This Weeks Wrap Up

I have had a very productive week with my workouts and thst is a great feeling. Wednesday was a hill workout. I had to do it on my treadmill before getting the boys ready and off to school. I did 7 hill repeats of 40 seconds at a 7% incline. After each climb I would jog for 2 minutes at recovery pace. Total was 2.5 miles. Thursday was a mixed tempo run, and I had to do this on the treadmill as well for the same reasons. I did a two minute warm up followed by 6 minutes at marathon pace, 4 minutes at half marathon pace, and two minutes at long run pace. I did this twice for a total of 3 ish miles. I accidentally knocked the emergency stop key out so it cleared out my miles and time. Friday was a rest day and my first day off of work in what seems to be forever. I spent the majority of the day doing laundry, vacuuming, mopping, and grocery shopping. That doesn't sound like much of a rest day to me 😃. Today I did another 5k. It was at the Govenor's Frog Jump in Springfield, SC.  The rain held off for the race and, I was appreciative of that. I finished 2nd overall female and scored another nice trophy.  I finished in 25:52 on a certified course. Last weeks course was not certified so I think that was were the fast time came from last week. My splits were pretty much identical. It was a fun race and the girl who best me was super fast! 

I would love some ideas on what to do with my trophy collection. 

What are recommended incline setting for hill workouts?  

Blogging My Way to the Marine Corp Marathon 2014

I have really enjoyed writing the post I have done this far on my blog but, I have been pondering on ways to become more consistent with posting. After a little thought, I have decided to blog my training schedule and how my workouts go leading up to the 2014 Marine Corp Marathon.  I am hoping that this will lead me to establish new friendships and hopefully meet up with others that are doing the MCM. 

I have decided that I am going to take the next few months to work on my speed. I have let that area suffer in the past year because I have focused more on distance. 

I used a local 5k this past Saturday as my starting VDOT test. I actually was pleased with my time and pleased with the fact that I finished first female. My official time was 25:38. Not a PR for me but, it was satisfactory.  Seeing my boys waiting on me at the finish line made me suddenly forget that I felt like I was going to vomit and pass out at the same time. 

Here are a few other pics from the race:

My friend Winter was on my heels and finished first in her age group. There is nothing wrong with a little friendly competition right 😁😉

Not only did I get a trophy but, there was a cash prize involved that I was unaware of too 💰💵🏆. 

Sunday, was a long run and my friend Nikki joined me. We did a slow 10 miles on rolling terrain. 

Monday, Nikki joined me again for a 30 minute recovery run with some strides at the end. Let me just say, my legs were spent after this.  

Tuesday, I did about 30 minute of strength training, mainly focusing in the upper body and core. 

I have also met with a Registered Dietician regarding diet.  I have a broad knowledge of health and healthy choices but, am lacking the understanding I eating like an athlete. This subject could be a post of its own so, I will save the details for later. 

Well, again I am really looking forward to getting acquainted with other runners like me and other runners who are doing the 2014 Marine Corp Marathon. 

MCM Class of 2014

Guess who will be running with the Marines.........

It's me!!!!!!!!!!!  

Who would have ever thought that my name would have been drawn?  I certainly didn't. I am super excited. This will be the first of I hope many "big time" marathons for me.  

I have spent a lot of my day looking at flights and hotels. I would love to hear any suggestions near the start or finish that will not break the bank.  Also, I would love to hear from others who are running the MCM.  I  going to definitely need a crew to hold me accountable for training through the southern summer heat. I usually back down on mileage and intensity during the summer but, that's not going to be an option this summer. Well, I would love to hear from others. 

Where should I stay for the MCM?

Who else made it in?

Tips for hard training during the summer?

My Busy Few Weeks

No, I haven't given up on blogging, I have just been living it up the past few weeks 😍. It all started with a little family vacation to Disney World. We had a blast and I want to go back. It is really a magical place. I have been myself before but, to experience it as a parent is truly something else. The boys loved it to say the least. I even fit in one very short run while I was there but, who needs running when you are walking an average of 15 miles per day in the parks. I wore a pedometer and I really did average around 15 miles per day. I felt like my legs were in pretty good shape but, I began to question that after a few days into the trip. 

Here are a few pictures from our trip:

So, a week after getting home from Disney, I ran a half marathon.  It was the Run Hard Columbia Marathon in Coulmbia, SC. First, let me say that the expo was great and I wish that I had had more time to browse around. I did score a pair of Hokas, some arm warmers, a pair of running shorts, and some gels while I was there. 

Next, the race location was perfect for me. It's only an hour from home so it was an easy drive up the morning of race. The start line was only a block away from the building I work in so, I was able to park there and run in to stash my personal belongings into my work locker. 

The weather was perfect also. 

As far as my running, it was kind of blah. It was not my best run but, we can't always expect for everything to turn out perfectly. This was a really tough course, and by that I mean there was one hill after another. These were not just little speed bumps, I  am talking, I thought I was going to get a nosebleed from the elevation gain 😅. The first half of the half went pretty good for me all in all. I felt great and was maintaining a great pace. Then, everything fell apart around mile 7. My left hip got really tight and sore (it band again I am guessing 😡). At this point my pace slowed down by about 20 seconds per mile and I was having to stop and stretch my hip out every so often. 

I was really discouraged with myself at this point, and all I could think about were the wrongs that I had done to myself coming into this run. I had not followed my training plan the few weeks before the run, I didn't practice what I preach about foam rolling, and my stupidest decision was to wear a pair of shoes that I have not done much distance in. How stupid could I be.  All of this negativity was getting me down so, I had to make myself think positive. I still finished in a respectable time (2:07 and some change), I accomplished that day what most people can never say they accomplished, and I didn't give up. This was a really tough course and I loved it. Next year I will be more prepared. All in all this was a great race that I will certainly do again. 

My almost nonexistent running world

For any of you who live in the Southeast you will understand what I mean when I say "oh what an exciting week". I am about all excited out. 

First order of excitement was our ice storm. It started last Tuesday and lasted into Thursday morning. My town was pounded. We had the second highest ice accumulation in the state. Due to that, there were lots of downed power lines and trees. We lost power at our home for almost 3 days. You really do not realize how lucky you have it until you have a house full of people (because you are the only one in the family with a fireplace) and no running water. My husband did convince me that he can pretty much do anything. He was able to wire a gas welder into our breaker box and use it as a generator.  So by the end of day two I was given back the luxury or running water. We still have lots of friends who are still without power and do not know when they will get any.   I read that there are power crews from 11 different states just working in our small county. These guys really deserve a pat on the back. So many people are complaining about no power and in my opinion they are being selfish. I have friends who work for some of the power companies and they were working 26 hours straight and some had people cussing them for taking a break to eat and not working on through their hunger. Well, let me get off that soap box. 😃. 

Here are a few pictures of our storm damage.  Oh, and I guess you may have figured out that I didn't risk running on icy roads with downed trees and power lines and due to no power the treadmill wasn't even an option. 😞

Our first lost limbs. 

Coating of ice. 

The boys cooking their supper over the fireplace. 

The grown ups supper cooked on the grill. We managed to eat well despite the power outage. 

We brought mattresses into the living room and shut off the rest of the house so we had a smaller space to worry about heating and supplying power to from the generator. 

Mass destruction. 

The Horseshoe on the University of SC campus. Beautiful isn't it?

So, if all of that wasn't enough excitement, we also had a small earthquake and an aftershock. I was sitting at my desk at work and my whole building shook. It was a rather unerving feeling. It measured 4.1 and the epicenter was about 50 miles away from me. Today apparantly there was a 3.1 aftershock that I didn't feel. Total craziness. I guess this full moon didn't play this month. 

Snow Day 2014

I have come to the conclusion that I am not sure that I could be a runner if I lived somewhere that snow and ice was a frequent thing.  It is not running in frigid temps that would bother me, it would be the constant fear of hitting black ice and breaking something.  With that being said, I had a not so romantic date with the treadmill Tuesday.  This was my first "task oriented" run that I have done since the marathon.  Other than it being on the treadmill, it went pretty good.  It was a tempo run varying between marathon pace, half marathon pace, and threshold pace.
Now for the snow and ice.  So, I am sure you are all aware of our "massive" winter storm in the south.  I was so excited for our one snow day of the year or every other year, and the boys were pumped as well.  We stared out the window all afternoon Tuesday waiting on it to happen.  We waited and waited.  The boys finally passed out a little after 9.  Around this time we started to see some freezing rain and sleet and then around 11 p.m. a little snow started to mix in.  We were keeping our fingers crossed for a few inches so the boys could build a snowman and get a little sledding in.  All we got was a little dusting (maybe an inch accumulation) but, that didn't stop us from being rednecks in the snow.  By rednecks in the snow, I mean we improvise on our sleds.  Ours happened to be a top from a 60 quart cooler.  I had to laugh at how time, age, and parenthood changes your use of items.  10 years ago we would have worried about keeping that lid on the cooler to keep our "drinks" cold now, we say to heck with that cooler that top looks like a sled for the boys!  I wouldn't trade today's outlook on things for anything in the world.
Here are a few pictures from our snow day.......

The Big Hill In Town

(my sister in-law somehow got her hands on a real sled)

 Love their expressions.  

 Proof not a lot of snow is needed for sledding

 Mommy gets a turn on the "sled" too

How did others enjoy your snow day?

What have you turned into a sled?

What I Have Been Up To.

OSo over the past week I have really been taking it easy on running as I am supposed to do post marathon. I snuck in a few 2 mile runs at a very slow pace just to keep my sanity. 

I worked all weekend but, really snuck some good workouts in despite the fact. I am employeed now by the University of SC so I get some really awesome staff perks including a $10/month membership to their state of the art wellness center. 

So, I have begun my journey into adding in strength training. Now, If I can just figure out the machines and get me a good routine down. I am really excited about building some much needed core strength. 

I would love some strength training tips. 

What are your favorite "machines"?

How long should my strength training workouts last on average?