Putting the PLAN into Action

I'm not sure what our marathon coach has lined up for us as far as workouts but sometimes I need to adjust to make time for family time and efficient cross training too. I'm signing up for KOR (Kettlebell class) in a few weeks and for the cost that is usually out of my budget range I had better use it wisely in combination with my running routine. Kettlebell class is all about the functional and flexibility strength of your body starting in your core and the muscles are the great icing on the cake! I definitely say results last time I did my 6 month term there and I'm looking forward to doing it again. Balancing KOR and running isn't easy w/ two little boys and a husband who will be gone from September to November this year.I have to start planning now.

 The fist thing is that I always know there is my speed work on Tuesday evenings and long runs on Saturday mornings. Since I'll be doing KOR too I need to adjust my miles so I don't run myself back into the ground like I did in January. Most important to me is getting my glutes back into shape so other muscles aren't compensating for them. My favorite all over body move is the TGU. You go from laying down to standing up then back down again all w/ the bell over your head. Not easy and I was using the baby bell (18lb) before moving up to the 23lb when I felt stronger. I'm excited to get back out there though. So here is the tentative plan.

Kettlebell move: (TGU) Turkish Get-Up

Saturday: long run
Sunday: rest
Monday: KOR + easy run
Tuesday: speed work
Wednesday: KOR + easy run
Thursday: Longer run
Friday: KOR

I have a few weeks of workouts with the 10k program then onto the big M program. I do have a few ideas for some other blogs in the works too. We'll be talking about skin protection with sun screen in one post and Vitamin D deficiency, calcium absorption (or lack of) and bone mass in another! I can't wait to share them with you and get your input!

Fun new stuff!

Got so little sleep! The dogs were not happy with the party in the neighborhood so they were in and out patrolling the yard like the guard dogs I wish they were all freakin' night! I'm so glad to have them for protection but sheesh! I figured out that I probably got roughly 4 hours when it was all said and done. I'm so glad its Saturday night and there won't be anything on TV so I can SLEEP!

Run: Well its Saturday. You know what that means! Long run w/ FF group. Today we had on schedule 6miles. Of course we met at the store where Ed did the schpeel on safety, especially given the circumstances this week. We then did an easy jog over to the park where we did plyos and got our route. I tagged along w/ Sarah V. today and I hope I didn't slow her down. I had fun just going at a comfy pace and talking about lots of fun things. The park was already hot and humid this morning and many of us had our minds on Carrie, the woman killed out in Durham. Before we knew it we were to the rocks w/ the "dam bridge" right in front of us.  I picked it up that last little bit catching up w/ the guy who drank too much beer and still kicked our butts this week. Logging in at 6.55 miles @ 11minutes a mile. We stretched good and walked the half mile back to the store. While stretching I had one of these Honey Stingers. I had the Gold flavor today that I assume is original. I really enjoy the flavor (I love straight honey anyway) and the chocolate flavor too. The consistency is a little less runny than GU but w/ more consistency than the Powerbar gels. I do like certain flavors in GU and PB and have used them all and probably will again. Honey Stinger is just my flavor of the moment! I also had some of the chews and I really like them too. The flavors were less "made in a lab" and more natural than some other chews I've had. I think this company struck gold!

I'm trying something new. Since I've started losing weight again I'm cutting back on bread products, even the ones that don't seem to bother me and drinking a protein shake every day. My muscle mass isn't coming back the way it should and I think that is the underlying problem. So its a few weeks before I start back at KOR and I'm doing a slight over haul on my nutritional practices. I'll do a little review in a few weeks to let you know how its going. I got the Orange 50/50 flavor and I really like it!

Since I got so little sleep I decided to stop by the DB and get the boys sitter and myself a little "Kicker" in my new 20oz insulated Kleen Kanteen! Matt, the manager set me up w/ some stickers to decorate my Kanteen with some official Dutch Love! Thanks Matt! I don't drink caffeine much but today was a must!  This Kleen Kanteen literally kept my ice like ice for 6 hours after drinking my coffee out of it. It is pretty darn amazing!

I've done little since getting home. I'm planning on some laundry and dishes before turning in tonight and maybe even feeding the monkeys.

A Safe Place to Run?

Tragedy touched our small community...



Yesterday we got a disturbing call. One of the local firefighters called after a local runner was hit by a car and killed near our friends house, we held our breaths and waited to see if it was her or not. My heart immediately sank. My stomach turned in those moments until we found out it was wasn't her. But truth be told she could have very well been a member of one of our training groups through Fleet Feet. She probably was a customer of theirs. She was a mother, a grandmother and a teacher to 5th graders in a local community. She wasn't wearing any ID at the time of the accident which is why they thought it might be my friend. I might not have known her personally but we have this amazing running community in common. She might as well have been running beside me or past me on the trails to Durham and back.

This is a reminder to my running and cycling friends to please take your ID with you. Had things been different and she just been injured they wouldn't have her name, or what allergies she had or what meds she might be allergic too. Had she been just knocked unconscious they might need to know if she was diabetic or had a heart condition. Unfortunately or fortunately depending on how you look at it, the impact took her life instantaneously.

From what the paper described and the bits and pieces from various other sources it sounds like she was wearing earphones listening to music and running with traffic. All things that are not necessarily safe. We encourage our runners to run against traffic, off the road if possible and with only one earphone in if using music at all. That keeps us all accountable for ourselves and helps us keep an eye on each other.

I recently purchased a "Road ID" w/ my name, hubby's name and phone number and my moms too. It's pink (shocker, I know you are all surprised) and wraps around my ankle so it doesn't get tangled up in all my other running paraphernalia like my watch and my iPod. I love it, I wear it, it works. For an amazingly small amount of cash you and those at home waiting for you to come home from your run, can have some peace of mind.

I just hope that this serves as a reminder to please be aware of your surroundings and to wear sufficient ID on us when running as a group or alone. This is the second incident of a runner in trouble in our community  this summer. Thankfully the first one turned out to be OK. He is actually on his way to a full recovery thanks to a few fellow runners who knew just what to do.

How do you carry a form of ID when running or cycling? Do you just carry your Drivers License or use some other form such as a Road ID?

Run the Baby Fever away!

Tuesday: 1000m warm up + plyometrics. 8x 400's at 10k pace w/ 200easy jog between

I have had so much fun running this week. The speed work out on Tuesday was rough on me and I probably shouldn't be pushing myself that hard but I hate "slow-as-molasses" me almost as much as "6-miles-is-my-longest-run" me. But when we got to the 7th 400 segment my right hip tightened up and I knew I had better slow it down and stretch it out. I really only missed one so I'm good with that. I have to say that I love how the speed work challenges my mind. I'm not the kinda girl who likes to count her laps or what interval she's on but I love to say the # I'm on and the pace I was at after every speed segment. I then give myself a little pep talk or mantra at the very end of my rest segment to pump me up for the next speed part. I'm such a nerd. I sometimes say them out loud... you know, when I hope that no one is listening to me. LOL


Wednesday: 2.3 miles on the dreadmill so slow it was almost sickening

Guess what? Now that I'm running what is comfortable and not kicking myself for the super s-l-o-w speeds I'm enjoying my running. I ran while watching TV shows that should never be on television. It was great! I'm all caught up on Bethenny Getting Married? and all I want is to be pregnant and have a baby girl now. Very crazy and I think that's why I signed up for the Marathon Program again. Marathon or drive the FFP crazy because I want another baby that we can't have. Yea, I'd choose the marathon too. I love and adore my boys and it is WAY too late to start over now.


Thursday 1.2 miles walk w/ Laura then 1.8 mile jog w/ her. Dropped her off and Ran 2.36m on my own.

Laura met me w/ Laila (Cindi's BFF) at one mile and we walked for a mile or so to warm up since her knee has been bothering her and I really wanted to warm up my hip first. We got to talk about girly stuff! I have known Laura since high school and she is one of those constant things that holds me down to earth when things get crazy. We got just past the one mile marker and decided to pick it up. We jogged along chatting and visiting and gossiping as usual and the 3 miles went by entirely too fast. We stretched and I looked for someone else to jog my last 2 miles with but no one was available. So I cranked up my "Eclipse" sound track and got to it! The park was so pretty and there were tons of people out. I just smiled and waved and said good morning to every one along the way. I really truly enjoyed my run. I didn't even look at Big G until I ran past the boulders that mark our trail runs. I felt so amazing. I looked at my crazy slow speed and smiled. I just missed running so much that a run like that couldn't make the smile disappear.



Do you run to make up for something you feel is missing in your life? I am totally trying to out run my biological clock. The only thing that seems to work is Marathon Training.

Check in

Checking in on me, on my friends, my mom, aunt and best running buddies. I've been doing a lot of it these last few weeks. A friend told the hubby that she was jealous of my social life. It only took me 32 years to get one so I'm going to live it up.

I have been indulging in too much fun this Summer! Oh my goodness! Last weekend my friend Good Neighbor and I were scheduled to crew at the AWBC SF. This is my 7th walk participation and her 3rd. You could call us veterans! My friend V had told me at softball a few weeks before that Paul McCartney was going to be at AT&T Park the weekend that we were going. I not only jumped at it, adding her too but asked Mom and Aunt Sandy to join us. They saw the Beatles in '65! Then we added going to see Wicked to already exhausting weekend too! It was definitely a whirl wind weekend, literally no sleep and no running but I made up for it with all the heavy lifting (cross training right?) of boxes of food and moving tables and such. We ate the most amazing food including rabbit! That was an amazing weekend!

I jumped right back on the horse though and headed to speed training on Tuesday. Thankfully it was only in the 90's and not in the triple digits like originally forcasted. We jogged over to the HS track and did another 1/2 mile warm up (about 1.1miles total). We always do plyometrics with group training. I moan and grown but I see how it works and I do them. Staying healthy and injury free means a lot more to me now. We did intervals of 3 min hard 2 easy x5 for a good 25 minute workout. I made it through 1 and 2 too fast and bailed 2 minutes into the 3rd set. Grrr... I looked at my times during the 2 easy and realized that although they looked slow on the screen my body was not ready for that type of speed so I adjusted for the last two sets. Cooled down back to the shop for a total of 4.25 miles

I did 2 easy on the dreadmill Wednesday
I did 3.6 miles walking briskly Thursday with a 1/2 mile jog warm up (my hips felt especially tight so I walked and stretched well instead of running)
I did 3 easy on Friday on the dreadmill again


Saturday is group run day again and we were scheduled for 5.5miles. I took off and did warm up and plyos with the group. When I headed out on our trail run my watch wouldn't start. I let everyone go by then headed out after them with a working watch. My plan was to go out easy and say hello or hang out and talk with each runner or group until I hit my comfortable pace (found Sarah V), chill there for a while then push the last mile back. It was so nice to say hello or talk to everyone. I got to meet some new people and reconnected with others. It was the farthest I had been since I started running again. I felt good the entire way. Looking back at my ridiculously slow (for me) paces I can understand why but I had such an amazing time. This is what running in a group is supposed to be like, this is why it makes me happy.

Do you pull energy from friends and fellow runners when you feel uninspired? Or do you prefer to find it out alone on the trail or the road?