Time Takes A Hit During Running Cool Down

April 22, 2009 By 3 Comments

These past week I’ve been adjusting my running schedule, as I’ve mentioned in several posts, looking for that magic number that will work for me physically AND mentally – as well as fit into my already crammed schedule.

A few things I’ve done:

  • Decreased mileage from 30 to about 25-26
  • Added in some cross training
  • Increased stretching
  • Been flexible with schedule- if I don’t get up at 5, I get up later and run with the toddler in the stroller

I actually feel much better in terms of health. More rested, looking forward to the runs again, less stressed, no knee pain, no back pain, etc . . . and not fatigued during the day.

However, my time has taken a hit. Since I didn’t do any speedwork the past two weeks, I noticed my 9:15 miles are now around 9:25.

A few weeks of speed training and, gulp, my time has decreased.

I’m not going to push working on that now. I’m still adjusting the schedule and ‘taking it easy’ for a few weeks to get my running spirit back in order. However, I do need to add in a few sprints during my short Thursday runs, when I also do cross training. So tomorrow I will work on a three miler with a few sprints in the mix, before getting onto the bike and doing a few miles.

How do you fit in speed work when you are running less? And when you stop speedwork for a while, do you see it in your regular running times?

Filed Under: April 2009 Tagged With: , , ,

Question of the Week: How Many Days and Miles do You Run Per Week?

April 20, 2009 By 6 Comments

I have lately been reevaluating my running program, due to some injuries and fatigue. I also want to add in some cross training to both alleviate some of the boredom and to train for a triathlon.

This has made me wonder about my readers: How many days and miles per week do you run?

Lately I have been running 5 days, about 30 miles per week. My longest run is about 10-12 on the weekends – though I will do a long one and then drop back the next week.

Throughout the week my shortest runs are 4 miles, my mid runs are 5-6.

I’m going to cut back this week to four days of running, one of X training, two off. I’m going to try to run only 25 miles this week. I’m also going to do a 20 minute period of yoga each day.

I think sore, tight, stiff muscles are really affecting my running and my down time. I have been having muscle twitches regularly, yesterday in my calf all day and evening (and it is starting again now!) Sometimes they are in my upper leg, sometimes in my eye . . . . blood work showed no sodium issues, so guessing it is fatigue.

This week my longest will be about 10 – Sunday.

What about you? How many miles, how many days per week?  And are you training for a particular race right now or just maintaining?

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Cross Training: Why it Can Help Your Running

April 17, 2009 By 3 Comments

If you are like many runners you are obsessively possessed with the sport.

Yep, I said it. Maybe you don’t vomit green or you can’t turn your head 360 degrees, but if you are a runner, chances are you constantly think about running.

What’s my speed?

How far did I go?

When will I run again?

Sound familiar? Look, I know you: I am you!

So it’s no wonder that we sometimes burn out, whether our bodies tank because we are doing too much or mentally we are unable to sustain a ten mile-or ten minute-run!

When this happens, it means we need to do some change ups. I’ve talked about this in previous posts, some of the aftermath of overtraining. This might include:

  • being overly tired, despite a great amount of sleep
  • feeling as though exercise, and running, is a chore rather than something you want to do
  • getting injured
  • ignoring and injury to continue running

For me, this list would also include being dizzy, losing too much weight, and getting frustrated with everyday things that should not be frustrating.

To tackle that head on, I’ve begun my cross training routine again. I had given that up when we moved since I wasn’t training for a particular tri, but now I have my sites on a tri this fall and figure I might as well begin X-training – especially since I was suffering from some runner’s burnout.

This morning I did 5 on the bike, 3 on foot. It went well, and I felt pretty energized when I finished. I can’t wait to get into the pool, wish the water would hurry up and heat! Next year, I’m definitely joining the Y to get in my swim workouts when the pool lis cold. I miss swimming; I think I love it as much as I do running. The cardio is awesome and the workouts are powerful. The bike – not so much for me. I enjoy it, I guess, but I don’t feel like I’m working extra hard when I’m pedaling. Still, I do like the fact that I can go much further than running during the same amount of time.

Every athlete can benefit from cross training. It keeps the various muscle groups working, it reduces your chances for injury (over repetitively doing the same thing – like running 6 days a week), it frees you up mentally (I feel) because it allows you to concentrate your efforts on a variety of training routines rather than just one, and since each exercise works different muscle groups it really helps improve your overall athletic ability.

Are you burned out? Try something new tomorrow. Bike rather than run, or split it up: Bike for a few miles, run the rest. Try swimming, which rocks when it comes to cardio and calories burning (in comparison to other exercises). Do a mini-tri, which was one of my favorite workouts in LA: bike, run and swim each in a set period of time – say one hour – breaking it up into 20 minute increments for each sport. Fun! Challenging! And sure to get you out of the workout doldrums!

Til tomorrow (my running day off, now that I have switched my long runs to Sunday), happy running!

Filed Under: April 2009, Biking/Cycling, Swimming, Training for a Marathon, Triathlon Training Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Team in Training: Have You, or Are You Soon?

April 16, 2009 By 5 Comments

So I’ve been contemplating doing something I have not yet done – running a race with team in training.

It’s not that I need the push, or the structure, or the team comraderie, though I’m sure all of those things are great.

I’d really like to make my next marathon about something other than my desire to push myself that far.

In my first half marathon, I’d just suffered a miscarriage, an unexpected finding at 11 weeks when I was still deathly sick. During the entire half, which I ran about 4 months later – having never run more than 8 or so miles previously – I said goodbye and let go. It was an emotional experience, as was my first marathon: I lost my aunt and a close friend and then my mom had a stroke, within three months of the first marathon I ran. I ran it in the rain, a torrential downpour uncommon in So Cal, saying goodbye to people I had loved and sending my mom strength to overcome what the stroke had done to her both physically and mentally.

My last marathon – well, it was all me. I didn’t have anything to say goodbye to, or to look forward to, during the race. I just ran. And I enjoyed it, but it made me wonder if I could do it for something else, something good.

Leukemia is close to me not because I know someone who has suffered from the illness but because my oldest had a blood condition that we thought for a while might be leukemia. I did a lot of research during that time regarding children and leukemia and it broke my heart. I’ve always been drawn to TNT when I’ve considered doing a charity race.

I’m looking into the San Francisco run, Nike Women’s Marathon, in October.

Have you ever done a charity run, or a TNT race?  If so was your experience negative or positive, and would you do it again?

I’d love to hear your stories, if you want to share!

In running news, I did five today, a good strong five after taking a day off I normally don’t take. This week I’m running four days instead of five as I make my switch in schedules and it is going well. I don’t feel as burned out. Tomorrow I’m doing my bike and run, probably 4 or 5 on the bike and 3-4 running.

In non running news, I trimmed my hedges today. Sounds like fun, and it was, but it’s tough work! It took an hour to trim and an hour to clean up. Now my body is slightly sore! So while the kids take quiet time, I’m off to do some reading and, shhh, possibly catch twenty minutes of shut eye!

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Question of the Week: What do You Drink on Long Humid Runs?

April 13, 2009 By 6 Comments

So as I move into summer and humidity, my mortal enemy (humidity and heat, not necessarily summer!), I’m dreading the potential issues that come with hot weather running.

Last September we house hunted here. It was hot, yes, but not brutally so – but the humidity was out of control!

I’m not sure what happened – I was drinking before, during, and after my six miler. I felt something was wrong before I finished up the run, and though I was running with someone and could have continued on a few more miles (I was supposed to do ten), I knew when I got to six I was spent.

I went back to the condo and all of a sudden felt incredibly sick. I had to use the bathroom, but could barely remain upright. I ended up on my back on the sofa, chugging gatorade but still feeling sick and weak. We had houses to look at but my husband said maybe I should stay back. I was afraid, too, though; I felt so sick I wondered for a bit if I should go to the hospital.

During my run, I drank two bottles of water, one mixed with gatorade, and I continued to drink after. I ran 6 miles.

So, to say I’m scared of summertime running in south Georgia is not a lie! Though I was not used to the heat and humidity that day, it wasn’t as hot as it will get.

I’ve been training here now for about four months, so I’m slowly becoming acclimated to the difference in temperature from California. Still, the summer months scare me. I’m not sure if I should drink gatorade on lower runs – 4 milers – or stick with water. And should I go for all out gatorade on runs over 6, rather than mixing in water as I normally do?

What about you? What are your eating and drinking habits like when you run in the summer? Are you in a highly humid or very dry climate?

In other news . . . I changed my running schedule as promised. I ran a short 4 on Saturday, and on Easter morning I skipped my run and enjoyed the festivities with the family. This morning I did 9 miles. It was a good, strong 9 miler, too.

Hope you all had a nice Easter; I’ll be posting some photos of ours as soon as I get them uploaded on the computer.

Now, off to shower and get the oldest to school!

Happy Monday running, runners :0)

Filed Under: Reflections on Running, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , ,

Another Change in Workout Schedules

April 10, 2009 By 2 Comments

Does it seem to you that working out requires a constant change of schedules?

Just when I get it down, something happens to blow it all up!

Last night my husband said he wished I would run on Fridays instead of Saturdays, so we could sleep in together.

Now, Saturday has been my long run day for a loooong time! Yet I knew he always wanted it to not be. I hated saving it for Sunday; I really rather get it out of the way.

But, to keep marital relations in tact, I’m doing it: I’m making the switch!

I know, doesn’t seem like a big deal to some, but if you are a runner you know what this means: flopping many days, not just one!

So now my running schedule will be:

Sunday – long

Monday – short recovery

Tuesday – off

Wednesday – 5 or so

Thursday – 4 or so

Friday – 3 and a bike ride/swim

Saturday – Off

Of course this means either run tonight, four nights in a  row, or take two nights off. Still not sure what I’ll be doing.

In other news, my blood work all came back normal! The doctor seems to think my blood pressure could have been dropping, but as I posted earlier, I’m not convinced.

Since all is thankfully well, I’m going to be cutting back just a bit on my runs and eating more. I’ve gained back a few pounds already – I’m sick of eating all the time, but it’s working!

I added in the gatorade to my runs, and this Sunday – new long run day of course! – will be adding in eating a power bar during the run for the extra calories and energy.

So far, I have felt better this week. I believe the extra calories and the cross training is working.

And how have your runs been?

And happy Easter!

Filed Under: April 2009 Tagged With:

Doctor’s Visit & Tri Training – All in a Day’s Work

April 8, 2009 By 6 Comments

So yesterday I headed off to the doctor’s office for myself -something I rarely do.

Yet I felt that some things I’d been experiencing warranted a blood draw.

In the past three weeks I’ve been extremely tired. I’ve also had some episodes of dizziness/lightheadedness – one of which was the blackness washes over you as you walk across the room variety – no fun! I’ve also had a few headaches – one a migraine that not even ibuprofen could fix – and I’ve been feeling rather run down.

As a distance runner, I sometimes don’t know how much of what is going on with me is due to not training correctly and how much could be an issue – so I figured I’d let an expert decide.

I did find out a few things:

  1. I’m not anemic, my first thought
  2. My blood pressure is low but normal, she says, though it came back at 114, which looks ok from what I can tell (runners have lower blood pressure anyway and it appears low is under 90)

She mentioned I could be experiencing drops in my blood pressure throughout the day, which would explain dizziness.

I’m not so sure it is that, though. She did a CBC, and I’ll get the results in a few days.

I have tried not to google anything (lupus comes back!) but that’s hard for me. However, I believe part of this could be training related. I’m wondering if:

  1. I’m not getting enough sodium based on the change in humidity from Ca. to here
  2. I’m not getting enough food for my training needs (I have lost a few pounds and I’ve mentioned before that’s not good for me)
  3. I’m not getting enough rest

So, I’ve decided to make a few changes in my fitness and diet.

  1. Eat more calories. I’ve been doing this the past few days to see if I can bring my weight back up. I lost 3 1/2 lbs, which for me is quite a bit. I want to be back up to my regular weight as quickly as possible. I don’t want to have to keep a calorie journal because i do so poorly at this – and I don’t have time. But if need be, I will. (big sigh!)
  2. Drink Gatorade on long runs. I’d stopped doing this when my runs dropped below 10 miles. Now I’m at 10-12 so I want to add it back in. However, as humid as it is here in the summer, I think I’ll add it back in one runs over 5. And I will mix the gatorade with water since the straight stuff about kills me to drink!
  3. More rest. I’ve been going to bed and trying to get 8 hours a night.
  4. Drop back to 5 training days, two off. I added a day of running a while ago so I’m doing 5 days of cardio. Then I would do strength on Monday and Friday so I was actually working out -even if not cardio – almost everyday! Now I will only do 5 days, whatever I can fit in. That’s it!
  5. Cross train. I want to do my first tri next fall so I’m adding in swimming and biking – today I biked for the first time in a while, only 3.5 miles after a 3.1 mile run. When the pool warms up enough I’ll begin swimming.

I’m not sure if there is something weird going on in my body or if I’m just tired and overtraining and not training responsibly.

I do know that when I’m training for a race I’m very cautious about what I eat and what I weigh and how much I rest, and when I stop training all of those great words of wisdom head off with my running shoes. So, perhaps I’ve just been making poor choices.

In other news . . . .

I’m excited about cross training. I miss swimming, and think that once this summer ends and winter rolls in again I’m going to join the Y so I can continue swimming workouts. I really feel 5 days of running for me is a lot – maybe I’m not yet ready for that many miles and two young kids, or maybe I need to reconfigure my workouts some so I’m not always getting up at 5 AM and I can have some sleep in days.

I have to pull up the tri I want to do and post it. Once I get my goal out there, there will be no turning back!

Happy running (biking and swimming!) Off to the Burger King play area – yes, I said it, I do live in a small town now! – for some entertainment for the kids until I go grocery shopping. My mom is coming in for Easter and I have a new menu planned – can’t wait!

Filed Under: April 2009, Health and Running Tagged With: , ,

Food or Gels?

April 6, 2009 By 6 Comments

So I have been a food eater on my long runs. Anything over 12 miles, and around mile 7 I begin munching on something – usually a power bar, though in my first marathon I ate goldfish like they were going out of style (and then wouldn’t eat them for months after!)

Now I have a new strategy: Begin eating at mile 7 and make the power bar last for quite a few miles. If I eat too much too quickly my run suffers; if I don’t eat at all, my stomach feels empty.

I’ve tried gels, but don’t find they stick with me. Though they give me energy, I need something in my belly for the long haul.

So today’s question is this: When doing the distance, do you prefer to eat something or use a gel? And why? Also, at what mile do you begin?

No run today, just core and arms. Yesterday I did an easy 4 after Saturday’s 12. My legs felt good but tired. Still battling my weight. Today the scale dropped down so I’m 4 pounds lighter than i need to be. I ate everything in sightthe last two days, too, and when I say everything, I mean everything! If this doesn’t fix itself soon I’ll have to count calories, which I hate to do. I never carry through with it, it’s time consuming, and I just don’t have the extra minutes in the day!

Giveaway! Yes, we haven’t done this – I was so tired last week I didn’t come online, so today since my daughter is off for spring break she will be picking the winner of the core giveaway and I will post the results tomorrow. Good luck!

Happy Running!

Filed Under: April 2009, Question of the Week Tagged With:

Sometimes Even a Marathoner Needs a Training Reminder

April 4, 2009 By 2 Comments

I’ve had a tough week. I have been super tired and just haven’t felt up to the same level of running I”ve been doing. I’ve not skipped any runs, but I sure have skipped other things – fun things – and I’ve been getting about 8 hours of sleep every night – 10 one night!

I couldn’t figure out what was going on until my daughter pulled out the scale the other day and asked if she could weigh herself. When she was finished, I got on. I typically don’t weigh myself unless I’m in training, but I thought what the heck.

I’d lost three pounds.

Now for some this is no biggie – for me, a hugie. I’m always struggling to keep my weight up, particularly when I run. I don’t like to be rail thin, but that is what happens if I don’t eat enormous amounts of calories while running.

The fact that I had lost that much weight in just a few months startled me. So, I took a really hard look at my running routine yesterday and during my long run this morning (12 miles) to consider what could be happening.

This is what I realized:

  1. While I had cut back on mileage during Saturday’s long run, I had actually increased mileage during the week AND added on a new day – Sunday – so I could get used to running back to back.
  2. Since I was not running more than 10 on Saturdays I gave up both Gatorade and any type of nourishment during my longer runs (power bar, etc) that i used to eat if I was going over 8 miles.

It was like a lightbulb going off in my head – bing! – oh yea, Einstein, you are running a lot and not doing it the right way.

I always write about making sure you get enough fluids, using Gatorade for runs over 8 or so miles (esp. in the heat and humidity, of which we’ve had both), watchign calories so you are eating to run, and what do I do? I turn my back on all of this advice.

My last few long runs have been brutal, and I mean brutal, with me stopping a few times, feeling out of breath, and being dragged through the last mile or so at the end.

Today I had a gel pack at mile 7, I had gatorade and water mixed throughout the run, and I felt so, so, so much better – I was able to do 12, and felt I could do another mile or two if needed.

I also finished my last mile at a 7:49 pace! That astounded me. I have been interspersing speed with longer runs, and I will write about this tomorrow, but to be able to do this at the end of a 12 miler was great.

Heed my advice, which I shall, too, heed: if you are going over 6 miles, drink a mix of gatorade and water (esp. if it is hot outside!)

If you are going over 8 or so mile, also use a gel pack for added energy – or munch on a powerbar or goldfish or something along the way.

Watch the number of miles you are running per week and eat accordingly.

If you are falling out of training – the marathon is over, for instance – don’t forget that you are still running high miles (if you are ) and eat and run and plan accordingly. Don’t give all of that up because the day of the big race is over!

Today’s 12 miler was a great one. I’m hoping I am ‘back.’ It was tough feeling so sluggish this week.

Happy Running this weekend!

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