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Saturday, August 28, 2010

PDR

Thursday
My legs were feeling a bit tired, so Matt and I took a power walk around the neighborhood.  We went 3 miles in 50 minutes.  It was great to take it a little bit easy and catch up with my husband.  We also left around 8pm, so I was glad to have him once it got dark out!
Taken on our honeymoon...not Thursday's walk!

Friday
I've been trying to lift weights twice a week while marathon training.  Before I started training I was lifting 3 times per week.  I knew that once I was running so much that I would not have the energy to lift that often.  I started the program outlined in the book "The New Rules of Lifting for Women."  As a 2x P90X graduate, I have to say that I like The New Rules better.  There are 7 stages and I'm on stage 4 right now.  I'm looking forward to stage 6 when we work doing a chin-up.  I have never been able to do one and it is on my life goals list.

I also did some baking.  I adapted Angela's Carrot Cake Power Scuffins.
I am calling mine Chocolate Coconut Carrot Scuffins (got to love the alliteration!).


  • Flax egg: 1 tbsp ground flax + 3 tbsp water, mixed and set aside for 5 mins
  • 1 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking power
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1.5 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup regular oats
  • 2/3 cup brown sugar
  • 2 tbsp canola oil
  • 1/2 cup plain yogurt (though I think vanilla might be better)
  • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 1 cup shredded or grated carrots (approx 2 medium)
  • 1/4 cup coconut
  • 1/4 cup chopped walnuts



Preheat oven to 350.  Mix flax and water in medium bowl.  Set aside.  Whisk together dry ingredients (flour through brown sugar).  Add wet (oil, yogurt, vanilla, and carrots) to the flax egg.  Add wet to dry and mix just until incorporated.  Add coconut and walnuts and mix to disperse.  I got 17 scuffins.  I scooped 1/8 cup onto silpat mats.  Bake for 25 minutes.


These smelled awesome and taste great.  They aren't super sweet and I found that they were perfect for pre-run fuel.  


Saturday
I ate three of my scuffins with peanut butter and a bunch of water before my run this morning.  I also packed one for a mid-run snack.  I was on my way out the door and turned on my garmin.  My low battery alert popped up.  Not sure how that happened.  I came back in and charged it for 20 minutes but it still died on me during my run.  


I ran a PDR today!  Running 14 miles really didn't seem that much further than a half marathon.  But it still feels great!  I'm guessing I finished around 2 hours and 30 minutes.  My garmin died at 13.68 miles.  If only it could have hung on a little bit longer :(


I ran on the Montour Trail today.  I about 4 miles away from the trailhead.  This way I was able to run through the awesomest part of the trail:



A tunnel!  It's pretty fun to run through.


O.k.  I have a full day of a little bit of relaxing and a little bit of work ahead of me.  

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Rainy Tempo

It rained tonight during my tempo run!  It was actually pretty cool because it started sprinkling halfway through my warm-up and picked up when I did my tempo and stopped raining after my last tempo.

On the plan for tonight was run hard (between 7:30 and 10 minute miles) for 5 minutes and then easy for 2 minutes.  I did this 3 times.  In all it was 41 minutes (including warm-up and cool down).  I went 4.08 miles which surprised me!


Isn't that a cool picture?

I'm still having a problem keeping full.  My stomach always seems to be grumbling.  I have an appointment with the dietician next Thursday.  I'm excited to see what she has to say.

Yesterday I did a 20 minute Yoga for Runners.  It felt good to practice yoga.  I seems to be fairly flexible...probably from all the stretching I've been doing after my runs.  That reminds me.  Need to stretch before I go to bed.  Night!

Monday, August 23, 2010

Catch Up!

Last Thursday I had planned to run 50 minutes (run 9, walk 1) but that didn't happen!  My leggies were tired after that speed sesh.  So Friday morning it was.  I don't really remember this run.  I'm guessing it didn't go to badly though because I went 4.72 miles.  I think the weather was a little bit cooler too.


Friday night I made some cauliflower macaroni and cheese to fuel for Saturday's run.  It was o.k. but not the best.  It did the trick though because I had enough glycogen to get me through 12 miles.  Saturday dawned bright and early because I knew it was going to be hot and humid.  I was on the trail by 7:45am.  I filled up my camel bak knock off with diluted gatorade on Friday and put it in the freezer.  Saturday morning I added some water.  This was awesome and really helped me get through my run.  It stayed cold through mile 10.  One mistake I made was not bringing any kind of sustenance for the run.  My stomach was grumbly rumbly around mile 7 and I want to eat my arm by the time I got back home.

I went on the River Trail in Pittsburgh.  It's official name is Three Rivers Heritage Trail.  It is an awesome trail system.  I almost always run on the North Shore Trail because the trail head off Beaver Ave. is not too far from my house.  I got to enjoy some lovely views of Pittsburgh and I was reminded that living here isn't all bad.  Sorry for the crappy photo quality.  It took these photos with my phone.
By the casino.  Dahn-tahn in the background.
Downtown
Duquesne Incline


The best (worst?) part of this trail is the jail!  This building is old and decrepit but they still use it.  In all seriousness, I have never felt unsafe running by the jail.  There is always security patrolling and there is tons of barbed wire fence.  And for some reason the fishing must be awesome by the jail because there has always been at least one person fishing when I have ran there.  

Today was an easy run day.  I went 4.83 miles in 50 minutes.  My legs felt like bricks!  I thought I was flying and I would look at my garmin and my pace was 10:30min/mile.  But the weather this week is going to be off the hook.  In the 70s everyday.  I think I'm in heaven :)



I was looking ahead at my training plan and our plans for this fall.  My 22 miler falls on the weekend of Matt's cousin's wedding.  We are staying with my aunt and uncle Friday night and at a hotel on Saturday.  I think I found a trail near my aunt and uncle's so I'm hoping to get my run in Saturday morning before the wedding.  I don't think I would be very motivated to go after the wedding.  I was thinking of moving the 22 miler up or back a week.  But that weekend is 3 weeks before the marathon.  I don't really want to run 22 miles 2 weeks before the marathon and think it would be too far out to run 22 miles 4 weeks before the marathon.  But we'll see what happens.  

Cross training day tomorrow.  I think I will ride my bike (haven't ridden since July I think!) and lift some iron.  Night!



Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Tired!

Who is tired from marathon training?  I am!  I feel like I can't get enough sleep.  I know I am not exhausted because I have tons of energy for daily activities and my training runs, but getting up in the morning sucks! I think I might not be eating something?  I'm planning to make an appointment with one of the university's dietitians so I can make sure I am fueling properly.

Yesterday I had another awesome run.  I had a library book to return and a book to pick up.  I decided to make it and errand run!  I ran from Shadyside to Oakland and back.  It was about 3.6 miles which took me 37ish minutes.  I ran around the block where I park to round out my 50 minute run.  I completed 4.92 miles.  It was kind of hot out but not unbearable like it has been for all of the summer.

Tonight, Matt and I went to the local track so I could do another speed workout.  10 minute warm up, 2 minutes hard, 2 minutes easy x6, 10 minute cool down.  I did 4.1 miles.  I thought it was going to be a crappy run because Matt and I had a miscommunication about when we were going so I chowed down on a bunch of honey wheat pretzels about 2 minutes before we left.  Surprisingly it was a fun run.  Speedy runs always go by really fast.

I'm off to eat some split pea soup and then going to bed!

I was looking through our honeymoon pictures today.  This is one of my favorites.

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Slow and Steady

Friday
On Thursday I was meant to run for 50 minutes (running 9 minutes, walking 1 minute).  But boy were my legs a little tired from the speed workout at the track on Wednesday.  So I used Thursday as a rest day.  It was wonderful.  I even went to bed early and woke up well rested Friday morning to tackle my run.  I wanted to keep this run nice and easy.  I went 4.44 miles.  It was beautiful outside.  I need to remember that running in the morning before work is so worth it. I'm going to try this week to do my Monday and Thursday run in the morning.  The only worrisome thing was my right hip started to hurt a little bit.  I stretched for about 30 minutes after and it felt considerably better.


Friday night I did some baking.  I made zucchini muffins.  I used this recipe.  They turned out yummy.  Not too sweet.  I'm going to use them for snacks and pre-run fuel.


Saturday
I fueled my 10 mile run with 2 of the mini muffins I made last night.  They digested really well and I didn't have any stomach issues.  I went slow and steady today.  I finished in 1:44:34.

I slowed down my pace because I was worried about my hip but it didn't feel achy like it did yesterday.  I know that my hamstrings and IT band get especially tight and I haven't been stretching like I had the first couple weeks of training.  I also need to get new shoes (it's been a year and I've trained and ran for 2 half marathons with these babies).  I will most likely be heading to Elite Runners by the end of the month.

I'm working my way up to an ice bath.  The past two weeks I've just sat in the tub filled with cold water for 10-15 minutes.  It's actually not too bad once you are used to it.  

I'm running a half marathon in 3 weeks!  I'm signed up for the Aliferis Memorial Half Marathon in Alpena, MI.  Last year was the inaugural event for the half.  Hopefully the race directors took our suggestions and have improved it (there were not enough water stations and the course wasn't marked well-->some people ran about 2 miles out of their way).  I'm planning to run 3 miles before the race and then the half to get my 16 miles in.  I'm excited, mostly to see my family and to use my mom's foam roller (though I'm going to try to convince Matt to buy me one today).

'Til Monday! Happy Weekend

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Speedy!

Going to make this short and sweet so I can get to bed.

This morning I finished the second half of yesterday's 50 minute run.  It was cooler outside than in the evenings but just as humid.  It felt like I was running through pudding.  I don't know how I managed this but I ran 2.59 miles in 25 minutes.  I felt really sluggish but somehow my legs just wanted to go!

This evening I had a speed workout per my training plan.  On our menu for tonight was chicken wings (my husband and I plan out all of our meals two weeks in advance, go grocery shopping, then we don't have to figure out what's for dinner).  I knew a speed workout+chicken wings would =Katy feeling like crap.  So I had a peanut butter sandwich, watermelon, and water.  It ended up being the perfect fuel.  So here was the speed work:

Warm-up: 10 minutes
Repeat 6 times: 2 minutes fast, 2 minutes easy
Cool down: 10 minutes.
Distance: 4.29 miles

My husband and I went to the local high school track for this.  It was a lot of fun and I didn't have to worry about possibly getting hit by a car or something running around our house.

Let me just say that I will be glad when the weather is back in the 70s so I can run after work.

Off to bed!

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Short and Sweet

This is what it is like right now in Pittsburgh:

As soon as I started running I knew I wasn't going to make it the entire 50 minutes that I was scheduled to run.  So I decided to split it up into 2 runs.  25 minutes tonight and 25 minutes tomorrow morning before work.  Now that will mean that I will run twice tomorrow.  But I'm o.k. with that because it is supposed to be cooler tomorrow (I'm crossing my fingers that it is).  

I'm just going to take a second to say how much the weather has sucked this summer in Pittsburgh.  I hate, hate, hate hot and humid weather.  My husband and I have not been happy campers this summer.  

O.k.  back to the run.  It actually wasn't bad because I knew it would be over soon.  I wanted to run faster than 10 minute miles and I succeeded.  


P.S.  Watermelon is the best post run snack!

Sunday, August 8, 2010

Milestone, 3 Runs, and a Tip!


Milestone
So I have passed the 200 mile mark! On Thursday I hit 200 miles since May 23 (my anniversary). I wanted a Garmin Forerunner 305 for my birthday. My husband gave it to me about 3 weeks early on our anniversary.
3 Runs
Thursday I did 50 minutes, running 9 minutes, walking 1 minute.
Distance: 4.67mi
Thoughts: This run was pretty easy but I had a very spicy dinner. It kind of made my throat burn!
Friday I ran 50 minutes.
Distance: 4.78mi
Thoughts:  I went right after work because it was only in the mid 70s. The weather was awesome. The run was not! I even went to one of my favorite trails in Pittsburgh. If you haven't checked out the north side of the River trail, it is definitely worth it. I ran on Herr's Island which has ritzy condos and lots of government buildings dealing with water.
Saturday Long Run-9 miles. I really love my training plan because it incorporates walking. 9 minutes of running, 1 minute of walking. During the walking drink from my knock off camel bak. It works awesome.
Time: 1:30:14










Thoughts: This run was great. When I finished I felt like I could have kept going! I ran on the Montour Trail. The trailhead is about a 10 minute drive from our house. This is the view I have for the majority of the run.









I drank diluted Gatorade and had some Gummy Bears during this run. It worked out well. Definitely had enough energy for the whole run. I fueled before hand with a sandwich thin with peanut butter on one half and chocolate peanut butter on the other.
Well I have a busy day ahead of me. We are going to a wedding and I have a bunch of house work to do.
Oh and the Tip
Put deodorant on before your long runs!   

Flickr

This is a test post from flickr, a fancy photo sharing thing.

Thursday, August 5, 2010

Can power walking be counted as a training run?

Yesterday I had every intention of getting up early and getting my training run in. Well, that didn't exactly happen. So I decided that I would go right after work. Well yesterday in Pittsburgh it was muggy and hot. It felt like walking in a bowl of cream of potato soup.


I had to run a bunch of errands yesterday so I decided to walk to Oakland, run my errands, and walk back to Shadyside. I wore my Garmin and I walked 3.56 miles in 1:01.


It started raining huge fat drops just as I was finishing up. And when I got out of work it was still storming. So I decided that today my power walk would count as my training run. Now I wouldn't suggest doing all of your marathon training as power walking unless you are going to power walk the marathon. But I think that once in a while, when life is working against you it will just have to do.


Going for a 50 minute easy run in a little bit per my training plan. I just finished dinner about 10 minutes ago. I haven't had too many problems with running after dinner as long as I wait about an hour after I'm done eating. Wish me luck!



Tuesday, August 3, 2010

It's Official!!

I bought my plan ticket to Santa Barbara last night! It's really sinking in right now that I'm actually going to be running a marathon.


This past weekend, my husband and I were in Michigan for a family reunion. I ran 8 miles on Saturday around my parent's farm. It was a pretty great run. I finished in 1:20:31. The temperature was in the mid-60s and it was overcast. Perfect for a run...not so perfect for a family reunion.


I'm using a training plan I found in Women's Running magazine. It incorporates walking into the long runs. So I run for 9 minutes and walk for 1 minute for the designated mileage. For 8 miles it wasn't so important. But I think for the higher mileage it will be very beneficial mentally.


Confession: I'm supposed to run Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday.


Confession: I didn't run Monday or today.


But I believe that every training plan needs flexibility. I've been really busy with lab because I am submitting a grant that is due tomorrow. So my plan for this week is to run Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. We'll see how that goes. I haven't run four days in a row in...forever!