Marathon training week 10

Our family, like many others, is in full back to school transition mode. I thrive on schedules and routines and I'm challenged by unpredictables. But I love spontaneity, go figure. Anyway, the point is that our schedules are slowly falling back into place but there are still a few pending issues: Staggered reading schedule for Isaac, the possibility of getting into a dual immersion program at a different school and all the decisions that come with that, and of course, the inevitable extra curricular activities. Who would have thought that a 5 and 2 year old could have such full lives? I'm trying to roll with the punches but truth be told, I just want the final draft. STAT!

I'm trying to stick closely to my training schedule but I've been flexible to some extent. Here is how this week played out:

Sunday: Rest (I should have run 3 miles here)
Monday: Holiday--extra rest day for me. Yay! (I should have done 9m here)
Tuesday: 6 x hill plus an additional 4 mile run and evening yoga (yay!) --I made up for my missed 9 mile run and added some hill work which was not part of this week's workout.
Wednesday: 6 x 800s plus 30 minutes on the cables (strength training) and walking lunges.
Thursday: off
Friday: 6 mile tempo run plus 4 miles to and from school run.
Saturday: 13 miles, easy run, some walking.

Overall a good week. I got my yoga in and a day of strength training. Next weekend run jumps to 19 miles so I need to gear up for that.

Total mileage: 35 miles (still not counting walking to school)




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Marathon training week 9

I took all of last week off from running. We were on vacation and I wanted to give my body a break. I've been training on and off for the last two years and my body is starting to take a toll. I notice that it takes longer for my body to recover after long runs, so I allow myself more resting time in between workouts and I take a week off at least every six months.

Getting back into full training mode after a week of lounging around is no easy feat. But fighting a sinus infection on top of it is really hard, so this week's workouts were tough. I still managed to get my mileage in but I ran slower than usual and I also took many walking breaks. I only lifted weights one day when I normally do two or three. I also skipped yoga because my equilibrium was off and I found it difficult to put my head down due to the sinus infection. I'm still pleased with this week's results because I did what I could.

Here are this week's stats:

Monday: 6 x 800s--5 miles
Tuesday: 4 mile run plus upper body workout
Wednesday: 50 min modified tempo (long intervals)--6 miles
Thursday: off
Friday: 7 mile run
Saturday: 17 mile run

Total mileage: 39 miles

I'm not counting walking to and from Isaac's school everyday which adds about 4 miles everyday. Not sure if I should be accounting for this but if I did I would be adding 20 miles a week(!) I need to look into it.






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Marathon training week 8

Total miles logged...........................0.

On vacation! :)


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Marathon training - Week 5 - shaking things up a bit

Training can at times be monotonous, so it is important to change things up a bit to keep the motivation up. An added bonus is that we challenge our bodies to work different muscles which is essential for building endurance and for injury prevention.

This week Isaac had vacation bible camp so I had a bit of flexibility for training. I was able to add one day of hill training thanks to the help of my awesome friend Indira.

Here is this week's stats:

Monday: 6 x 800s plus 40 mins of weight training and walking lunges. I was sore from this workout for the rest of the week. I hadn't worked on the machines for a while and my upper arms were jolted. Miles run: 5.

Tuesday: 5 x hill repeats. I started pushing the stroller with 2 babes and soon realized I was going to have to walk, a lot! I haven't done much hill training so I was very winded and slow. Fortunately a friend joined me and offered to push the stroller for me. Tough workout! I ran a total of 9 miles on this day but I incorporated park playtime, bike ride for Isaac, friendly conversations and a little bit of shopping. A well rounded day indeed.

Wednesday: I was amazed how fast my body recovered. I didn't have high expectations for this workout given my last two but I did a 2 mile tempo run plus a 50 min boot camp class which is high intervals of cardio alternated with weight training and core exercises.

Thursday: Off (yippee!)

Friday: My training plan has me do a "short" fast run on Fridays (5-10 miles) followed by a long run on Saturdays. This week I decided to do something very unconventional. On Friday I ran a total of 13 miles, 10 of which were at race pace (8:20 min mile) and the last 3 at near race pace (8:30 min mile). I ran this distance in a little under 2 hours with a couple breaks in between. I was elated.

Saturday: 8 miles, slow but in great company.

Total mileage: 37 miles

Coming up this weekend I am running a 25k in Angel Island with my awesome cousin, a birthday celebration for her. I'm very excited about it. I hope to capture some nice photos and share them here.

Have a great week!


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She is at it again!

Like childbirth pain, marathon training torture is quickly forgotten. A few short months after the "why do I keep doing this to myself?" reality check, we start getting itchy and looking around for the next event. At the time we sign up we are so stoked and filled with images of muscular legs crossing through the finish line, that we forget how much discipline, dedication, and sacrifice training really is. Sigh.

I'm running the Santa Barbara International marathon on November 8th. I started my official training 5 weeks ago and this weekend I ran 13 miles. Half way right? I wish. This is just the beginning. From here on it gets tough, very tough. Unfortunately I'm not one of those incredible people who wing marathons. I believe in hard core training. And it's not just the weekend long runs. This is what my weekly workouts look like:

Monday: 5 x 800 (800 meters ran one minute faster than race pace which for me is 7:20 minute miles) plus strength training.
Tuesday: 6 mile run
Wednesday: 40 minute tempo run (in a tempo run one increases speed gradually until reaching close to 800m pace and then gradually decreases it back to starting) plus strength training
Thursday: Off (yay!)
Friday: 6 miles race pace
Saturday: 13 miles
Sunday: 4 mile run plus yoga

Mileage and intensity increases weekly. I haven't been able to do hill work but I will need to add that too. This week my body felt tired, very tired. I napped almost everyday (thank God for Summer vacation!). I'm also sleeping more at night which helps my body recover. I'm more focused on nutrition, getting proper fuel pre and post workouts and making sure I hydrate enough. All the while I'm working to lose 9lbs (I've already lost 9!). And it's tough eating less when I'm exercising more. I'm also more mindful of my alcohol consumption, especially before my runs. I'm committing myself to this training so I want to do the very best I can.

I will be reporting on my weekly runs for those who care to follow. I'm currently working on 2 major goals:

1) increase speed (hence all the speed work and the weight loss goal)
2) remain injury free

This is currently my favorite post long run snack. Happy weekend everyone!




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Moving on

I thank God for a wonderful breastfeeding relationship with both my children. I was blessed to have abundant supply and few delivery issues. Isaac weaned himself at 13 months and I gently weaned Andrea (2.5yrs) over a period of six months. We were down to one nursing a day and this week we dropped it. I believe she saw it coming and was understanding. I hugged her, looked her in the eyes and said: Andrea, you are a big girl and mama loves you very much. "Boo-be" is all done. She smiled, said "Nah" but didn't fight back. We embraced and she hasn't asked since. I was ready and I believe she was too.

We are officially on to a new stage... Seeking independence and wanting to do everything her brother does.









And realizing that many things are out of our control




But life is very exciting! I'm loving being your side kick Andrea :)


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Good bye Jeans

I have made the decision to retire my jeans. Along with a bikini, blue eye shadow and navel piercingly, some things aren't meant to be forever. I am not making this choice out of a moment of frustration after a 20 minute battle with the zipper. Quite the contrary. I make this decision when my favorite size 2 Lucky jeans fit better than ever (thank you squats!).

I never really liked jeans. I got on board with the trend because I felt like I had to. Slacks and skirts were too dressy and sweats and shorts too casual. Dave is a jean lover so every time we went out he felt underdressed. So I caved. I found a great pair of jeans that I've owned for 6 years. Yes I only have one pair. I wore them out of necessity but I never felt quite comfortable in them. I never felt feminine or sexy either. And I questioned that they were ever appropriate attire for anything. After kids my body took a different shape and I liked them even less.

I held on to them out of spite. I wanted so desperately to fit back into them, I felt like a failure if I didn't. I cried when I looked at them yearning for my pre pregnancy body. I hated having them as an "option" to wear because they really weren't. Even when they zipped I felt like an overstuffed sausage in them. And yet, I was still determined to get back in them. And I did. And now I can happily let them go.

Good bye blue jeans! You were never meant for me.

Skirt lover

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