Before & After: 13.1 miles in Virginia Beach

So I took a full week off after the Virginia Beach 1/2 Marathon because I was discouraged. Discouraged by the fact that my time was 10 full minutes slower than the 1/2 I ran in Arizona this past January, discouraged by the oppressive humidity, discouraged by the guy at the Expo who told me I was running in the wrong shoes (the day before the race!) and super discouraged by the fact that when I finished my hips hurt like someone had wrenched them from their sockets and then taped them back in with duct tape. Given all that, I was a little wary of picking up my running again right off the bat. The dangerous part is that I let my routine slip...one excuse led to another, which led to another, etc... Before I knew it, it was Sunday and I all but forced myself out for a 3 miler.
Then, Wednesday (Day 3) I went onto mapmyrun.com and found a 6 mile course in my neighborhood that someone had posted. Inspired by this new change in scenery I decided to take it on that evening. My only misgiving was that I couldn't memorize the route and had to carry a little slip of a paper with me telling me all the turns...I must have been a trip. Picture: 2 knee braces, hand-strapped water bottle on one hand, ipod strapped to my arm and a little piece of paper clutched in my other hand. The run went well, but I had to cut off the last 2 miles due to timing.
Yesterday (Day 4) I went back to to the routing site and found a 4 miler and then spent the rest of the day convincing myself that I was getting sick (I felt chest congested and wiped out) and that it woulldn't be healthy for me to run. This lasted all the way until I got to my house, when I walked into my room and put my running shorts on...followed by my shoes...and then I was out the door and running. This time it went better, and I'm really enjoying the new routes through Ardmore. There are more small hills than my normal route, which is throwing off my body (in a good way, i think) and when I got back I was feeling really good about getting out there.

Hopefully this re-invigorates me to get back into my schedule. I really want to be able to finish this marathon. It's one of those things I never thought I could personally do, and to be able to complete one may finally convince me that I can do whatever I put my mind to. Cliche, I know. But I'm feeling all cliche-y right now.

Week 6: Day 2

August 26

I slacked on the blog this weekend, but I'm feeling much better. Today marked my first day back to training runs, with an early alarm clock and the sun just starting to peek out (I can tell that the days are getting shorter....sigh) I got up and did a 3 mile run today. I could definitely feel that I hadn't been for a run this past weekend; my legs were a little more sluggish and I was quicker to tire. I did my norm: run for 4 min and then walk for 1 which was good. I did try to pick up my legs more and noticed that I got my heart rate up to 190 today. A little shocking because I'd been clocking in at 184-187 tops recently, but I 'll take it a good sign that I was able to push a little harder this morning.

Distance: 3 miles
Time: 30.12 minutes
Peak HR: 190

Sleep last night: 7 hours
Food:
B-fast - Oatmeal w/a nectarine & Coffee with FF creamer
Lunch - L&F Yogurt, applesauce, mini croissant, lorna-doone 100 cal pack
Dinner - Salad by Josh (tomatoes, cucumbers, chickpeas, hard boiled egg, chicken, peppers & feta)
Oh, and a glass of wine at Spamalot that was worth all of the $8 we paid for it. Oh, and sorbet with raspberries :)

Week 5: Day 4

Early morning run...August 21, originally uploaded by Becca Elizabeth.

August 21

started out so promising! Woke up to my alarm at 5:45am and rolled out of bed to hit the pavement. While I was getting ready, Jack became enthralled by himself in the mirror above my sink. I couldn't resist the photo.

The run went great, I felt great and ran to Lance Armstrong's Coaching Set from Nike. I only walked 3 times, and was really good about increasing my pace when Lance told me to. I stretched outside my apartment, and felt fine all the way up until about 20 minutes into my meeting in the morning.

Downhill. Fast. That's the best way to explain it. I was dizzy, nauseous, clammy, feverish and my stomach hurt more than anything. It was a supreme effort to remain conscious and I found myself in the meeting trying to plan for when I passed out. That's when I realized I needed to get to a doctor.

The doctor took me without an appointment and thank goodness. My fever was over 100 and I had to lay very still to keep from feeling woozy. They took a strep test (negative) and did some bloodwork (we'll see) but until then it's bed rest & the B.R.A.T. diet* for me.

Sleep last night: 7 hours
Food:
B-fast - Dunkin Donuts flat bread veggie sandwich & skim latte
Lunch - Gatorade, Brown rice, applesauce
Dinner - whole wheat spaghetti

*B = Bananas, R = Rice, A = Applesauce, T = Toast

Week 5: Day 2

Really, I was all set to do my 3 mile run tonight. It's only 3 miles, right? I can do that in my sleep. Piece of cake. In fact, I've been really excited to start "really" training and today was the kick-off day since Monday I was supposed to rest. The only hitch in the plan is that I came back to my desk sometime around mid-afternoon to find 4 tickets to the Phillies game tonight in the Hall of Fame section...complete with complimentary parking. The Gods just didn't want me to start training tonight.* I struggled with the decision for a little bit, trying to weigh the pros & cons of it.

Pro's - free, baseball, it happens to be Dollar Dog Night at the park, Hall of Fame tickets, fun
Con's - missing training, missing training, missing training

That whole "3 miles, I could do that in my sleep" is what got me to stop feeling 100% guilty about deciding to [graciously] accept the tickets. Tomorrow is a 5 mile run, followed by another 3 miler on Thursday before the long run this weekend.

I fell off the wagon today, but I'll be hopping right back on tomorrow!


*Of course it could also have been my apple in the Garden of Eden...

Sleep last night: 5 hours
Food:
Bfast - homemade scone (HG!) yogurt & coffee
Lunch - PB sandwich, yogurt and (2) roma tomatoes
Snack - popcorn
Dinner - (2) Ballpark hot dogs and (2) Flying Fish I.P.A.'s
Dessert - Helmet ice cream with chocolate sprinkles

Yeah, off the wagon. Sigh.