Wednesday, September 23
This was kind of a strange day. I had to work for a little while in the morning. Then I picked up my Mom and we went shopping in west Houston. She needed a few things from the fabric store and we had a nice lunch at Jason's Deli.
After I got home, I got ready and went out for an 8 mile walk at the little league park. It was cool, in the low 60's and windy. It started to rain when I first started my walk, then it stopped after a couple of miles. The rain would have been ok with me...
Friday, September 25
Got over to the track for bleachers and drills. 1 mile walk to the track... So, there are 14 bleachers... I planned to do them all 3 times each. Forgot to re-start the timer after stretching and missed counting 8 1/2 of them, so I did those over. All total... 50.5 runs up the bleachers - 50.5 times walks down the bleachers. 6 x 100m sprints; 2 x 100m skipping; 2 x 100m side slides; 2 x 100m crossover drills; 2 x 100m racewalk sprints; 1 mile racewalk. Walked the curves between all the above; 200m jog back to the starting point to pick up the water bottle, then 1 mile walk home. That was SOME workout... a total of 6.2 miles in 1:40 with average pace of 16:08. That's fast enough to get me throuhg 100 miles with lots of climbing.
Saturday, September 26
Sorry, just copying and pasting this from my Running Ahead entry on facebook. Kara Goucher might like these Nike Lunar Trainers... but, I have tried them for short and long distance. I don't like them, and I am really glad they were an outlet store purchase. The right shoe eats my heel for breakfast. I had planned to walk 8 or 10 miles this morning and decided to stop at 5 miles before the blister on my right heel became unbearable. This really sucks because I had a good acceleration workout going. Oh well. I have to get to work on time today, so I'll get over it.
5.09 Mi; 1:08:07; 13:23mpm; Heart Rate: Average: 139 / Max: 184
Weather: 72° F, Humid
Then I had to go to work. I chose to wear dress slacks and sandals with heels (low heels) and the store was really busy. I ran back and forth, sold lots of furniture and mattresses and before I knew it, I had a headache. I went to warm up my lunch, thinking it was about 3pm and when I saw it was actually 5... I knew I was in trouble. LUNCH at FIVE??? I am supposed to be doing a 15 mile LSD walk Sunday. I finally made it home from work at 9:30 pm and didn't feel like eating a big meal. So, I ate 3 of the little blueberry pancakes and went to bed. I decided to set the alarm for 7am to see if I could get up to walk in the morning. Went shopping instead and planned to walk the 15 miles in the afternoon.
Sunday, September 27
So, now I know what happens when you try to do a LSD walk in the heat of the day when you have not fueled properly the day before. (I checked the weather and the heat index was 103 when I left the house to start the walk). I was feeling ok, so I started out too fast. I am still not too upset over the final numbers because it is almost equal to my 50k trail pr pace. I did the whole walk except for the first and last mile in the tall grass, gravel and dirt. There is not much elevation gain and loss (1250 feet over 15 miles).
I feel like someone beat me with a big stick so I am going to soak in a tub of ice (someone made me think of ice... Pam, maybe?). That should help. 15 Mi; 3:47:16.32; 15:10mpm
I am a little better after soaking in ice water. I probably will not walk tomorrow. I am going to ask Raymond to get my bike out for me in the morning and go for a recovery ride instead of a recovery walk.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Friday, September 25, 2009
Catching up again.
I just cannot seem to keep all my internet stuff up to date. The whole purpose of the blog, the facebook account and the Running Ahead log is to keep me honest about the workouts I do.
Saturday, September 12
It was raining softly when I walked out the door at 5:54 am. Not cold, or windy, just softly misting rain. I was not planning to let that stop me. I chose to wear the trail shoes and go to the little league park where I have been doing many of my walks. I always have company… even on this rainy morning. An elderly woman was walking her tiny dog and I spoke to her. The dog wanted to follow me, so I greeted her every time we passed.
This was not a good walk for me. I was feeling sluggish so chose to stop before my planned 12 miles. Oh well, there is always tomorrow.
Monday, September 14
I guess a walk on Sunday was just out of the question. The first 6 miles averaged 13:35mpm. Not fast enough, but I am training for a 100-mile race, so too fast is not good either. I walked a total of 8 miles, the last two progressively slower until cooled down so I could stretch fully when I got home. Found out why the walk was not so good today… when I took off my shoes, there was the prettiest dime-sized blood blister on the ball of my right foot… should have used the body glide after giving myself a pedicure last night.
Tuesday, September 15
Started the morning workout somewhat late, but I did not really think running the stadium bleachers in the dark was such a good idea anyway. I am not going to report my time, only what I did over a 4-mile distance.
1.25-mile walk to the track, 28 bleachers, 4 x 100m sprints, 2x 100m skipping, 2x 100m side slides, walked all the curves, then lots of stretching before the .6 mile walk home.
I will call this cross training, which included strength and flexibility training. Btw, I ran up the bleacher stairs and walked down.
Wednesday, September 16
mile 1 - 13:16mpm (warm up walk to the track)
miles 2-5 avg pace 12:28mpm (racewalk at the track)
mile 6 - 14:07mpm cool down walk home
.2 mile - 15:37mpm
6.2 miles; 1:20:18.62; HR Average: 76% / Max: 84%
It was a cool, clear and beautiful morning, even though still humid. Junior high boys’ football team was taking pictures this morning, so I had an audience for about 2 miles. I was glad when it was time to head for home. I just need to get my arse out the door earlier!
Thursday, September 17
I overslept this morning. Not too critical, I did not have to be at work until after lunch today. So, I still got a workout done this morning. It is still very difficult for me to adjust to getting up really early when I have never (NEVER) been a morning person.
Walked 8 miles mostly in the dirt paths at the little league park.
Sunday, September 20
This was the fun walk! I drove the 100 miles to Huntsville State Park to test out the 20-mile loop from Rocky Raccoon. That’s the name of the 100-mile race I will be doing on February 7. I had my Gatorade mixed, my peanut butter and jelly sandwich made, my orange sliced up and my fritos and fig cookies bagged up and packed in the fuel belt. I was also wearing my camel back to make sure I had enough water for the whole 20 miles. It was about 84 degrees when I started walking.
The trails were in good shape, it appeared as if the park staff had dumped fresh sand in many places on the trails. The bridges have all been repaired, and fallen trees had been dragged off the trails. As I walked across the first bridge in the swampy area near the lake, I saw a beautiful lizard. It had lengthwise stripes and was a beautiful iridescent dark blue. I have never seen a lizard that color before. I only lost my sense of direction once in the first part of the walk where the service roads intersect with the Dogwood trail more than once.
The walk went very well, and as I made my way onto parts of the park I had not previously seen, I was really enjoying the scenery. I was eating and drinking enough to keep my energy levels up and only had to stop once to work on my feet. My socks had a hard spot on the inside and I was in danger of developing a blister. I stopped, cleaned my feet, re-applied body glide and put my socks back on, but wrong side out. I did not have any more problems with my feet. Raymond called me once on the cell to see if I was alright, and as soon as I hung up the phone, a large red and black ring striped snake crossed the path in front of me. When I had walked a few miles further a large deer came crashing through the woods and across the trail about 50 yards ahead of me.
It took me about 5 ½ hours to walk the 20 miles, and I am very happy with that result. Driving back to Sealy, I stopped at my Mom’s house. She had homemade cabbage rolls for dinner and they were the best cabbage rolls I had ever tasted. In case you have not heard of cabbage rolls… hers are made of browned Italian sausage and ground beef with brown rice, rolled up in a cabbage leaf and baked to perfection in home made marinara sauce!
More later.
I just cannot seem to keep all my internet stuff up to date. The whole purpose of the blog, the facebook account and the Running Ahead log is to keep me honest about the workouts I do.
Saturday, September 12
It was raining softly when I walked out the door at 5:54 am. Not cold, or windy, just softly misting rain. I was not planning to let that stop me. I chose to wear the trail shoes and go to the little league park where I have been doing many of my walks. I always have company… even on this rainy morning. An elderly woman was walking her tiny dog and I spoke to her. The dog wanted to follow me, so I greeted her every time we passed.
This was not a good walk for me. I was feeling sluggish so chose to stop before my planned 12 miles. Oh well, there is always tomorrow.
Monday, September 14
I guess a walk on Sunday was just out of the question. The first 6 miles averaged 13:35mpm. Not fast enough, but I am training for a 100-mile race, so too fast is not good either. I walked a total of 8 miles, the last two progressively slower until cooled down so I could stretch fully when I got home. Found out why the walk was not so good today… when I took off my shoes, there was the prettiest dime-sized blood blister on the ball of my right foot… should have used the body glide after giving myself a pedicure last night.
Tuesday, September 15
Started the morning workout somewhat late, but I did not really think running the stadium bleachers in the dark was such a good idea anyway. I am not going to report my time, only what I did over a 4-mile distance.
1.25-mile walk to the track, 28 bleachers, 4 x 100m sprints, 2x 100m skipping, 2x 100m side slides, walked all the curves, then lots of stretching before the .6 mile walk home.
I will call this cross training, which included strength and flexibility training. Btw, I ran up the bleacher stairs and walked down.
Wednesday, September 16
mile 1 - 13:16mpm (warm up walk to the track)
miles 2-5 avg pace 12:28mpm (racewalk at the track)
mile 6 - 14:07mpm cool down walk home
.2 mile - 15:37mpm
6.2 miles; 1:20:18.62; HR Average: 76% / Max: 84%
It was a cool, clear and beautiful morning, even though still humid. Junior high boys’ football team was taking pictures this morning, so I had an audience for about 2 miles. I was glad when it was time to head for home. I just need to get my arse out the door earlier!
Thursday, September 17
I overslept this morning. Not too critical, I did not have to be at work until after lunch today. So, I still got a workout done this morning. It is still very difficult for me to adjust to getting up really early when I have never (NEVER) been a morning person.
Walked 8 miles mostly in the dirt paths at the little league park.
Sunday, September 20
This was the fun walk! I drove the 100 miles to Huntsville State Park to test out the 20-mile loop from Rocky Raccoon. That’s the name of the 100-mile race I will be doing on February 7. I had my Gatorade mixed, my peanut butter and jelly sandwich made, my orange sliced up and my fritos and fig cookies bagged up and packed in the fuel belt. I was also wearing my camel back to make sure I had enough water for the whole 20 miles. It was about 84 degrees when I started walking.
The trails were in good shape, it appeared as if the park staff had dumped fresh sand in many places on the trails. The bridges have all been repaired, and fallen trees had been dragged off the trails. As I walked across the first bridge in the swampy area near the lake, I saw a beautiful lizard. It had lengthwise stripes and was a beautiful iridescent dark blue. I have never seen a lizard that color before. I only lost my sense of direction once in the first part of the walk where the service roads intersect with the Dogwood trail more than once.
The walk went very well, and as I made my way onto parts of the park I had not previously seen, I was really enjoying the scenery. I was eating and drinking enough to keep my energy levels up and only had to stop once to work on my feet. My socks had a hard spot on the inside and I was in danger of developing a blister. I stopped, cleaned my feet, re-applied body glide and put my socks back on, but wrong side out. I did not have any more problems with my feet. Raymond called me once on the cell to see if I was alright, and as soon as I hung up the phone, a large red and black ring striped snake crossed the path in front of me. When I had walked a few miles further a large deer came crashing through the woods and across the trail about 50 yards ahead of me.
It took me about 5 ½ hours to walk the 20 miles, and I am very happy with that result. Driving back to Sealy, I stopped at my Mom’s house. She had homemade cabbage rolls for dinner and they were the best cabbage rolls I had ever tasted. In case you have not heard of cabbage rolls… hers are made of browned Italian sausage and ground beef with brown rice, rolled up in a cabbage leaf and baked to perfection in home made marinara sauce!
More later.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
It's Thursday!
Missed my workout on Monday, and that was ok with me. I tried to get up early on Tuesday, but my body was having none of that. So, the planned early morning walk turned into a plan for an afternoon walk. Then I got the call right before lunch that I was needed at work in Rosenberg for the afternoon. I did not leave the store until 7:45 pm for the 30 minute drive home and needed to stop at the store for a few things on the way home. So, no afternoon walk either.
Wednesday, I still got up a little later than I wanted to, but got dressed and went to the park for the weekly walk/jog. This time I only jogged the half-mile section 3 times for a total of 2.85 miles walking and 1.5 miles jogging. The workout took just as long as if I had walked the whole thing, so jogging does nothing for my pace during a shorter workout. And, that's ok with me. I am not really jogging to increase overall speed, but to balance things out... using different muscles when jogging to give the ones who feel used and abused a little less stress. The workout totaled 1 hour and a 13:47 minute per mile pace.
That evening, I went out for coffee with a friend and the talk we had made me realize how much I have been slacking in a lot of areas in my life. so...
Today, Thursday when the alarm went off at 5 am, I only laid in bed for 5 minutes and thought to myself, you SLACKER, get your @$$ out of bed. I walked my 6 miles this morning in 1:19:39. The average pace through the first 5 miles was 13:26, which was great because I was walking in the wet grass and gravel and working seriously on the pushoff at the rear of my stride. My shins got a great workout and it seems that this will also help with my racewalking. Mile number 6 - 12:29. Lots of stretching when I got home, then a shower and off to work. This evening, I am going to work on my legs with the stick, and treat myself to a nice hot foot soak!
Wednesday, I still got up a little later than I wanted to, but got dressed and went to the park for the weekly walk/jog. This time I only jogged the half-mile section 3 times for a total of 2.85 miles walking and 1.5 miles jogging. The workout took just as long as if I had walked the whole thing, so jogging does nothing for my pace during a shorter workout. And, that's ok with me. I am not really jogging to increase overall speed, but to balance things out... using different muscles when jogging to give the ones who feel used and abused a little less stress. The workout totaled 1 hour and a 13:47 minute per mile pace.
That evening, I went out for coffee with a friend and the talk we had made me realize how much I have been slacking in a lot of areas in my life. so...
Today, Thursday when the alarm went off at 5 am, I only laid in bed for 5 minutes and thought to myself, you SLACKER, get your @$$ out of bed. I walked my 6 miles this morning in 1:19:39. The average pace through the first 5 miles was 13:26, which was great because I was walking in the wet grass and gravel and working seriously on the pushoff at the rear of my stride. My shins got a great workout and it seems that this will also help with my racewalking. Mile number 6 - 12:29. Lots of stretching when I got home, then a shower and off to work. This evening, I am going to work on my legs with the stick, and treat myself to a nice hot foot soak!
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Sunday, September 6
so... 2 mile warm up, stretching, then a 10k race.
The warm up went well, I was able to get some real speed going in the second mile, then I had time to stretch and do some flexibility drills before the race started.
We got a little late start... remember I said I was not going to do the judged race because I am still not sure of my racewalking form. Well, I should have thrown caution to the wind and let them judge me. Both judges said my form was looking much better and neither would have dq'd me. Anyhow, it was still a great race. 10k in 1:13:06.54 with an average pace of 11:46. Average hr was 167bpm, max hr achieved was in the neighborhood of 190. I have my max set at 194 right now, that may need to be adjusted a little higher. So, this was 2:35 better than my best for the distance. I'll take it! A new PR!
one thing to add... I was so happy to see a good turnout at the race. There were several youngsters who are being coached by AC Jaime from South Texas Racewalkers... and two of them came in first and second place. It was an awesome thing to watch those youngsters with a love for the sport that is so often misunderstood and made fun of!
The warm up went well, I was able to get some real speed going in the second mile, then I had time to stretch and do some flexibility drills before the race started.
We got a little late start... remember I said I was not going to do the judged race because I am still not sure of my racewalking form. Well, I should have thrown caution to the wind and let them judge me. Both judges said my form was looking much better and neither would have dq'd me. Anyhow, it was still a great race. 10k in 1:13:06.54 with an average pace of 11:46. Average hr was 167bpm, max hr achieved was in the neighborhood of 190. I have my max set at 194 right now, that may need to be adjusted a little higher. So, this was 2:35 better than my best for the distance. I'll take it! A new PR!
one thing to add... I was so happy to see a good turnout at the race. There were several youngsters who are being coached by AC Jaime from South Texas Racewalkers... and two of them came in first and second place. It was an awesome thing to watch those youngsters with a love for the sport that is so often misunderstood and made fun of!
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Thursday, September 3 - Training Update
Gosh, it has been a while since I posted an update. I have just been so busy.
8/25/09 - another early morning walk. I was out of the house at 5:39 am and walked 4.43 miles, according to my Garmin Forerunner. My main concern walking this early in the morning when it is still dark is getting specific types of training done. How are you supposed to do intervals (speed training) when it is dark out without tripping, falling, and/or breaking an arm or leg??? I just don’t know.
8/26/09 - Great afternoon bike ride! Almost 11 miles and no worse for the wear.
8/27/09 - I got a little later start this morning (6:10 am). I had an 8 mile walk on the schedule and it went very well. I was able to complete the walk at an average pace of 12:59 minutes per mile, which is a little faster than marathon pr pace. My average heart rate was only 75%, which means that I should have been able to walk faster. Heart rate should be 80% or a little over for a good tempo walk. I just don’t think my racewalking technique is good enough for me to walk any faster. I am really looking forward to the racewalking clinic in Dallas this October!
8/29/09 - Saturday morning, I left the house at 6:17 am, still a later than I should be leaving for my long walks, but it is better than 9 or 10 ;-). It was a great walk, marathon pace LSD. The average pace was 13:09 minutes per mile and average heart rate was 76%. There it is again; that mid 70’s % maximum heart rate. If I continue to do all my training walks in that same range, that is all I will ever be able to do. I have to find some way to increase my heart rate during training if I am to increase my level of endurance.
9/1/09 - Tuesday morning got kind of a late start at 6:31 am, but did go out for an interval workout at the track, wearing the new Adidas Adizero RC. I warmed up a little over a mile walking to the track, stretched, and then did 5 x 400 with 200 meter rests. All the 400's were in the low 11's (pace) with the last one at 10:59. I followed the interval workout with a little over a mile walk home, stretched, showered and went to work.
9/2/09 - Wednesday morning at 5:42 am 10k at marathon pace (13:10); average HR 74% Max HR 78%. It was a nice cool morning, probably in the high 60's when I started and 71 when I finished.
9/3/09 - Thursday morning at 5:58 am 4.46 miles this morning this included almost 2 miles of jogging. I have not been very successful at getting my heart rate high enough while racewalking because the technique just isn't there, so I have been tossing the idea of doing some jogging around for a while now... I feel like I need to get some workouts in at a higher HR in order to increase my level of endurance while training for the 100 mile race in February. I was very surprised that I could run a half mile without stopping to walk. And now that I looked at my Garmin data, I was successful in getting my heart rate up into the high 80%, even breaking 90% at one point. When I stopped to stretch, the sweat faucet turned on full force. I had driven to the little league park because I was walking/jogging in the dirt and don't like wearing my trail shoes on the pavement. My car has leather seats and of course, I forgot to bring along my old beach towel. Thank goodness there was some newspaper in my trunk.
Post Script
There, now the training blog is up to date. I don’t know where this jogging thing is going to take me. I still have the goal of walking 100 miles within the time limit of 30 hours at Rocky Raccoon February 7 in Huntsville Texas. The goal of becoming an American Centurion continues to be my ultimate goal. I would be so proud to have my name on this list together with such amazing company.
Here is my race schedule for the next several months…
9/6/09 - bear creek 10k Houston - 10k
10/9/09 - racewalking clinic Dallas
11/7/09 - rocky raccoon 50k Huntsville TX
11/15/09 - San Antonio R&R full marathon
12/5/09 - RD Sealy 5k Jingle Bell Fun Run
1/1/10 - texas full marathon Kingwood TX
2/6/10 - rocky raccoon 100m Huntsville TX
3/7/10 - Little Rock full Marathon
4/24/10 - Nashville Country Music full marathon
I am sure to add shorter distance races as they come up, they are just not as important to me as marathons and ultra distance races.
8/25/09 - another early morning walk. I was out of the house at 5:39 am and walked 4.43 miles, according to my Garmin Forerunner. My main concern walking this early in the morning when it is still dark is getting specific types of training done. How are you supposed to do intervals (speed training) when it is dark out without tripping, falling, and/or breaking an arm or leg??? I just don’t know.
8/26/09 - Great afternoon bike ride! Almost 11 miles and no worse for the wear.
8/27/09 - I got a little later start this morning (6:10 am). I had an 8 mile walk on the schedule and it went very well. I was able to complete the walk at an average pace of 12:59 minutes per mile, which is a little faster than marathon pr pace. My average heart rate was only 75%, which means that I should have been able to walk faster. Heart rate should be 80% or a little over for a good tempo walk. I just don’t think my racewalking technique is good enough for me to walk any faster. I am really looking forward to the racewalking clinic in Dallas this October!
8/29/09 - Saturday morning, I left the house at 6:17 am, still a later than I should be leaving for my long walks, but it is better than 9 or 10 ;-). It was a great walk, marathon pace LSD. The average pace was 13:09 minutes per mile and average heart rate was 76%. There it is again; that mid 70’s % maximum heart rate. If I continue to do all my training walks in that same range, that is all I will ever be able to do. I have to find some way to increase my heart rate during training if I am to increase my level of endurance.
9/1/09 - Tuesday morning got kind of a late start at 6:31 am, but did go out for an interval workout at the track, wearing the new Adidas Adizero RC. I warmed up a little over a mile walking to the track, stretched, and then did 5 x 400 with 200 meter rests. All the 400's were in the low 11's (pace) with the last one at 10:59. I followed the interval workout with a little over a mile walk home, stretched, showered and went to work.
9/2/09 - Wednesday morning at 5:42 am 10k at marathon pace (13:10); average HR 74% Max HR 78%. It was a nice cool morning, probably in the high 60's when I started and 71 when I finished.
9/3/09 - Thursday morning at 5:58 am 4.46 miles this morning this included almost 2 miles of jogging. I have not been very successful at getting my heart rate high enough while racewalking because the technique just isn't there, so I have been tossing the idea of doing some jogging around for a while now... I feel like I need to get some workouts in at a higher HR in order to increase my level of endurance while training for the 100 mile race in February. I was very surprised that I could run a half mile without stopping to walk. And now that I looked at my Garmin data, I was successful in getting my heart rate up into the high 80%, even breaking 90% at one point. When I stopped to stretch, the sweat faucet turned on full force. I had driven to the little league park because I was walking/jogging in the dirt and don't like wearing my trail shoes on the pavement. My car has leather seats and of course, I forgot to bring along my old beach towel. Thank goodness there was some newspaper in my trunk.
Post Script
There, now the training blog is up to date. I don’t know where this jogging thing is going to take me. I still have the goal of walking 100 miles within the time limit of 30 hours at Rocky Raccoon February 7 in Huntsville Texas. The goal of becoming an American Centurion continues to be my ultimate goal. I would be so proud to have my name on this list together with such amazing company.
Here is my race schedule for the next several months…
9/6/09 - bear creek 10k Houston - 10k
10/9/09 - racewalking clinic Dallas
11/7/09 - rocky raccoon 50k Huntsville TX
11/15/09 - San Antonio R&R full marathon
12/5/09 - RD Sealy 5k Jingle Bell Fun Run
1/1/10 - texas full marathon Kingwood TX
2/6/10 - rocky raccoon 100m Huntsville TX
3/7/10 - Little Rock full Marathon
4/24/10 - Nashville Country Music full marathon
I am sure to add shorter distance races as they come up, they are just not as important to me as marathons and ultra distance races.
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