Wow!

Thanks Susan for letting me know.

I'm the Phedippidations Featured Blog from episode #153, Running Over Cancer.

I haven't had a chance to listen to the latest episode, so I really can't believe it. I'm honored Steve! I love your podcast and have taken you on many runs through my area. Now this puts a little pressure on me to come up with some dazzling new post to show that I'm Phedip worthy.

So how did this come about? Did one of you little lurkers nominate me or something. Susan was it you?

Upcoming Schedule

This mornings run was tough. I've been battling allergies and drainage that I think has gone to my chest and ears a little bit so by mile three I was zonked. I walked a little, probably about a half mile total and finished with 5 miles. Then I went to the gym and lifted upper body. I hope to go do some sprints tonight at the track, but I'll see how I feel.

So here is my upcoming race schedule:

New Balance Race Series(races at Kelley Park)

October 18, 2008 5K

November 22, 2008 4 Miles

December 20, 2008 10K

January 17, 2008 8 Miles

February 7, 2008 10 Miles

January 31, 2009 Benbrook Half or 5k (tentative)

February 28, 2009 Cowtown Half Marathon

These should be fun events and I hope to get my first half medal in early 2009. I may throw a few more races in but we'll see. Those should keep me pretty busy.

Week In Review

Well, well, well it's been a week since my last post. I have had intentions to post several times during the week and just brushed it off. So here is what I've been up to .

Training! I've been really concentrating on my workouts and I feel like I'm on my way to some good races in the next few months.

I finished up last week with 19 miles. This week I started off hoping to get 2 miles in Monday, but that just did not happen. Tuesdays have become two-a-day Tuesdays. So Tuesday morning I ran 3 miles. Here are the splits: 11:03, 11:13, 10:30. I then did upper body weights. I was a tired puppy. I lift with very little rest in between sets so I was really working. Tuesday nights I have set aside for a sprint workout. I went to the track and ran 4x220s. Here are the splits in seconds: 52 , 49, 49, 47. I walked a 220 in between each sprint. Then I did 4x100s. Here are the splits in seconds: 20,17, 18, 17. At my fastest in high school I once ran a 13.47 100 so you can see I have lost much of my zip. But I'm not too slow for an old momma! I finished up with a few laps jogging and got in another 3 miles that night.

Wednesday was yoga torture. That instructor concentrated on balance the entire time. I was hurting this morning. Balance is tough work but really beneficial especially for your core.

This morning I ran 3 miles and then lifted lower body. Here are the splits: 11:31, 12:17, 11:10. I was going to take it easy this morning because I felt soar and fatigued. The last couple weeks I have been following an unspoken goal of making the last mile of every run the fastest. This morning I was a third of the way through mile three and I was just going to let that goal drop. Steve from Phedippidations was talking about "The Last Lecture" by Randy Pausch and how you really should live to the fullest. My pace quickened. Then I started thinking about how this last mile of this training run could be the exact mile that makes the difference in some upcoming race. How this exact time may be the preparation that puts me in the next level. My pace continued to quickened. The last two tenths I was sprinting up hill and guess what; I kept my goal intact! I almost vomited on the side of a busy road, but I did manage to keep it down. Giving your best at every moment and holding yourself to your goals are such important steps in developing mental toughness. I have always been a naturally good athlete, but what I have lacked is a better grasp of mental toughness. That is going to be my biggest goal in training the rest of the year.

As in every year since 2001, remember 9/11. May we never see anything like that again. And please remember Texas as Hurricane Ike comes our way. The coast may be greatly damaged and those of us in central, north and east Texas may get some wicked flooding and wind damage.

Week In Review

Well this weeks workouts have rocked! I have been up and running everyday this week.

Monday - 5k race
Tuesday - 2 mile treadmill run in the a.m., Upper body weights, 2 miles steady in the p.m. and 2 miles of 200 meter sprints in the p.m. I ran negative splits on the sprints as well.
Wednesday - Yoga torture. We had a new instructor and I was actually soar this morning from holding some of those poses. Not sure I like the new instructor, but the class still did me good.
Thursday - 4 mile run, the first three miles included some hill work and the times were in the mid to low 12's. The last mile I wanted to finish strong so I pushed a wee bit. Every time I felt I was slowing I would pick it up a step. So I finished mile four with a 10:52 pace. Nice. I can definitely tell that I hold back way too much at the first part of my runs. I need to push myself more if I'm ever going to get faster. I play it way to safe. I also lifted lower body after my run.

I hope to get in 5 miles this weekend to round out my week. I'll miss Saturday yoga since we are going to Zest Fest! We go every year and taste test all the yummy salsas and bbq sauces. Too much fun. Looks like I might have to get up early early to get my run in.

Fort Worth Labor Day 5k

Wow, I actually have a race to report on! Who knew!

This was a family event for me. My husband walked the 5k with my son and my son ran the kiddie 1/2 k as well. My son loved it and got a gold medal placed around his neck which he has worn all day.

I ran the 5k and it was my first race in six months or so. Man have I gotten slow. Forget Shave Your 5k, how about Pad Your 5k! I clocked a 36:54. This time included stopping to help someone that tripped and fell.

We ran the same course I have run for several of the Fort Worth Running Club races. I've never been a fan of the course. I always feel like I'm struggling immediately out of the gate. It's all mental I know. However I did not walk any of the race. I really wanted to but, I just kept thinking that I always seem to give up just before I make it through. That is a serious chink in my armor. So I just kept going and luckily my friend Jack came back on the course to cheer racers in and his high five kept me going a little longer. Then my friend Elizabeth came back out (after she ran a 26 min 5k,) and ran with me the last few tenths. She told me the exact best moment to turn and burn and I finished sprinting and passing several. I obviously had not pushed myself much during the race because I had a lot of sprint left.

This was a nice overall race. The goodie bags were nice little nylon backpacks with several neat little things inside, (Biodfreeze, Cytomax drink mix, Udder Cream, Dannon Yogurt coupons, etc.) The shirt was a nice technical shirt that was gender specific, yeah! And they had a nice party afterwards with food, drink, bouncy houses and music. The only problem was not enough potties! I had to wait in line for 25 minutes and it caused me to miss my son's race, boo hoo. I really had to go and thought I wouldn't be able to make it through his race if I waited.

So all in all a good experience! I'm glad to be back out running and racing. I think I will run a local 5 series race that starts in October. It begins with a 5k and the distances go up to 10 miles. Maybe I can pull out a couple of half's before my back snaps in two in the Spring.

Fun and Games

Well this weeks workouts have been good! I started a new weight lifting regime and had a couple of run/walks, and of course Yoga. I am also in my third week of Weight Watchers. My body is feeling good and my back is feeling strong. The only problem is with my sleeping. When I get horizontal my right leg starts acting up and I get deep leg pain, foot sensations and a fidgety problem. That stinking sciatic nerve is just not cooperating. It keeps me awake and thus I'm short on sleep. I'm still taking Etodolac which is an anti-inflammatory but it is not cutting it at night. Just another thing to go over with the doc.

The weight training is great. I started lifting in high school and it is something I have always been good at. In high school a coach approached me to do some powerlifting, but I wasn't sure how that would look. I'm not sure why I was so hesitant, but I think back in the 80s the view of women and weights was a great deal different.

Now I am back and working a semi-split routine of upper-body on Tuesdays, lower-body on Thursdays and everything lightly on Saturdays.

Upper-body consists of bench press, dumbbell flies, bicep curls, tricep kickbacks, overhead tricep press, barbell curls, military press, upright rows, push-ups. I think that is it.

Lower-body consists of squat, dead lift, leg press, lunges, extensions, curls.

Lower body has always been my favorite because I'm pretty strong but I think the bench press may surprise me. I would like to have a day were I max my lifts on the bench, squat, leg press and dead lift just to set a mark to be able to gauge my strength gains.

This week I worked out with the following maximums on my big 4:
Bench - 115lbs (8 reps)
Squats - 155 lbs (10 reps)
Leg Press - 360 lbs (10 reps) (Don't freak, physics is in your favor on this exercise.)
Deadlift - 120 lbs (10 reps)

The above totals were on my final set. Great thing is that I like to do most of these exercises without rest between sets or exercises, so I can get done in 30-45 minutes.

So my questions are these; what are your thoughts on performing progressively heavier sets? Have any of you done the reverse by performing your heaviest set first and then decreasing the weight each set thereafter? Did you like it?

Pain

I have had a pretty good week of workouts. WooHoo! I took a new class at the gym Wednesday and boy has it done a number on my quads. I've been wanting to try the BodyPump class and finally I was able to fit it in. It is an aerobic workout with weights. It didn't feel like I got a lot of cardio work from it, but I did get a good muscle workout. I can tell the area I have been neglecting the most is my upper back, so I will add some cable rows to the mix. I also thought that I needed a little more leg workout after the class so I headed out and did leg extensions, standing ham presses and leg presses. Turns out I overdid a little. My quads are so sore. I think it will take a few more days to get them back to normal. I did Yoga after the BodyPump class and that just added to the leg pain with all of the isolation and balance work, but I think I will make that my regular Wednesday morning routine.

Last night I took a short run of 3 miles and made it a fartlek workout. I sprinted up hills and slowed and quickened the pace the entire time. I walked about four times but I'm overall happy with the effort. Tomorrow I'm going to the gym to do Yoga and weights and then later in the day I hope to get a run in.

I've been working on a more scheduled workout routine which includes more weights so I hope to post next about what I have planned.