Monday, February 20, 2012
Exercise Sets Reps Weight
1 walking lunges 1 10 20.0 lb
2 walking lunges 2 10
3 Standing calf raise 3 10 42.0 lb
4 Overhead Press Barbell 3 10 42.0 lb
5 Bent over Barbell row 3 10 42.0 lb
6 leg raises 3 15
7 stiff legged Barbell deadlift 3 10 20.0 lb
8 Bench Press Barbell 3 10 42.0 lb
9 Upright Row Barbell 3 10 42.0 lb
10 Plank, front straight arm 3 2:30 in duration
11 plank, side straight arm 3 1:00 in duration right arm
12 plank, side straight arm 3 1:00 in duration left arm
I had to dump the weights on the 2nd and 3rd set of lunges. Left IT and glute still sore. Also, dropped the front plank to 2:30 so I could make sure to get through all of the repeats.
Overall, a pretty good workout. Worked out fasted, didn't start until 8:30 pm, so going to bed hungry.
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Exercise Sets Reps Weight
1 walking lunges 3 10
2 Standing calf raise 3 10 42.0 lb
3 Overhead Press Barbell 3 10 42.0 lb
4 Bent over Barbell row 3 10 42.0 lb
5 leg raises 3 15
6 stiff legged dumbell deadlift 3 10 20.0 lb
7 Bench Press Barbell 3 10 42.0 lb
8 Upright Row Barbell 3 10 42.0 lb
9 Plank, front straight arm 3 2:30 in duration
10 plank, side straight arm 3 1:00 minutes right arm
11 plank, side straight arm 3 1:00 left arm
planks are getting more difficult. 3rd Strength training workout this new cycle.
Was supposed to be getting some walking/running done during the week too, but I just didn't push it.
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Stephen F. Austin State Park. In a word - Awesome! Wildlife sightings today: barred owl, pileated woodpecker, several pair of cardinals, and LOTS of deer and raccoon tracks in the mud, but no actual sightings.
did some running the first hour... 4.61 miles
second hour mostly walking... 4.15 miles
last 9:35 cool down... .6 miles
average pace 13:51
total distance: 9.35 miles; total time out 2:09:25
ate breakfast by 7 am, started the workout at 10:00, so I would call that fasted. post workout meal was a large hamburger patty, a large sweet potato and a little home made sauerkraut topped with horseradish mustard.
Again, I was supposed to lift weights this evening, but didn't push myself to do it. I am contemplating going out for some more muddy fun at the park tomorrow morning, but I still need to get that weight lifting workout in. Undecided for the moment.
Showing posts with label training. Show all posts
Showing posts with label training. Show all posts
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Workout Notes
The reason I am doing this? To keep me honest. I seriously need to do my strength training 3 times a week. I have, in the recent past, become a slacker. I got through a 50 mile race with little or no training, and scored a 2+ hour pr. That’s not how this ultramarathoning thing is supposed to work. I do know that I don’t have to do a whole lot of long distance training to do them. I really believe that heavy weight lifting, some high intensity sprinting, and some nice slow long walk/jogs will help more than trying to get in 60 – 80 miles a week.
Friday 2/17/12
Exercise Weight Reps Sets
1 walking lunge 20 10 3
2 calf raise 42 10 3
3 overhead presses 32 10 3
4 bent over rows 32 10 3
5 leg raises 0 15 3
6 stiff legged dead lift 20 10 3
7 bench presses, 32 10 3
8 upright rows, 32 10 3
9 front plank 3:00 1 3
10 rt plank 1:00 1 3
11 lt plank 1:00 1 3
Sunday, February 19, 2012
I ate a huge breakfast at around 8, drank several cups of coffee and went and visited with my mom for a couple of hours before she had to go to work.
When I got home, I prepared the rump roast I purchased yesterday by searing it, lightly sautéing the vegetables (carrots, onions, celery, turnips, mushrooms and a little garlic) and dropping it all in the crock pot.
Next, change clothes so I can get out for a longish walk/jog. It had been about four and one half hours since breakfast and I was planning on at least two hours, at most ten miles. I only took plain water to drink and one Endurolytes Fizz tablet with me. I should have no problem going up to ten miles fasted. I probably jogged 1.33 miles, racewalked 1 mile and powerwalked the rest of the first hour, completing 4.7 miles total. I kept the intensity up throughout and up until one hour forty minutes, consuming a little water about every 1.2 miles. I refilled the water bottle and added the Fizz, planning to slow down and enjoy the last 20 minutes of my walk. Good work today, no hamstring pain. 8.82 miles in 2 hours: Average Pace 13:37. I enjoyed a post workout meal of sirloin steak sautéed in lard from grass fed beef and a huge sweet potato.
I saw these lovely tame ducks at the park. I was wondering… do ducks naturally segregate? A flock of these crested ducks are always hanging out together, and then there was one. Mallard. All alone.
Friday 2/17/12
Exercise Weight Reps Sets
1 walking lunge 20 10 3
2 calf raise 42 10 3
3 overhead presses 32 10 3
4 bent over rows 32 10 3
5 leg raises 0 15 3
6 stiff legged dead lift 20 10 3
7 bench presses, 32 10 3
8 upright rows, 32 10 3
9 front plank 3:00 1 3
10 rt plank 1:00 1 3
11 lt plank 1:00 1 3
Sunday, February 19, 2012
I ate a huge breakfast at around 8, drank several cups of coffee and went and visited with my mom for a couple of hours before she had to go to work.
When I got home, I prepared the rump roast I purchased yesterday by searing it, lightly sautéing the vegetables (carrots, onions, celery, turnips, mushrooms and a little garlic) and dropping it all in the crock pot.
Next, change clothes so I can get out for a longish walk/jog. It had been about four and one half hours since breakfast and I was planning on at least two hours, at most ten miles. I only took plain water to drink and one Endurolytes Fizz tablet with me. I should have no problem going up to ten miles fasted. I probably jogged 1.33 miles, racewalked 1 mile and powerwalked the rest of the first hour, completing 4.7 miles total. I kept the intensity up throughout and up until one hour forty minutes, consuming a little water about every 1.2 miles. I refilled the water bottle and added the Fizz, planning to slow down and enjoy the last 20 minutes of my walk. Good work today, no hamstring pain. 8.82 miles in 2 hours: Average Pace 13:37. I enjoyed a post workout meal of sirloin steak sautéed in lard from grass fed beef and a huge sweet potato.
I saw these lovely tame ducks at the park. I was wondering… do ducks naturally segregate? A flock of these crested ducks are always hanging out together, and then there was one. Mallard. All alone.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Life's a Challenge
So, my hubby has not been feeling well since I got back from my trip to New Mexico. I have been a good lil wifey and have been cooking dinner every evening, trying to get him to eat a little more veggies, and a lot less bread. So far, so good. Fingers crossed that he will start feeling better so I can get on with the training I need to do for FANS 24 Hour and a possible Centurion walk. For those of you who don't know... A Centurion is someone who has walked 100 or more miles in 24 hours or less at a judged event. The judges only look for lifting (running), and are not concerned about the bent knee rule of Olympic racewalking.
I took the whole week off of training after Bataan, which seemed like a good idea. Rest is as important, if not more important as training. My plan was to walk 20 miles on Sunday, but 10.75 miles seemed like enough, so I stopped there. I had an appointment with a gym owner to discuss some personal training, so that I can feel obligated to get some strength training done. The great deal: $110 for 3 months of membership with no extra charge for helping me with a program to build strength without hurting my back (which tends to be problematic).
Rusty walked me through a short series of exercises, which will be my starting point. Leg raises, leg presses, lunges, lat pull downs, chest flys, lat raises, curls, and back extensions. These are all at beginning weight, which will increase as needed. The thing that Rusty stressed is proper form, nd isolation of the specific muscles the exercise is intended to work, which I agree with totally. I found I like working out at a gym better than doing it at home. I LIKE the way I look in the mirror! That's totally new to me.
Monday's workout (remember, I am a beginner... so don't make fun of the amount I am lifting ;))
Leg raises on incline bench: 2 sets - 12 reps
Leg press: 3 sets - 12 reps - 90#
Lunges: 3 sets - 11 reps
Lat pull down: 3 sets - 12 reps - 40#
Chest Flys: 3 sets - 12 reps - 20#
Lat Raises: 3 sets - 15 reps - 5#
Dumbell curls: 3 sets - 15 reps - 8#
Standing calf raise: 3 sets - 15 reps - body weight
Still being a good girl and following the Paleo diet, but I think I have eaten a little too much fruit the past week... Time to go ketogenic for a couple of weeks... All for now.
I took the whole week off of training after Bataan, which seemed like a good idea. Rest is as important, if not more important as training. My plan was to walk 20 miles on Sunday, but 10.75 miles seemed like enough, so I stopped there. I had an appointment with a gym owner to discuss some personal training, so that I can feel obligated to get some strength training done. The great deal: $110 for 3 months of membership with no extra charge for helping me with a program to build strength without hurting my back (which tends to be problematic).
Rusty walked me through a short series of exercises, which will be my starting point. Leg raises, leg presses, lunges, lat pull downs, chest flys, lat raises, curls, and back extensions. These are all at beginning weight, which will increase as needed. The thing that Rusty stressed is proper form, nd isolation of the specific muscles the exercise is intended to work, which I agree with totally. I found I like working out at a gym better than doing it at home. I LIKE the way I look in the mirror! That's totally new to me.
Monday's workout (remember, I am a beginner... so don't make fun of the amount I am lifting ;))
Leg raises on incline bench: 2 sets - 12 reps
Leg press: 3 sets - 12 reps - 90#
Lunges: 3 sets - 11 reps
Lat pull down: 3 sets - 12 reps - 40#
Chest Flys: 3 sets - 12 reps - 20#
Lat Raises: 3 sets - 15 reps - 5#
Dumbell curls: 3 sets - 15 reps - 8#
Standing calf raise: 3 sets - 15 reps - body weight
Still being a good girl and following the Paleo diet, but I think I have eaten a little too much fruit the past week... Time to go ketogenic for a couple of weeks... All for now.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Catching up
I tried to make a commitment to write at least one blog post a week… and I failed. Oh well, my commitment to the Paleo diet is still going well. I am still training for upcoming races, but am finding it difficult to keep up with my weight lifting.
My weight has remained constant since the last post on March 1, so that is encouraging. I think it means that I am where my body wants to be. The stretched out skin from years of my weight fluctuating up and down is beginning to shrink, and I know this will take time and real effort on my part to make the extra time I need to do my strength training. I did slack off the last two weeks as I was tapering for the Bataan Memorial Death March marathon at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico (race report to follow). Now, it’s time to ramp things back up… Hog’s Hunt 50k is on April 16, and FANS 24 hour is on June 4-5.
My exercise activity since the last workout post on February 27: I have walked 61.4 miles, and done a mere 3 weight lifting workouts. I am not going to make any excuses for not getting the ST done, I promise to do better.
My weight has remained constant since the last post on March 1, so that is encouraging. I think it means that I am where my body wants to be. The stretched out skin from years of my weight fluctuating up and down is beginning to shrink, and I know this will take time and real effort on my part to make the extra time I need to do my strength training. I did slack off the last two weeks as I was tapering for the Bataan Memorial Death March marathon at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico (race report to follow). Now, it’s time to ramp things back up… Hog’s Hunt 50k is on April 16, and FANS 24 hour is on June 4-5.
My exercise activity since the last workout post on February 27: I have walked 61.4 miles, and done a mere 3 weight lifting workouts. I am not going to make any excuses for not getting the ST done, I promise to do better.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Great way to start the day!
So... I was off to Houston early this morning for my second training session with Ruth. She is an awesome, sweet young lady, and I think we compliment each other nicely. She is speedy, and I have endurance for the long haul.
We did some warm up drills and stretching before we started off to finish 6 miles in what we hoped to be an average pace somewhere around 12 minutes per mile. Wow, we held it for 5 miles, then did the last mile slowly for cool down. We followed the workout with lots of quality stretching and a stop at Starbucks on our way back to her house. I do my level best to maintain racewalking form during these workouts, but the soft knee is always going to be a problem for me, and I am OK with that. Just so Ruth does not pick up any bad habits from me, which I don't think she will. Her form is awesome, and I know she works on it all the time!
Oh, and, I tried a chin up on the bars at the park. I really was able to do 2!!! I have not even tried to do a pull up since I was in high school, so I am totally amazed I was able to get my chin above the bar!
Now that I have done back to back hard efforts, I don't feel obligated to any structured workout tomorrow. I have to work all day in the mattress store, so whatever happens, happens.
We did some warm up drills and stretching before we started off to finish 6 miles in what we hoped to be an average pace somewhere around 12 minutes per mile. Wow, we held it for 5 miles, then did the last mile slowly for cool down. We followed the workout with lots of quality stretching and a stop at Starbucks on our way back to her house. I do my level best to maintain racewalking form during these workouts, but the soft knee is always going to be a problem for me, and I am OK with that. Just so Ruth does not pick up any bad habits from me, which I don't think she will. Her form is awesome, and I know she works on it all the time!
Oh, and, I tried a chin up on the bars at the park. I really was able to do 2!!! I have not even tried to do a pull up since I was in high school, so I am totally amazed I was able to get my chin above the bar!
Now that I have done back to back hard efforts, I don't feel obligated to any structured workout tomorrow. I have to work all day in the mattress store, so whatever happens, happens.
Friday, February 25, 2011
Specific Goals
So, I have been thinking long and hard about what I am trying to accomplish since beginning the Paleo diet. Of course, it is not really a diet unless you define diet as either 1a, 1b, or 1c from the following example. 1d most certainly is not what I am thinking when I say diet. I am eating when I am hungry and not eating when I am not hungry, simply because some silly schedule says it's time to eat.
Definition of DIET
1a : food and drink regularly provided or consumed
b : habitual nourishment
c : the kind and amount of food prescribed for a person or animal for a special reason
d : a regimen of eating and drinking sparingly so as to reduce one's weight
2: something provided or experienced repeatedly
But, to clarify, I did go into this desperate to lose some weight so that I could meet a huge performance goal... talked about that already: Make the US Centurion List. I was not feeling healthy, and I was totally lacking in any confidence in my ability to meet the challenge I had already signed on for.
There has been tons of discussion on Strong is the New Skinny about how the word skinny offends, shocks, startles. I cannot let words of any kind get in the way of my goal which is to get to the body weight my genetic makeup tells me I am supposed to be. Yes, I am weighing myself, because that is one measure of progress. I am also taking measurements... mainly waist and hip. I am also paying attention to how much better my clothes fit. I may never wear a bikini (I am almost 50 and have been moderately obese all my life) but I am fine with that... this is not about how I look, it's about how I feel and meeting that performance goal.
I also understand, as I have stated in the past, that being an endurance athlete does not exactly scream Paleo/Primal... but it is what I do. I also do some lifting, and maybe as I get to the weight my body is supposed to be, I will be able to increase my lifting to help speed up the body fat loss.
Talking about food again... baked pork country style ribs seasoned with garlic, a little cayenne, thyme and rosemary. Side of steamed butternut squash and a veggie salad dressed with high quality olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
My walking workout last night was amazing and spot on! the details:
so... the goal of these slower, steady paced treadmill workouts is to try and get my body to recognize that 13:30 is an ez pace. Start off the first mile for warm up, then increase the speed to 4.4mph or around 13:37 minutes per mile pace and maintain that pace while keeping the hr at around 70% for 4 miles at that speed, then slowly ramp the speed down in the last mile for cool down.
This was a very successful workout. 6 miles - 1:23:29 - overall average pace 13:55 - miles 2 through 5 pace 13:37 - Average HR: 128 / Max HR: 138
Next blog post will certainly contain a progress photo.
Definition of DIET
1a : food and drink regularly provided or consumed
b : habitual nourishment
c : the kind and amount of food prescribed for a person or animal for a special reason
d : a regimen of eating and drinking sparingly so as to reduce one's weight
2: something provided or experienced repeatedly
But, to clarify, I did go into this desperate to lose some weight so that I could meet a huge performance goal... talked about that already: Make the US Centurion List. I was not feeling healthy, and I was totally lacking in any confidence in my ability to meet the challenge I had already signed on for.
There has been tons of discussion on Strong is the New Skinny about how the word skinny offends, shocks, startles. I cannot let words of any kind get in the way of my goal which is to get to the body weight my genetic makeup tells me I am supposed to be. Yes, I am weighing myself, because that is one measure of progress. I am also taking measurements... mainly waist and hip. I am also paying attention to how much better my clothes fit. I may never wear a bikini (I am almost 50 and have been moderately obese all my life) but I am fine with that... this is not about how I look, it's about how I feel and meeting that performance goal.
I also understand, as I have stated in the past, that being an endurance athlete does not exactly scream Paleo/Primal... but it is what I do. I also do some lifting, and maybe as I get to the weight my body is supposed to be, I will be able to increase my lifting to help speed up the body fat loss.
Talking about food again... baked pork country style ribs seasoned with garlic, a little cayenne, thyme and rosemary. Side of steamed butternut squash and a veggie salad dressed with high quality olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
My walking workout last night was amazing and spot on! the details:
so... the goal of these slower, steady paced treadmill workouts is to try and get my body to recognize that 13:30 is an ez pace. Start off the first mile for warm up, then increase the speed to 4.4mph or around 13:37 minutes per mile pace and maintain that pace while keeping the hr at around 70% for 4 miles at that speed, then slowly ramp the speed down in the last mile for cool down.
This was a very successful workout. 6 miles - 1:23:29 - overall average pace 13:55 - miles 2 through 5 pace 13:37 - Average HR: 128 / Max HR: 138
Next blog post will certainly contain a progress photo.
Monday, March 1, 2010
workouts
Sunday, Feb 28
4.1 miles; 1:05:55.53; HR: Avg 150 / Max: 173
decided to take it easy starting back into these track workouts, and good thing I didn't plan to push it too hard. my right knee is still talking to me. So, I stretched really well after 2 miles total and then again at the end, and everything seems ok. It is going to take a lot of patience for me to regain the strength I have lost in the last month of recovery.
Racewalk most of mile 1 followed by:
Bleachers (run up, walk down) 14
2 x 100 meter run sprints
100 meter each: side step R; side step L; crossover R; crossover L; quick steps, run backwards.
I walked all the curves between the drills and enough to cool down completely.
hmmm I think I remember someone telling me it wasn't a great idea to drink several cups of strong coffee right before a track workout... I MUST keep that in mind...
Monday, March 1
started out slow as planned. stretched at 2 miles. got into a pretty good rythm at 4 miles, then fartleked around for the next 5 miles... I was at the little league park where part of the path is paved and part is crushed iron ore. I racewalked pretty fast on the paved sections and either fitness walked or slow racewalked on the gravel sections. At mile 9, there came a Texas downpour so I walked the mile home, left my electronic gadgets and walked the 1 mile pre-measured path to the track and back to finish my the distance.
My kid called me when it started pouring and asked me if I wanted a ride. I said, no... what if this was a race? He just told me I am crazy (a well established fact).
12.11 miles; 2:51:45.5; 14:11 average pace
Heart Rate: Average: 137 / Max: 178
4.1 miles; 1:05:55.53; HR: Avg 150 / Max: 173
decided to take it easy starting back into these track workouts, and good thing I didn't plan to push it too hard. my right knee is still talking to me. So, I stretched really well after 2 miles total and then again at the end, and everything seems ok. It is going to take a lot of patience for me to regain the strength I have lost in the last month of recovery.
Racewalk most of mile 1 followed by:
Bleachers (run up, walk down) 14
2 x 100 meter run sprints
100 meter each: side step R; side step L; crossover R; crossover L; quick steps, run backwards.
I walked all the curves between the drills and enough to cool down completely.
hmmm I think I remember someone telling me it wasn't a great idea to drink several cups of strong coffee right before a track workout... I MUST keep that in mind...
Monday, March 1
started out slow as planned. stretched at 2 miles. got into a pretty good rythm at 4 miles, then fartleked around for the next 5 miles... I was at the little league park where part of the path is paved and part is crushed iron ore. I racewalked pretty fast on the paved sections and either fitness walked or slow racewalked on the gravel sections. At mile 9, there came a Texas downpour so I walked the mile home, left my electronic gadgets and walked the 1 mile pre-measured path to the track and back to finish my the distance.
My kid called me when it started pouring and asked me if I wanted a ride. I said, no... what if this was a race? He just told me I am crazy (a well established fact).
12.11 miles; 2:51:45.5; 14:11 average pace
Heart Rate: Average: 137 / Max: 178
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Another Update
Hi there folks out in blog land. Sorry I have been a real slacker in the blog department.
The workouts and training for races have all gone according to plan. Looks like the last thing I wrote about was the Rocky Raccoon 50k trail race.
The next thing on the calendar after Rocky was the San Antonio Rock and Roll Marathon on November 15, 2009. I had a fantastic time in San Antonio, even though it was such a huge race. Total participants in the half and full marathon together exceeded 35,000. Isn't that amazing! When the half and full split off, from each other, the race got interesting. It was a lot hotter than expected, but I was not looking for a pr as I was still in training for the Big Rocky Raccoon 100 miler in February. I had the good fortune to meet a couple of my online training friends! Both extremely nice and supportive of my efforts leading up to a 100 mile walk at some point in the near future!
Anyway, total miles walked in November were 110.6, 57.2 miles of that total were races, the balance: training.
December was kind of a slack training month for me. I only walked 51.9 miles... and that it usually the way this works for me. Every other month is usually a fall back month.
Next race: The Texas Marathon on Jan 1, put on by Steve and Paula Boone of the 50 States Marathon Club. This was an awesome race! It was pretty chilly in the morning, and I drove over to Kingwood on race day. I had to leave home at about 3:30 in the morning, but that's ok. My new Hammer Nutrition fueling program dictates that I eat breakfast at least 3 hours before my race starts, so the timing was right on. I wore my Adidas Adizero RC racing flats, which are VERY light and I was wondering how my feet would feel at the end of 26.2 miles on concrete. The truth is... my feet never hurt, and I walked my first sub 6 hour marathon in almost a year! (5:59:19) yes... that's sub 6! LOL. The great thing about this race is that it is a looped course. You do the loop twice for the half or 4 times for the full. We met each other coming and going, so the race never got boring. I met another of my online walking buddies who is also a Marathon Maniac just like me! I walked with her for most of the first half of the race, and it is due to her great walking speed that I was able to get a good fast marathon done as part of the training for Rocky! The medal they give out at the end of this race is so huge that they have to give it to you in a box because if they put it around your neck, you will simply fall over. It weighs a kilogram. And the post race food??? a pizza buffet to die for and lots of chocolate chip cookies and REAL Coca Cola!
So, the rest of the month of January was all the time I had to build mileage for Rocky Raccoon on Feb 6. I ended up with 154 miles walked for the month of January with one big back to back weekend... 20 miles on Sunday and 26 miles on Monday. Then taper, which for me is a complete stop to training except for the hand to mouth exercise. LOL
I guess that kind of brings things back up to date, and I will be putting my thoughts about the 100 mile attempt together in the next couple of days.
Maryann aka malvs2walk! and yes... I still love to walk!
The workouts and training for races have all gone according to plan. Looks like the last thing I wrote about was the Rocky Raccoon 50k trail race.
The next thing on the calendar after Rocky was the San Antonio Rock and Roll Marathon on November 15, 2009. I had a fantastic time in San Antonio, even though it was such a huge race. Total participants in the half and full marathon together exceeded 35,000. Isn't that amazing! When the half and full split off, from each other, the race got interesting. It was a lot hotter than expected, but I was not looking for a pr as I was still in training for the Big Rocky Raccoon 100 miler in February. I had the good fortune to meet a couple of my online training friends! Both extremely nice and supportive of my efforts leading up to a 100 mile walk at some point in the near future!
Anyway, total miles walked in November were 110.6, 57.2 miles of that total were races, the balance: training.
December was kind of a slack training month for me. I only walked 51.9 miles... and that it usually the way this works for me. Every other month is usually a fall back month.
Next race: The Texas Marathon on Jan 1, put on by Steve and Paula Boone of the 50 States Marathon Club. This was an awesome race! It was pretty chilly in the morning, and I drove over to Kingwood on race day. I had to leave home at about 3:30 in the morning, but that's ok. My new Hammer Nutrition fueling program dictates that I eat breakfast at least 3 hours before my race starts, so the timing was right on. I wore my Adidas Adizero RC racing flats, which are VERY light and I was wondering how my feet would feel at the end of 26.2 miles on concrete. The truth is... my feet never hurt, and I walked my first sub 6 hour marathon in almost a year! (5:59:19) yes... that's sub 6! LOL. The great thing about this race is that it is a looped course. You do the loop twice for the half or 4 times for the full. We met each other coming and going, so the race never got boring. I met another of my online walking buddies who is also a Marathon Maniac just like me! I walked with her for most of the first half of the race, and it is due to her great walking speed that I was able to get a good fast marathon done as part of the training for Rocky! The medal they give out at the end of this race is so huge that they have to give it to you in a box because if they put it around your neck, you will simply fall over. It weighs a kilogram. And the post race food??? a pizza buffet to die for and lots of chocolate chip cookies and REAL Coca Cola!
So, the rest of the month of January was all the time I had to build mileage for Rocky Raccoon on Feb 6. I ended up with 154 miles walked for the month of January with one big back to back weekend... 20 miles on Sunday and 26 miles on Monday. Then taper, which for me is a complete stop to training except for the hand to mouth exercise. LOL
I guess that kind of brings things back up to date, and I will be putting my thoughts about the 100 mile attempt together in the next couple of days.
Maryann aka malvs2walk! and yes... I still love to walk!
Sunday, September 27, 2009
back to the training log again
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.
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.
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!
Monday, August 24, 2009
Monday, August 24
So, Friday is always my day off from working out. I did, however, work most of the day at the mattress store. That's fine with me, because the store is busy and the time goes by quickly. Saturday, more of the same. I had intended to get up early and walk before going to work, but as I have said, I am not so much a morning person. I told myself I would walk when I got home from work Saturday. That was not in the cards either because we are starting to get into an afternoon thunderstorm pattern. I am not talking about some rain with a little thunder and lightning. This was maybe the first time I have ever pulled over while driving in a storm. I could not see even one inch in front of my car and the wind was blowing from all directions at the same time. Then it started to hail. Well, I was on a stretch of road with no shoulder and had to drive for about a mile or so, not able to see anything. It was like a white out that you experience in a blizzard. When I was able to pull over, I sat there for about 10 minutes wondering if the tornado was coming. It finally slacked off enough for me to drive home. So, the Saturday evening workout was scrapped.
Sunday, I just did not feel like walking. I am reading Lawrence Block's book Step by Step, A Pedestrian Memoir, and really enjoying it. So, Sunday I read until Raymond was ready to go grocery shopping. When we got home, I made an enchilada casserole with chicken and green chili for dinner. It was really good.
I am determined to get my training walks done, no matter the weather. I am going to turn myself into a morning person, if it is the last thing I do. So, I dressed in my workout clothes and set the clock for 5 am. I was in bed by 10 and pretty much ready to go out for a walk, all I had to do was put on my socks, shoes and hr monitor, fill the water bottle and go. Good for me! Out the door at 5:25 am and finished a 10k walk this morning! After a quick shower and some cheerios with a banana for breakfast, I actually made it to work on time. This evening, I still have a strength training routine to complete, but that should be no problem as I don't have to go anywhere to do it. I have all the exercise equipment I need at home. I will ride my bike to warm up if it is not raining. If it is raining, maybe the jump rope will do for a warm up.
Sunday, I just did not feel like walking. I am reading Lawrence Block's book Step by Step, A Pedestrian Memoir, and really enjoying it. So, Sunday I read until Raymond was ready to go grocery shopping. When we got home, I made an enchilada casserole with chicken and green chili for dinner. It was really good.
I am determined to get my training walks done, no matter the weather. I am going to turn myself into a morning person, if it is the last thing I do. So, I dressed in my workout clothes and set the clock for 5 am. I was in bed by 10 and pretty much ready to go out for a walk, all I had to do was put on my socks, shoes and hr monitor, fill the water bottle and go. Good for me! Out the door at 5:25 am and finished a 10k walk this morning! After a quick shower and some cheerios with a banana for breakfast, I actually made it to work on time. This evening, I still have a strength training routine to complete, but that should be no problem as I don't have to go anywhere to do it. I have all the exercise equipment I need at home. I will ride my bike to warm up if it is not raining. If it is raining, maybe the jump rope will do for a warm up.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
workouts July 25 - August 1
Saturday, July 25
20 miles in the bag for me today. The first 16 went well even though I was completely soaked through (sweat) by mile 6 due to the humidity... When the Garmin let me know I was at mile 19... I was walking through the cemetery... I was so crapped out, that I felt like staying a while, you know lying down on one of the graves that had a pleasant looking carpet of pine needles on top of it. I just love to complain about how HOT it is here... 5:30 am - real temp was 74; humidity 92%; heat index 84, 10:30 am at finish: real temp 87; humidity 75%, forecast said heat index was 106??? also, my average pace through the first 16 miles was 14:10mpm, I am almost ashamed to say how slow the last 4 miles were... averaged 16:38. that is just awful for me, but I was still moving forward, so it's all good.
Eating some watermelon and canteloupe, then off to stretch and shower and drive an hour each way to pick up a friend at the airport. Think I will treat myself to a Starbucks on the way. A doubleshot over ice with 5 shots espresso, a little half and half and a couple of pumps of simple syrup. Yum!
Monday, July 27
Monday evening workout done! One hour bicycle ride followed by upper body and core strength routine and stretching. Did not work the legs tonight because that pesky left calf, (shin splint?) is acting up again after the bicycle ride.
HMMM I have been thinking that maybe the last month of a marathon training schedule is not the best time to add new stuff to the routine. But, now that I am 5 weeks into the new routine, starting the 6th week, I don't plan to back off now. I will just adjust the intensity down a little.
Tuesday, July 28
I ended up having to drive to Rosenberg again. I thought I would make it home before 7:30, but it just was not happening. So, dinner, shower, to bed early, walk tomorrow, cycling and weight training Thursday, walk Friday and Saturday again.
Wednesday, July 29
Went to the track, warmed up a little over a mile, stretched, did my drills, and walked as close as I could to a couple of 1 mile repeats. They were actually a little longer than a mile because I started in lane 8 at the track and finished the repeats in lane 5, then walked a cool down lap in lane 4 in between the 2 repeats, followed by 2 cool down laps and lots more stretching. The focus of this whole workout was trying my best to keep the knees straight and legal and on lengthening my stride to the rear. I know I had a few moments when everything felt as it should.
The track is just so packed with people it is nearly impossible to do any speed work.
Thursday, July 30
I wanted to let you all know that I missed my second round of strength training this week. I had a really hectic day at work. Had to work out of town after putting out a bunch of fires at my office... arrived at the mattress store late, received a furniture delivery, then spent the whole afternoon moving mattresses around so that customers could try them out.
On the upside, I made several sales. Selling mattresses is like a low intensity cardio workout with a lot of strength moves thrown in. Upper body and core definitely got a workout!
Friday, July 31
Decided I need a rest day before the weekend.
Saturday, August 1
The last long distance walk pre-marathon. Walked 8 miles this morning. the first and last mile were 13:56 and 13:40, I tried to racewalk the 6 in the middle and the average pace for those 6 miles was 12:40... still not getting that HR high enough. My average HR for the 6 faster miles was only 77%. Now that I have stretched and showered and facebooked. Off to reclaim my title as the mattress chick.
AKA mattress sales person, not what you were thinking...
Sunday, August 2
So, I am kind of a scatterbrain... I finally found my spibelt... I have been looking for it since last weekend.
Didn't get a walk in today because I spent the day with my mom. We did a lot of shopping, then I figured out how to hook up here DVD player so she can watch some of her movie collection.
20 miles in the bag for me today. The first 16 went well even though I was completely soaked through (sweat) by mile 6 due to the humidity... When the Garmin let me know I was at mile 19... I was walking through the cemetery... I was so crapped out, that I felt like staying a while, you know lying down on one of the graves that had a pleasant looking carpet of pine needles on top of it. I just love to complain about how HOT it is here... 5:30 am - real temp was 74; humidity 92%; heat index 84, 10:30 am at finish: real temp 87; humidity 75%, forecast said heat index was 106??? also, my average pace through the first 16 miles was 14:10mpm, I am almost ashamed to say how slow the last 4 miles were... averaged 16:38. that is just awful for me, but I was still moving forward, so it's all good.
Eating some watermelon and canteloupe, then off to stretch and shower and drive an hour each way to pick up a friend at the airport. Think I will treat myself to a Starbucks on the way. A doubleshot over ice with 5 shots espresso, a little half and half and a couple of pumps of simple syrup. Yum!
Monday, July 27
Monday evening workout done! One hour bicycle ride followed by upper body and core strength routine and stretching. Did not work the legs tonight because that pesky left calf, (shin splint?) is acting up again after the bicycle ride.
HMMM I have been thinking that maybe the last month of a marathon training schedule is not the best time to add new stuff to the routine. But, now that I am 5 weeks into the new routine, starting the 6th week, I don't plan to back off now. I will just adjust the intensity down a little.
Tuesday, July 28
I ended up having to drive to Rosenberg again. I thought I would make it home before 7:30, but it just was not happening. So, dinner, shower, to bed early, walk tomorrow, cycling and weight training Thursday, walk Friday and Saturday again.
Wednesday, July 29
Went to the track, warmed up a little over a mile, stretched, did my drills, and walked as close as I could to a couple of 1 mile repeats. They were actually a little longer than a mile because I started in lane 8 at the track and finished the repeats in lane 5, then walked a cool down lap in lane 4 in between the 2 repeats, followed by 2 cool down laps and lots more stretching. The focus of this whole workout was trying my best to keep the knees straight and legal and on lengthening my stride to the rear. I know I had a few moments when everything felt as it should.
The track is just so packed with people it is nearly impossible to do any speed work.
Thursday, July 30
I wanted to let you all know that I missed my second round of strength training this week. I had a really hectic day at work. Had to work out of town after putting out a bunch of fires at my office... arrived at the mattress store late, received a furniture delivery, then spent the whole afternoon moving mattresses around so that customers could try them out.
On the upside, I made several sales. Selling mattresses is like a low intensity cardio workout with a lot of strength moves thrown in. Upper body and core definitely got a workout!
Friday, July 31
Decided I need a rest day before the weekend.
Saturday, August 1
The last long distance walk pre-marathon. Walked 8 miles this morning. the first and last mile were 13:56 and 13:40, I tried to racewalk the 6 in the middle and the average pace for those 6 miles was 12:40... still not getting that HR high enough. My average HR for the 6 faster miles was only 77%. Now that I have stretched and showered and facebooked. Off to reclaim my title as the mattress chick.
AKA mattress sales person, not what you were thinking...
Sunday, August 2
So, I am kind of a scatterbrain... I finally found my spibelt... I have been looking for it since last weekend.
Didn't get a walk in today because I spent the day with my mom. We did a lot of shopping, then I figured out how to hook up here DVD player so she can watch some of her movie collection.
Monday, July 13, 2009
Sunday, July 12
I went to bed at 8:30 pm last night instead of going out for my 18 mile walk. The alarm set for 4 am. The coffee pot was ready, I just had to turn it on when I got up. I did not have too much difficulty getting up, eating breakfast (3 small blueberry pancakes and a pre-cooked turkey sausage patty) and getting dressed to go out for the walk this morning. I walked out the door at 5:13. I wanted to be on the road by 5am, but this is about as good as it gets for me early in the morning, unless I'm traveling or racing. I have been known to get in the car at 3 am to drive 100 miles to a race.
My main concern with getting out so early in the morning are spider webs. There is a type of spider that lives in the oak trees. Every evening, they descend from the trees and build new webs. No one gets out that early in the morning in my neighborhood, so I am constantly dodging spider webs. If there is anything I really loathe, it is the thought of a spider crawling on me.
I usually start my long walk with a large loop outside of town, but since it was dark, I walked up and down all the streets in my neighborhood first until about 6 miles, then headed out of town for a 4 mile loop. I stopped at my house for a quick restroom break, then back out the door. I did a good job of pacing between 13:30 and 14:30 and in that range, the HR also stayed where it was supposed to. I always like to put in a quick mile at the end of a LSD walk if I am feeling up to it, so mile 17 was the fastest one. It helped a lot that a crazy Butthole Surfer song came up on the play list. It was fun walking to the beat. I haven't gotten so obsessive with the music play list that I plan it for the distance. I have a huge library of music, and I let it play in alphabetical order of song titles. The list includes everything from Johnny Cash to The Kinks, to Opeth, Korn and Metallica. Anyway, I finished up the walk, stretched and headed right to the shower.
Once finished showering and getting dressed, I headed over to my Mom's house. She was having company. Aunt Cathy, cousins Lynn and her daughter Gracie, Dana, and Jonathan and his girlfriend Megan. My niece Charlotte, her dh Jeff and ds Joshua, and nephew Tim, his dw Channing and dd Kailei, and my dd Emily and ds Jonathan also came along. We had a really nice visit! Jonathan has been living in Katy for a while now, and Lynn, Gracie and Dana are moving to either Spring or Tomball. It will be so nice to have family in the area so that we can get together once in a while. As usual, Mom had a huge spread... homemade black bean salsa, cold cut tray, pasta salad, veggie tray, and best of all; homemade peach and blackberry cobblers with Blue Bell ice cream.
What a great way to spend a Sunday. Walking 18 miles... and not feeling any guilt about the cobbler I ate.
My main concern with getting out so early in the morning are spider webs. There is a type of spider that lives in the oak trees. Every evening, they descend from the trees and build new webs. No one gets out that early in the morning in my neighborhood, so I am constantly dodging spider webs. If there is anything I really loathe, it is the thought of a spider crawling on me.
I usually start my long walk with a large loop outside of town, but since it was dark, I walked up and down all the streets in my neighborhood first until about 6 miles, then headed out of town for a 4 mile loop. I stopped at my house for a quick restroom break, then back out the door. I did a good job of pacing between 13:30 and 14:30 and in that range, the HR also stayed where it was supposed to. I always like to put in a quick mile at the end of a LSD walk if I am feeling up to it, so mile 17 was the fastest one. It helped a lot that a crazy Butthole Surfer song came up on the play list. It was fun walking to the beat. I haven't gotten so obsessive with the music play list that I plan it for the distance. I have a huge library of music, and I let it play in alphabetical order of song titles. The list includes everything from Johnny Cash to The Kinks, to Opeth, Korn and Metallica. Anyway, I finished up the walk, stretched and headed right to the shower.
Once finished showering and getting dressed, I headed over to my Mom's house. She was having company. Aunt Cathy, cousins Lynn and her daughter Gracie, Dana, and Jonathan and his girlfriend Megan. My niece Charlotte, her dh Jeff and ds Joshua, and nephew Tim, his dw Channing and dd Kailei, and my dd Emily and ds Jonathan also came along. We had a really nice visit! Jonathan has been living in Katy for a while now, and Lynn, Gracie and Dana are moving to either Spring or Tomball. It will be so nice to have family in the area so that we can get together once in a while. As usual, Mom had a huge spread... homemade black bean salsa, cold cut tray, pasta salad, veggie tray, and best of all; homemade peach and blackberry cobblers with Blue Bell ice cream.
What a great way to spend a Sunday. Walking 18 miles... and not feeling any guilt about the cobbler I ate.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Thursday, June 11, 2009
drum roll.............
So, I printed the last of my race instructions and pace chart last night after re-calculating my expected time out at each aid station due to the change made on the course. Everything is looking good so far. My mom and I are flying to Cleveland June 16 and will be staying with family. (thanks Uncle Bill and Aunt Shelly, Love you!)
The training is done, I only have an 8 miler to walk later today, then I will do one last hurrah on the hills in Bellville this weekend. All my walks will be short ones next week.
The only thing left to obsess over is packing. I am going to make sure all my race stuff is in the carry on. Street clothes will go in mom's checked bag as I am only bringing a few things. Remember I said red trail shoes go with everything? I ordered two pair of my favorite trail shoes and had them shipped to the uncle's house. I will wear them from the time I arrive until race day so they won't be brand new on the trail.
Oh, and I forgot... I don't have a laptop to take along. So sad... how will I exist without Internet access until I get home on the 24th??? I just don't know. I told close friends I will send a group text at the finish to let everyone know how the race went, and I will try to take mental notes for a decent race report when I return to Texas.
9
So, I printed the last of my race instructions and pace chart last night after re-calculating my expected time out at each aid station due to the change made on the course. Everything is looking good so far. My mom and I are flying to Cleveland June 16 and will be staying with family. (thanks Uncle Bill and Aunt Shelly, Love you!)
The training is done, I only have an 8 miler to walk later today, then I will do one last hurrah on the hills in Bellville this weekend. All my walks will be short ones next week.
The only thing left to obsess over is packing. I am going to make sure all my race stuff is in the carry on. Street clothes will go in mom's checked bag as I am only bringing a few things. Remember I said red trail shoes go with everything? I ordered two pair of my favorite trail shoes and had them shipped to the uncle's house. I will wear them from the time I arrive until race day so they won't be brand new on the trail.
Oh, and I forgot... I don't have a laptop to take along. So sad... how will I exist without Internet access until I get home on the 24th??? I just don't know. I told close friends I will send a group text at the finish to let everyone know how the race went, and I will try to take mental notes for a decent race report when I return to Texas.
Friday, May 29, 2009
just some training stuff
So, I guess I need to post a little update on how I am feeling leading up to the Mohican 100 mile trail race on June 29 in Loudonville Ohio. I am totally freaked out. I guess everyone goes through a little craziness before their first attempt at 100 miles. I know I have trained well enough. I have lost a few pounds and am going to do my best not to graze aimlessly during the taper.
Monday, May 25
got a walk in this afternoon. 13.61 miles starting at 1:40 pm. It was about 90 degrees and I had a rough time of it. average pace was 14:59, including about 17 minutes stopped. If I subtract out the stopped time, my actual walking pace was 14:11. I had a little dizzy spell in what was supposed to be next to last loop, so I drank some extra electrolyte and water, walked the rest of the way back to mom's house and decided not to do the last loop.
I have not walked the rest of this week, because my left shin to the outside right below the knee has been a little sore off and on since Angie's Half Crazy Half Marathon. I really pressed for a pr there and the whole race was on concrete. I got the pr, and a sore leg. I know I am trained well endurance wise, and don't want to risk injury, so I felt like resting the leg was the smart thing to do this week.
I plan to do a long walk on Saturday, then a short one on Sunday.
On to other races. Preparations for the ET Midnight marathon are going well. My friends and I are going to have a blast.
Since ATY has been cancelled this year, I have been looking at www.multidays.com every day, looking for a suitable replacement. I found www.northcoast24.org today when I looked today. I am really excited as I emailed the RD and he said ultrawalkers such as myself would certainly be welcome, because a lot of the ultrarunners walk during some stages of their races anyway. The best thing about NorthCoast 24 is that the course is guaranteed to be totally flat and will give ultra athletes a great chance to see how far they can go in 24 hours under optimal conditions. Also, the race is located in Cleveland Ohio, near the Lake Erie shore. Oh, boy, I have family in the area... and would only incur travel expenses, not hotel.
Check out the website if you are interested in this type of race.
Monday, May 25
got a walk in this afternoon. 13.61 miles starting at 1:40 pm. It was about 90 degrees and I had a rough time of it. average pace was 14:59, including about 17 minutes stopped. If I subtract out the stopped time, my actual walking pace was 14:11. I had a little dizzy spell in what was supposed to be next to last loop, so I drank some extra electrolyte and water, walked the rest of the way back to mom's house and decided not to do the last loop.
I have not walked the rest of this week, because my left shin to the outside right below the knee has been a little sore off and on since Angie's Half Crazy Half Marathon. I really pressed for a pr there and the whole race was on concrete. I got the pr, and a sore leg. I know I am trained well endurance wise, and don't want to risk injury, so I felt like resting the leg was the smart thing to do this week.
I plan to do a long walk on Saturday, then a short one on Sunday.
On to other races. Preparations for the ET Midnight marathon are going well. My friends and I are going to have a blast.
Since ATY has been cancelled this year, I have been looking at www.multidays.com every day, looking for a suitable replacement. I found www.northcoast24.org today when I looked today. I am really excited as I emailed the RD and he said ultrawalkers such as myself would certainly be welcome, because a lot of the ultrarunners walk during some stages of their races anyway. The best thing about NorthCoast 24 is that the course is guaranteed to be totally flat and will give ultra athletes a great chance to see how far they can go in 24 hours under optimal conditions. Also, the race is located in Cleveland Ohio, near the Lake Erie shore. Oh, boy, I have family in the area... and would only incur travel expenses, not hotel.
Check out the website if you are interested in this type of race.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Thursday, May 14
I decided to cook dinner when I got home from work today. I think Raymond was surprised. I fooled around on the computer for a little while, then decided I still needed to go out for my 8 mile walk. I didn't change into any workout clothes, just went out in the cotton t-shirt and shorts I was wearing. I wanted to make sure I didn't get carried away and try to walk too fast, because I am doing a 50k trail race on Saturday. I didn't leave the house until almost 7pm, so it was really dark out when I got home. I don't like to go to the high school track when I don't need to do speed work, so I just walked around the neighborhood for 4 miles ending up at the little league park. I walked the path around the park until I had a little over a mile to make 8, then I headed for home.
8 miles 1:55:49, average pace 14:38, average HR 121 or 62%. Overall, I will say this was an awesome workout!
8 miles 1:55:49, average pace 14:38, average HR 121 or 62%. Overall, I will say this was an awesome workout!
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Tuesday, May 12
I won't call it taper madness, but I registered online for Hog's Hunt 50k at Huntsville State Park this Saturday. I am beginning to really like that park, I only wish it was closer than 100 miles from me. It kind of sucks having to leave home at 4am to go and walk 50k... btw... Monday was a day off of training. I will get my usual Tuesday workout today. 6 miles. I may do a little speed work at the track.
So, I did get to the track and do some speed work, 2 miles warm up, then 6 x 400m at somewhere between 5k and 10k pace with 400 meter rests, 1 mile cool down.
Funny thing. Some people (most people) who come to the track to walk (I won't call it working out) have no idea about track etiquette. They bring their children and their bicycles. The children play chicken on their bicycles. Then they aim these bicycles straight at you. I had to leave before I had finished my cool down laps and cool down on the walk home, or I might have knocked these sweet little children off of their bicycles. Gosh, then the fight would have been on, and there were lots more of them; of course, I could probably walk faster than they could run and I would have made a clean break.
I absolutely don't begrudge anyone the use of the track for working out, walking, running, whatever they choose to do. Some of the children were doing 50 meter sprinting races. That is fun to watch and it does my heart good to see children out there running rather than sitting home playing the dreaded video game console of their choice.
OK, now I will step down off the soapbox.
So, I did get to the track and do some speed work, 2 miles warm up, then 6 x 400m at somewhere between 5k and 10k pace with 400 meter rests, 1 mile cool down.
Funny thing. Some people (most people) who come to the track to walk (I won't call it working out) have no idea about track etiquette. They bring their children and their bicycles. The children play chicken on their bicycles. Then they aim these bicycles straight at you. I had to leave before I had finished my cool down laps and cool down on the walk home, or I might have knocked these sweet little children off of their bicycles. Gosh, then the fight would have been on, and there were lots more of them; of course, I could probably walk faster than they could run and I would have made a clean break.
I absolutely don't begrudge anyone the use of the track for working out, walking, running, whatever they choose to do. Some of the children were doing 50 meter sprinting races. That is fun to watch and it does my heart good to see children out there running rather than sitting home playing the dreaded video game console of their choice.
OK, now I will step down off the soapbox.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Training Update
Friday, May 8 (Happy Birthday, Mom!)
So, summer has arrived in southeast Texas. It was 88 at lunchtime. It feels like the humidity is at least 80%. I am predicting my walk now so that I would feel really guilty for lying if I didn't get it done. I WILL walk 8 miles when I get home from work this evening.
edited to add... the actual temp was 88, humidity 55% when I started. Now that I am finished walking, it is 82 with 66% humidity. Anyhow I walked 8 miles in 1:50:45, with an average pace of 13:50mpm and an average HR of 71%.
Saturday, May 9
Spent the whole day with my Mom. We had a great day! We met my sister, Cathy, for coffee first thing in the morning, and solved the problems of the world with conversation over coffee. Then Mom and I shopped around at Hobby Lobby and Joanne's Fabrics. We had a fantastic lunch at Johnny Carino's, then went to look for a place to get the oil changed in my car. When the young man brought my car around to tell me they were finished, he said, "I'll be you have a lot of fun driving THAT!" I told him I sure do, it's a rocket ship! I drive a Honda Accord 2dr Coupe with sport package... 3.0L v6 VTEC, with 6-spd manual transmission and it really is fun to drive. Then the drive back to mom's house... we had pizza for supper and I gave her a hair cut. It is very difficult to find a beautician that you really like. I seem to be able to cut mom's hair the way she likes it cut...
Sunday, May 10
I had planned to walk 25 miles today, and I am now thinking it was a good thing I crapped out at mile 16 due to heat and humidity. I am still trying to figure out what to wear in this heat to avoid the dreaded thigh chafing. I can't wear compression shorts... because I had a vein blow out on the outside of my thigh once after a hard workout. So, I have been wearing long (heat gear) tights with my pocketed shorts over them. I just get too hot. The alternative is to just wear shorts or a running skirt, and then keep reapplying body glide to the inner thighs once every 10 miles or so. Anyhow, it was a good thing I crapped out. I really thought that Hogs Hunt 50k trail race was two weeks from now, it is actually this coming Saturday, the 16th. So, 16 miles was enough today.
So, summer has arrived in southeast Texas. It was 88 at lunchtime. It feels like the humidity is at least 80%. I am predicting my walk now so that I would feel really guilty for lying if I didn't get it done. I WILL walk 8 miles when I get home from work this evening.
edited to add... the actual temp was 88, humidity 55% when I started. Now that I am finished walking, it is 82 with 66% humidity. Anyhow I walked 8 miles in 1:50:45, with an average pace of 13:50mpm and an average HR of 71%.
Saturday, May 9
Spent the whole day with my Mom. We had a great day! We met my sister, Cathy, for coffee first thing in the morning, and solved the problems of the world with conversation over coffee. Then Mom and I shopped around at Hobby Lobby and Joanne's Fabrics. We had a fantastic lunch at Johnny Carino's, then went to look for a place to get the oil changed in my car. When the young man brought my car around to tell me they were finished, he said, "I'll be you have a lot of fun driving THAT!" I told him I sure do, it's a rocket ship! I drive a Honda Accord 2dr Coupe with sport package... 3.0L v6 VTEC, with 6-spd manual transmission and it really is fun to drive. Then the drive back to mom's house... we had pizza for supper and I gave her a hair cut. It is very difficult to find a beautician that you really like. I seem to be able to cut mom's hair the way she likes it cut...
Sunday, May 10
I had planned to walk 25 miles today, and I am now thinking it was a good thing I crapped out at mile 16 due to heat and humidity. I am still trying to figure out what to wear in this heat to avoid the dreaded thigh chafing. I can't wear compression shorts... because I had a vein blow out on the outside of my thigh once after a hard workout. So, I have been wearing long (heat gear) tights with my pocketed shorts over them. I just get too hot. The alternative is to just wear shorts or a running skirt, and then keep reapplying body glide to the inner thighs once every 10 miles or so. Anyhow, it was a good thing I crapped out. I really thought that Hogs Hunt 50k trail race was two weeks from now, it is actually this coming Saturday, the 16th. So, 16 miles was enough today.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
more weekly walking stuff
6.14 quick miles on Tuesday, April 14. 1:17:48, average pace 12:40, average HR 76%, max HR 84% somewhere into mile 4. I keep walking too fast... I know this doesn't sound fast to some of my racewalking friends, but it is too fast to say I am training for a 100 mile walk. Oh, well, I am working really hard on slowing down.
Wednesday, April 15: I decided to go ahead and get my walk in today since it is supposed to storm tomorrow evening. 8.01 miles in 1:53:45; average pace 14:12; average HR 70%; max HR 79%. This was supposed to be an easy walk, I just always get carried away. Miles 2, 3 & 4 were just too fast, so I forcibly slowed myself WAY down in the last 3 miles.
I was planning to try another power yoga workout the past two evenings, I just can't get myself motivated to do them. I don't know what the problem is. I can keep telling myself stress from work is keeping me from doing some of my more important workouts... The voices also tell me that doing the workouts will help me deal with the stress... go figure.
Friday April 17: It has rained so hard all day that the back room of the building I work in is flooding. The water is not coming in at floor level, it is leaking from the inside of an interior wall. So, I found it necessary to move a bunch of furniture so it didn't get ruined. We don't have any men around, so I just man-handled it myself. The thing that scares me is that it is a flat asphalt coated roof, and these things tend to collapse if too much rain water collects on top of them.
Saturday April 18: I am supposed to do back to back long distance walks this weekend. I wish you could see how hard it is raining here, and heavy rain is in the forecast for the entire day. Oh, wait, here is a picture of the rain outside my front door. The streets are flooded. Hopefully the weather man is right and I will be able to at least get a walk in tomorrow. Since I don't have a treadmill, and don't have a gym membership, there is no way I can access a treadmill.
Wednesday, April 15: I decided to go ahead and get my walk in today since it is supposed to storm tomorrow evening. 8.01 miles in 1:53:45; average pace 14:12; average HR 70%; max HR 79%. This was supposed to be an easy walk, I just always get carried away. Miles 2, 3 & 4 were just too fast, so I forcibly slowed myself WAY down in the last 3 miles.
I was planning to try another power yoga workout the past two evenings, I just can't get myself motivated to do them. I don't know what the problem is. I can keep telling myself stress from work is keeping me from doing some of my more important workouts... The voices also tell me that doing the workouts will help me deal with the stress... go figure.
Friday April 17: It has rained so hard all day that the back room of the building I work in is flooding. The water is not coming in at floor level, it is leaking from the inside of an interior wall. So, I found it necessary to move a bunch of furniture so it didn't get ruined. We don't have any men around, so I just man-handled it myself. The thing that scares me is that it is a flat asphalt coated roof, and these things tend to collapse if too much rain water collects on top of them.
Saturday April 18: I am supposed to do back to back long distance walks this weekend. I wish you could see how hard it is raining here, and heavy rain is in the forecast for the entire day. Oh, wait, here is a picture of the rain outside my front door. The streets are flooded. Hopefully the weather man is right and I will be able to at least get a walk in tomorrow. Since I don't have a treadmill, and don't have a gym membership, there is no way I can access a treadmill.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
A Warm Walk
so, my race pace walk started somewhere between half marathon pace and marathon pace, and ended up a little slower than marathon pace. The last mile and a half were torture. It was kind of cool and overcast when I left the house, so I put on my underarmour camouflage cold gear tights, the long sports bra, a new silk base layer long sleeve top (it's very thin) and a short sleeve top with a running skirt for the top layer. I was trying out a new pair of Adidas adizero cs that I bought 1/2 size larger for the end of the 100 mile race, so I also had on two pair of socks.
Ok, I was overdressed. I drank plenty of electrolyte and water... The first 10.5 miles, the pace averaged 12:48mpm and the last 1.5 miles the pace averaged 14:10mpm, so the overall average pace with no stops for 12 miles was 13:03mpm. Another long walk done.
I can't remember if I told someone the other day that the shorter long walks are always harder for me... but this one was. Now I am hoping that next weekends back to back long walks go ok.
The one obvious thing I didn't mention was the HR, it averaged 74% during the first 10 miles, the max HR achieved was 80% somewhere in mile 4. HR during the last 2 miles averaged 68%. I always intend for the fall back week LSD to be done faster than the longer walks...
I will remember not to over dress again. I really could have taken off the tights at mile 6, when I passed my house, I just didn't want to stop. I somehow felt that more would be accomplished if I just finished the 12 miles. Of course I didn't feel that way at the end. The high school track is a little less than .5 miles from my house, and in order to make the whole 12 miles, I turned into the track and walked 3 laps rather than up and down one more street in my neighborhood. Had I not done that, I probably would not have completed the 12...
On a totally different note... the OKC Memorial Marathon is only 2 weeks away. I will be really glad to get out of town and see some friends for a couple of days. Then only 2 months until Mohican. I have been thinking, how am I going to get several really long walks in before I have to taper a little for the 100? Then I remembered, there is another 50k race at Huntsville State Park between now and June. It is the Hog's Hunt 50k/25k on May 16. I have a couple of days to think about it because the cutoff for early registration is May 2.
Anyone feel like a 50k training walk in Huntsville???
Ok, I was overdressed. I drank plenty of electrolyte and water... The first 10.5 miles, the pace averaged 12:48mpm and the last 1.5 miles the pace averaged 14:10mpm, so the overall average pace with no stops for 12 miles was 13:03mpm. Another long walk done.
I can't remember if I told someone the other day that the shorter long walks are always harder for me... but this one was. Now I am hoping that next weekends back to back long walks go ok.
The one obvious thing I didn't mention was the HR, it averaged 74% during the first 10 miles, the max HR achieved was 80% somewhere in mile 4. HR during the last 2 miles averaged 68%. I always intend for the fall back week LSD to be done faster than the longer walks...
I will remember not to over dress again. I really could have taken off the tights at mile 6, when I passed my house, I just didn't want to stop. I somehow felt that more would be accomplished if I just finished the 12 miles. Of course I didn't feel that way at the end. The high school track is a little less than .5 miles from my house, and in order to make the whole 12 miles, I turned into the track and walked 3 laps rather than up and down one more street in my neighborhood. Had I not done that, I probably would not have completed the 12...
On a totally different note... the OKC Memorial Marathon is only 2 weeks away. I will be really glad to get out of town and see some friends for a couple of days. Then only 2 months until Mohican. I have been thinking, how am I going to get several really long walks in before I have to taper a little for the 100? Then I remembered, there is another 50k race at Huntsville State Park between now and June. It is the Hog's Hunt 50k/25k on May 16. I have a couple of days to think about it because the cutoff for early registration is May 2.
Anyone feel like a 50k training walk in Huntsville???
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