a complete douche, but I want to get through the start line ASAP.  With our transportation to the start line with the VIP package, we don't have to worry about the Metro.  This should be doable.

2. Run the first 5ish minutes to let the crowd thin out some.  I hate walking when everyone around me is running.  Cause I'm sort of being a douche by starting sooner then I should, I don't want to clog up too much.

3. Once things thin out I'll so a 30 second run/1 minute walk through the first 2 miles.  Since the first 2 miles look to be like strait up hill I wanted to try and conserve my energy.

4. Once the huge hill is done, we start going strait back down hill.  I'll switch to 1 minute run/30 second walk.  On the steeper down hills I tend to like to run down, even on my walk breaks.  So that might make up for some of the time in the first 2 miles where I'll be walking a lot more.

5.  I'll keep an eye on my HR.  On my 23 mile run, it averaged 152 which is a little high, but still in a good range.  Once I get past the Gauntlet and Bridge cut offs, I may try and pay attention to my HR a little more.  But my HR tends to get higher on the second half of my runs.  So I will be playing that by ear.

Plans tend to never go perfectly.  I'll go with the swing of things and hope for the best.

So remember to follow me on Twitter - @heatherlas and Instagram - @heathersspin as I will be posting throughout the weekend.  And maybe even during the race.

Do you normally make goals for your races?  

I’m linking up with with MCM Mama Runs, Marcia’s Healthy Slice, and My No Guilt Life for the Tuesdays on the Run linkup.

Last Week of Taper Before MCM (Weekly Wrap-up Edition)

So we are now a week away from MCM.  Seven more days, three more training runs, four more days of work, and one more billion checks of weather.com till the big day.  So far tapering has been fine.  I've never had a hard time with it, but do start getting nervous as the race gets closer.  But the more detailed planning I do, the better I feel.  The weather got a lot warmer this week and most days were highs in the mid 80s.  For mid-October it's a lot hotter then normal.

Monday's run was good.  I tried the walk/run of 30sec/1min again.  I still think HR running is better for me even though the time seems to be about the same.  The run felt a little hard, but with the weather getting warmer, it was a lot more humid that morning.

Wednesday I went back to my HR running.  It was still humid, but a good run.  I ran into Agnes who I see a lot out walking.  We always seem to be going the opposite ways, but this morning we walked about half a mile together.  It was fun getting to know her a little more. 

Friday was my last mid-week run of 5 miles.  All next week I'll be dropping down to 3 mile runs.  I did see another shooting star.  That's two in two weeks.  I did take a few moments to think about a wish unlike I did last week.  Whether I get my wishes or not, it's really cool to see a shooting star.

Saturday the MTT team is doing another 20 mile run.  Since I'm in my last taper long run, I only wanted to do 6 miles.  The half marathon team was doing 8 so I decided to do a run with them (but cut 2 miles off).  It was a good run.

I saw some odd things while on this run.  Including this weird huge bird nest.

And Alan. I've seen him before, he is not just a Halloween decoration, but this was the first time I stopped to get a picture.

And this kitty.  She (or he) walked right up to me and let me pet her (or him).  While I tend to say hi to all the dogs on a walk, never a cat before.  She must live around there somewhere and have a home to be so trusting.

And then I got to go out to brunch with my running friends.  I haven't been able to join them in ages cause we have been running different distances as they are training for the half.  It was so great to catch up with everyone.  And to show how small a town Richmond is, the lady that has been helping me at the Alzheimer's Association had been running with my running friends all summer long.

So remember to follow me on Twitter - @heatherlas and Instagram - @heathersspin as I will be posting throughout the weekend.  And maybe even during the race.

Have you ever seen a shooting star?  Have you seen anything interesting out on a run lately that wasn't just a Halloween decoration?  Has a cat ever come up to you to say hi?

Linking up with Holly and Tricia's Weekly Wrap Up.

Trying Walk/Run Again (Weekly Wrap-up Edition)

First week of taper is complete.  Two more weeks till MCM.  This has been another hard week for me.  Not for running, but everything else.  The help we had for my dad didn't work out, so there was time spent with him and stress about what we are going to do weighted on me.  I went to another job fair.  I like to see so many employers at once, but it is really exhausting.  But running seems to be going better.  And I'm focusing on detail planning for MCM.  That seems to be calming me some.  Planning just does that to me.

I didn't run on Monday as I was still exhausted Sunday night and decided not to get up early and take an extra rest day.  I'm on my taper so I'm not worried about missing a day.  Wednesday was a good run.  Even though I was in a bad mood the whole run.  I was hoping that the run would help my mood, but it didn't.  Just too much going on and too much stress.  But with cooler temps, my pace is coming down slowly.  Though on my run I did see an accident.  I'm not sure how it happened, but it looked like the car crossed the median and hit a brick wall.  I hope that everyone was OK.

Friday my mood was better.  With things with the job, I have been working from home more often and that means that I can wait till the sun rises to run.  But not Friday.  I had a job fair that morning and I had to make sure I had plenty of time to get ready.  This run was good even though it was in the dark.  I did see a shooting star.  I made a wish quickly and then thought maybe I should wish on something more important and changed my mind.  Can I do that?  Will I get the first or second wish?  Or will I get one at all? :)

Saturday was a much cooler day.  I really wasn't sure what to wear as weather.com told me something completely different then the local news channel.  So I went with a light long sleeve shirt and tights.  While I could have gotten away with a short sleeve shirt and shorts I wasn't really hot at all.

I decided to try and do a walk/run again.  I wanted to see if I could do that for the race and if it made any difference.  I went with a 30 second walk/1 minute run.  We ran down to the bottom (downtown).  There are a couple reasons I hate running those types of loops - 1) you run down but you have to run up all these hills for the second half and 2) the streets and sidewalks are mostly made of cobblestone and brick.  Makes you have to watch your step so you don't trip.

We did run past where the Over the Edge fundraiser was happening.  It's for the Special Olympics where people raise money and rappel over the edge of a building.  No one was coming down when we ran by, but it would have been fun to watch someone.  I always sort of wanted to do it, but I'm terrified of heights.  I want to do it though as I can't let my fear to stop me from doing fun things.  But it looks so scary.   My dilemma.

We did cross the canal.  It has some paths to run on, but it's not very long.

And we crossed the river twice.  I love crossing the river as it is so beautiful.

So, over all, it looks like my pace and heart rate were about the same.  I did feel more tired at the end of the run.  I'm still trying to decide what I will do for the race.  I'm running with a friend and want an even walk/run and not random when my HR goes up.  For now I'll do a couple more walk/run runs just to see if Saturday was a hard run or if I should stick to HR.

Linking up with Holly and Tricia's Weekly Wrap Up.

Running 23 Miles with Matthew (Weekly Wrap-up Edition)

So on Saturday, I ran 23 miles with Hurricane Matthew.  While we didn't get a direct hit, we got a lot of rain and some wind.  Not bad enough to cancel the run, but enough for it to be a very wet run.

Monday I didn't go out for a run as I didn't have time.  Plus I kinda counted the hiking we did on Sunday as a run.  Wednesday I got out there and had a great run.  I worked from home so I ended up being able to run after the sun came up.  I really felt like I was finally getting back to where I was before I hurt my back.  There was a guy that was out there with his dog.  He said he has seen me running a lot and to keep it up.  Makes up for the stupid guy last week. :)

Friday while it was still a good run, I felt slower.  I realized it was a lot more humid on Friday then it was on Wednesday.  I had to go into the office, so I had to run before the sun came up.  This is the time of the year where the acorns are falling from the trees.  They kept hitting different surfaces and freaked me out a bit.  That and the acorns were all over the road and I had to watch myself at some places.

Saturday the long arms of Hurricane Matthew hit us.  The weather was in the upper 60's but there was a lot of rain.  I started off before the MTT group as they only had 20 miles on the docket and I wanted to get in 23.  I ran up and back for an extra 3 miles and then off on the route given to us.  I only had 4 miles that I ran over a 16 minute mile.  I was so impressed with my consistency through the run.  I didn't feel like I ran out of steam at the end like I usually do.

I felt like Matthew was keeping me company on my run.  Most of the time it was a light rain, but every so often it would down pour.  And there would be wind gusts every so often.  Every time the rain or wind picked up, I felt like he was encouraging me to keep going.  I just had to embrace the rain and enjoy what was given to me.

The route that they had for us went through a lot of nice neighborhoods.  It was still a little dark out, but there was a lot of street lights still on.  I ran by this church that had signs of all the terrorist attacks that have happened and at the end is a sign that says "Love One Another".  I was very touched by this.

I also ran by a few houses that had Halloween decorations up.  This was my favorite one.

This same house had a big metal rooster and it really reminded me of The Bloggess.

But most of the run this was my view.  A lot of rain.

And a lot of puddles to watch out for.

I used this run to see what time I would make it for mile 15.5 and mile 18 for MCM.  So that I can beat The Gauntlet, I would have to be there no later then 12:38 PM.  Which means if I cross the start line right at 7:55 AM then I have 4:43 to get there.  If I cross the start line at 8:55 AM then I have 3:43.  I got to 15.5 on my training run in 4:03, which means I have to cross the start line by 8:35 AM or earlier to feel comfortable.

To beat the bridge at mile 18 by 1:15 PM.  That would mean I would need to get there between 4:20 - 5:20.  I got there in 4:40.  Plenty of time after getting past The Gauntlet.  So my main concern will be getting to The Gauntlet on time.

I was still one of the last people that got back to the parking lot.  I just hate that feeling that I know I did great for me, but still one of the last people to finish.  I told one of the coaches that I did an extra 3 miles and he scoffed at me.  The MTT thought of training is that you only need to do 20.  One would think that they would encourage you if you felt better doing something different from that.  There is not one way to train, and I'm doing what is best for me feeling like I can get to the finish line.

When I got home I saw how badly I chaffed.  I used so much Glide on myself because I knew it was going to rain the whole time and it didn't help.  I'm chaffed between my thighs, on my waist, and all around my bra line.  I also wish I had shorts and a sports bra that would treat my body better.  But thank goodness for Aquafur!

So now I have two weeks of tapering and then it's race time, though it really hasn't hit me, yet.  Some people have a hard time with taper time, but I really try to embrace it.  I feel really good about MCM after this run but I know I will be very nervous about beating those times.

Do you ever feel encouraged by the weather, even bad weather?  Do you look forward to taper time or dread it?  

Linking up with Holly and Tricia's Weekly Wrap Up.

Heart Rate Training Week 10 (Weekly Wrap-up Edition)

This week has been much better.  Back has been feeling great (knock on wood).  I did bruise my toe nails on both big toes pretty badly last Saturday so I took Monday off to let them heal. Not sure what the deal was with that as those were the same shoes that I wore though my last few races so I know they are not too small.  They are getting close to 300 miles so it may be time to start rotating a new pair into my week.

Wednesday was another dreary day.  Luckily when I got out there it was in between down pours so it was just misty out.  The only thing I hate about running in the rain is that I wear a hat or visor and they make my head so hot.  But other then that I really don't mind running in the rain - only when it's warm. :)  My toe nails hurt a little towards the end of the run, but other then that I felt great.  It's been such a long time since I've said that.

Friday I was able to wait till the sun came up to run.  I'm not sure what I hate more, running in the dark or waiting till it's lighter out but having to deal with more cars on the road.  Guess it's best that I do half and half and really appreciate the best part of each.  I have also noticed a ton of mushrooms, not only around my neighborhood, but all over the city.  It's just weird as they all just popped up at the same time everywhere.  Also, it looks like one of the condos was throwing out another couch.  This is the second one I have seen in the same place in the past month. Just weird.

The temps were cooler which was great.  It was misty again and very dreary out.  With the coolness I have been able to run more hills before my heart rate would jump too high.  Man I forgot how hard it is to run up hills.  I really should have incorporated them more in my training this time around but I could only focus on the heart rate training this time around. Oh and the day before my toes had healed enough for me to clean them out and trim the nails and they felt fine on my run.  Yay to no pain!

Saturday was such a fun run.  I drove up to PA to visit a friend and we decided to head out to a trail near her which she runs on all the time.  It had been dreary and raining all Friday and Saturday morning when we woke up.  We got up and looked at the radar and thought we could get out there right away and the second we said that it started to rain.  So we piddled around and got dressed and the rain stopped and we headed out.  The moment we got to the trail it started to rain again.  We decided to sit in the car as the radar said it would pass quickly.  Once we did we were out the door.

The trail is fairly flat, with little elevation and it was beautiful.  A lot of farm land around with animals and people to watch.  I had a hard time with the first few miles as I sometimes do.  I'm used to running on the streets and have a lot I have to pay attention to with the cars and this just brought me into my own thoughts, which can be interesting or not so interesting. :)  But I kept looking around at the beautiful nature and animals and farms.  It just sank into me how lucky I am to be experiencing and seeing all of this.  One of my favorite things about running is to be one with nature and this really was.  After that I got out of my head and really enjoyed the run.

It was in the mid 50's.  I haven't seen anything under 65 degrees since May.  It was so nice.  I wasn't sure what to wear so I went with my tank top and shorts.  I wish I would have worn a short sleeve shirt as with the misty elements my shoulders got really chilly at times.

Because of the weather there were not many people on the trail, which was nice then we could run next to each other and not really worry about people coming up behind us or ahead.  We did see a lot of Mennonites out for a leisure stroll or bike ride on the trail.

Can you see the brown bunny in the brown brush?

We also saw a ton of animals.  Lots and lots of cows.  A few dogs.  A bunny.  A couple of kitties.  We saw some little cows in individual tents and Meranda had to explain to me that they were being raised for veal.  That made me feel real sad and and I just wanted to take them out to go for a walk with us.

We even saw a dirt pile where kids have put their toy trucks at the top.  It was so cute.

I was a little disappointed with my time.  I know I can't focus on it, but the weather was a lot cooler and there wasn't really any hills.  I know I haven't done a lot of running in the past month or so and I'm really kinda starting over.  While my heart rate was amazing for this run and I had absolutely no pain, I really just wish I could go faster.  I know I can't focus on that and just need to focus on getting the miles in, it just disappoints me.

Meranda was a lot of fun to run with.  I am a very slow runner and even though others say they will stay with me they tend to get antsy and go on ahead.  But it was fun to gab the whole way, which since I'm used to running on my own was a nice change of pace.  She was only going to do 10 miles but decided to do the last 2 with me anyway since we were going slow enough.  When we finished the moment we got back into the car it started to rain again.  Talk about perfect timing.  It's like the running Gods were looking out for us and waited just till we finished.

So just one more long run next week.  The MTT has 20 on their schedule but I really want to do 23.  I always feel better if I do a little more then 20 for my last long run before a marathon.  Not sure how I will fit in the extra miles, but I'll figure it out.  I can't believe I'm just one long run from taper time.  Things are getting a little real now.

Miles run in September: 63.01
Miles run in MCM/Richmond training: 332.52

Good luck to all of those who are running Chicago this weekend!!!!


Do you normally run on roads or trails?  Have you dealt with bruised toe nails before?  Are you seeing a lot of mushrooms around you or it's just around me?

Linking up with Holly and Tricia's Weekly Wrap Up.