Half Marathon Training Week 3

Here we are, 3 weeks into the Run Less Run Faster program. Some of the workouts are about to get a little more interesting, but this week was still pretty basic.

Monday I suited up and headed to the pool for an easy kick workout. My shins are awfully sore, but I don't notice it in the pool at all, so I manage through the workout easily. The plan called for 20 lengths of kick and rest 20 sec. I include what I think is a reasonable warm up and cool down. I didn't notice a set one in the book. Maybe I should look closer. I was starting to feel a little bummed about the easiness of the swims, but I glanced ahead at the coming weeks... I'm gonna be pretty busy in the water  starting next week!! Yikes!!

Tuesday was track day of course, but I didn't get to run with Brecka, waaa!! The holiday crazy schedule has started, but hopefully we'll be able to do more runs together than not. I really enjoy them. It took me most of the night, but I finally made my way out for the warm up. My shin was in so much pain, by the time I got to the track and the warm up was finished I needed to go home and put on some Procompression calf sleeves. I needed more support desperately and they always do the trick. I made my way back to the track for Yasso 800's x6!! They needed to be held at 4:05. Due to the pain in my shin and my garmin under measuring a little, the splits were a little more all over the place and not as steady as I normally go for, but they were definitely reasonable. Finished up my cool down on the track, which I don't normally do, but it was dark, so the annoyance of the same sights isn't a problem, haha! Plus it was nice to have the rubber under my feet.

Wednesday has become one of my favorite days. Rest day is something I protect quite seriously. I still walk 10,000 steps as a challenge in one of my local MRTT groups, but it's something I'll probably continue. I like the movement and it helps work out some of the tightness I would otherwise just sit through.

Thursday is tempo day, but since it was Thanksgiving, it was Turkey Trot day!! 6 miles were on the schedule and our little neighborhood trot is a 5k or loop a second time for the 10k. Naturally I ran the 10k. I tried to tape up my shin, but it still hurt pretty badly, so I added some topical creams to help with the pain, took some ibuprofen, iced it and went to bed with hopes that it would be manageable. The plan says 2 easy, 3 @ 8:58, 1 easy, but I decided to go for broke and race that sucker. I wanted a PR if I could get one. And I DID!!! One day I'll have a sub 55:00, but this was not the year for it.

Flat Lovie

Flat Run Like the Winded

My sweet little Lovie has been telling me for the entire year she wanted to do the 5k. I took her out the evening before to walk the course so she knew which turns to make. She said she didn't want me to have to run with her, even though I offered over and over again. She complained of sore aching feet, after glancing down at her shoes, I knew why. We got done and headed to get her new shoes. We even managed to score an early black Friday deal on them. I also hooked her up with her own pair of crops and then Brecka provided us with a replacement top for my handheld water bottle for her. She was set to go! We flat runnered her the night before and off she went to bed.

Cheering in runners!

Just so proud of her. Goof!

Everyone I ran into after the race said she did a great job! They said she looked happy and strong! She finished in 41:10 and I could not be more proud of her. She finished her race and then stood to watch the other racers come in. Her cute little face was the first I noticed as I finished and it made me smile BIG! Boy I love that girl! As we were walking home after, she mentioned that her miles were for Jaylee!! Be still my heart! Later she told me she feels like she accomplished something big in her life...while smiling huge and gesturing big! I believe that was probably the runners high talking, but I'm so happy for her!

Friday is second cross training day, and I was ABSOLUTELY headed to the gym, but woke up with the worst migraine. Seriously! I had hopes, but it just didn't happen.

The resistance was at a 7!

Saturday long run day was to be 10 miles,  easy. If I had run with Brecka I would've done them on the road. Our plans didn't work out to go together, so I opted for the elliptical. My shin really is in an enormous amount of pain and I figured I should maybe reduce the amount of load bearing I put on it. So 10 miles on the elliptical! An hour and forty-two minutes on that thing! You know what isn't very fun? Using the elliptical for that long! Holy heck! I wanted to mimic running as much as I could and figured that was the best way to do it.

I finally got done and decided to pick up the cross training I missed. I really wanted to do it and the plan does say we can double up workouts once in a while, so I did. I decided on the rowing machine and tried to follow that workout. I wasn't clear on what tempo meant entirely, so I just kind of went with it since it was the first time using the rower. That is a tough workout!! My shins were screaming by the time I was done, haha. I wonder if that defeated the purpose of not running. Regardless, I love the rower now and will probably use that as my second cross training workout each week.

Overall a pretty great week three!! I do believe the shin pain will come to an end. I believe it is shin splints and nothing more, but I am trying to be smart about how to handle it. I am rolling them and my calves with my Worm and my m80roller. I even used my tens machine as well. I have a product called Arnicare that I apply and follow it up with doTERRA's Deep Blue rub. I wear Procompression socks and sleeves to add more support. I need to learn the right application for KT Tape as well. I'm sure that would help a lot if I knew how to do that the right way. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I need to start lifting. I really am anxious about it. I almost did a little on Saturday, but I had already been at the gym forever and needed to get home. Will this be the week that I can talk myself into gingerly adding it in?

A preview of my Hot Chocolate 15K costume!  Hopefully I can turn all that cute fabric into two of these cute skirts! 

Half Marathon Week 2

It's that time! Monday check in with the past week of training. To start off, I've noticed some tugging and pain in my IT band on the left leg. I'm praying like crazy I'm able to avoid being sidelined by it. If anyone has some sure fire ways of healing it (besides foam rolling it) I'm all ears! I also have shin splints in my right leg, but I believe as I swim more and stretch those muscles, it'll work itself out. I will ice and roll as needed and wear Procompression socks also. Back muscle recovery is coming along. The massage therapist said she was able to feel individual muscles this time instead of one big brick, so that's good progress. I will continue to work on loosening those muscles at home with the theracane I'm borrowing, my Original Worm and utilizing my tens unit between those appointments. I'm anxious to start lifting weights because of the pain I had experienced which finally drove me to the chiropractor in the first place, but I know it's time. I'll admit, I'm also dealing with the "I don't wanna look like a wimp lifting such light weights at the gym" social stigma. I'm vain, just like the next person, but I need to start somewhere and light is where to start.

Monday was swim day!! I actually really look forward to this workout, but it was really cold that day (wind and rain) and getting myself out the door to the gym took some serious effort. I finally made it down there, and of course loved it! The workout this time was 20 sets of swim down, rest 15 sec, kick back, rest 20 sec. I felt pretty strong but noticed that, as with running, when I start to get tired my form slips. Something I really need to clean up for a more streamlined workout. My treat when I'm done? The steam room and the jacuzzi!! My Garmin doesn't track swimming inside of a gym (no satellite pick up) and also doesn't track lap pace very well anyway, but I am able to use it to track time and splits. It took me a little bit to get into that groove and how I wanted to record each split. Once I figured it out (it took three individual workouts, haha) it was perfect! I'm able to go into Garmin Connect and adjust it to a swim workout and leave a note for myself.

Next up, track Tuesday with Brecka! It was our first ladder workout ever. I was both excited to do something different, but also anxious at the speeds we needed to hold. Then there's time conversion. I'm not strong in math at all, so figuring out the time we needed to run a 600 meter and 1200 meter in was a struggle. My rough estimate got us pretty close, so just some minor adjustments need to be made for the future. The workout went as follows 400 @ 2:00, 600 @ 3:02, 800 @ 4:05, 1200 @ 6:13 and then back down again. There was a 400 meter recovery between each split (one lap around the track). I ran most of them, but walked the ones sandwiching the 1200. I was spent. The first part of the workout I was fighting to stay down in the required split time, the back end of the workout I was struggling to stay up. I managed to nail each speed, but what a struggle!! We included the warm up and cool down, something we're  going to be pretty strict about. We don't have another workout like this one in the plan, but it was good to get that experience. It's something I could do just to shake things up when I'm not really training!

Flowers after a rough day!

Emergency hair cut! At 9:00 pm!

Wednesday. Oh Wednesday. I had a chiropractic and massage therapy appt scheduled for Friday, and then we were headed out of town, so I knew I wasn't going to be available for the second cross training day. I decided earlier in the week that I'd do it Wednesday. And then. Life. Work was awful. I'm an aide in the special education program and work mostly in autism. This year I have some "unofficial" kids I help, so I'm really busy! Anyway, I spent the whole morning almost begging the kids to do their work! When I got home, my three sweet children decided to show me just how hard parenting these ages can be! It was NOT a win for the Owens family. By the time I was done dealing with each situation it was nearly 10:00 pm!! Some will say "No Excuses!" But I say, some days, it's okay to throw in the towel and say enough is enough! I ate a chocolate candy bar and sat in a bath of Epsom salts and my sweet husband rubbed out my back and legs! It was more appreciated than he may ever know!

Thursday is tempo day!! I actually kind of like tempo Thursday, and this time I got to run with Brecka, which I won't get to do very often for this run! We were both signed up to run the Girls Run Fast virtual 10k, so we used this run to help knock that out! Our warm up mile was probably a little too slow, but regardless the tempo miles (supposed to be 9:15) were spot on (slightly faster, but that's okay)! Thank goodness for a cool down mile, I was sucking air by the end of that and was grateful for the slower pace!! Phew! I can't wait to get my medal for this race! It's cute!

Friday, of course, unplanned rest day. The chiropractor is always tough (though my adjustment was kinda sub par this time) and massage therapy is NOT the same as a massage at Massage Envy! Holy hurt! I know long term it's going to really help a lot, but it definitely takes my breath away!

What happened to me on Saturday is why you check and double check what week you just looked at on your plan. I thought I was supposed to do 10 miles. I was a week ahead and really should've only done 9!!! It's only one extra mile, but that extra mile was TOUGH!!! I was in Tucson visiting my parents and did not sleep hardly at all that night. I had a great reason to skip it, and almost did, but knew I needed to get out there. I geared up and left an hour later than planned.

This went uphill forever!!! One of the only sidewalks.

I forgot there are virtually NO SIDEWALKS where I live in Tucson and had to run in the dirt and rocks on the shoulder of the road, BARELY OFF the road! So scary! I kept a keen eye on the traffic ahead of me and took advantage of any breaks where I could run on the street instead. One of the streets was ALL UP HILL! I knew it would be, but I underestimated how it would feel. I was struggling so hard! I knew my pace would slow right away and I was okay with it, but I wasn't prepared for how this would feel. By mile 3 I was walking! I don't see it as a weakness at all. My poor body needed the break. It wasn't much elevation gain truthfully, but it was more than I was used to.

Dirt path to help the mental game!

Honey packets and Cocogo for the win!

I made a quick pit stop at the grocery store and then another at a convenience store down the road. Now I was running on familiar territory from old cross country and track years at this point. I found a dirt path that we used to run down all the time, so I decided to off road it a little bit. I remember it being longer, but it was nice for the mental game that was happening. I came out, fueled up with honey packets and Cocogo, and dug deep to finish up. Those last 4 miles were something else. I started to bring my pace back down, but couldn't keep it. It's okay though. This is where ending at the scheduled 9 miles would've been nice, haha! That 10th was sooo hard, I was running back up a hill to finish, and well, it wasn't pretty.

I'm still very happy with this training program and am looking forward to week three. My goal this week, to attempt to PR my turkey trot on Thursday, and to quite drinking soda and reevaluate how I'm eating to get back on track. Also, I HAVE to get in that second cross training workout! It will happen this week!

How do you recover after a hard week of training?

Half Marathon Training Starts!!

So, I'm going to try something a little different this training cycle while preparing for the Phoenix Half Marathon. I'm going to try and blog about it! This is only my third year running again, and still my first year racing. I've done two half marathons and a few 5k's, a 12k and a 10k. So I'm still learning about what works for me and what doesn't. For my first half marathon I used the Runkeeper app and a training plan it had. It was A LOT of miles and I wound up grounded for three weeks with horrible IT band pain the month before the race. I still made it to the starting line, but I was still injured.

I had been looking into using a different training plan, but didn't know which one. There are so many out there, each promising to get you right where you wanna be. Then one night my best running friend, Brecka, messaged me and said she was pretty sure she's going to use the Run Less Run Faster program to train, and asked what I was going to use.

Now this is a plan I had looked at, but haven't heard much about. I figured, if I use it, we could train together and maybe it would help keep me on track to have a friend to run with and an accountability partner for completing cross training workouts. So I bought the app for my phone, ordered the book from Amazon, set a finish time, and got excited at the prospect of not having to run as much using this program.

Current read. We affectionately call it the "Running Bible" or the "RB".

I haven't quite finished reading the book, I'm almost done, but I LOVE the way training is set up! 3 running days and 2 cross training days. The running days include a track workout, a tempo workout, and a long run, all paces are worked out for you based on your time from a finished race and desired finish time. The cross training for each week has already been planned as well, all you have to decide is which of the two workouts you want to do. There's a lot of information in the book. If you plan to use the program I suggest buying it. Here at Amazon it's cheaper than in the bookstore.

I'm choosing to not disclose my finish time, simply because everyone has some kind of opinion of how fast someone should be able to run. If you follow the same plan, you may be able to figure that out of course.

I have chosen to use the swim as one of my cross training workouts and will alternate between the bike and rowing for the other one. I will also be adding in some strength training to help build muscle and for overall strength and health, even though the plan doesn't necessarily recommend that.

I've just finished week one. I'm starting off injured, which of course isn't ideal, but I know if I listen closely to my body, I should be okay. Monday and Friday will be cross training days, Tuesday track, Thursday tempo and Saturday long run with Wednesday and Sunday as rest days.

Monday's swim workout was actually quite easy. It involved 20 lengths of the pool only kicking with 30sec rest in between. I was a swimmer in a past life, so it really wasn't difficult and made me want to do more, but I'm going to trust the process and follow the plan as closely as I can. In the book it talks about how swimming can loosen the ankles of a runner and help with lower leg power. I also wear short flippers (Finnis Zoomers) which I've read help force your feet to kick the right way. I always wind up with minor shin splints when I start swimming again, I'm hoping that it's just all of the muscles loosening up and the issue will be a short lived one. I also lifted a small circuit of lighter weights for legs that day. I have a hamstring injury (likely tight muscles) and am trying to help strengthen my legs overall. I really miss lifting and am happy to be back in the gym again.

Tuesday was my first track workout and the first workout I was able to do with Brecka! She'd never done speed work like this before so I was pretty excited for her and for our chance to run together!! The workout called for 12 times 400 lengths at 2:00 each and a 90 sec recovery interval. My legs were pretty sore from the previous day's weight lifting, but I managed to nail each one of them at 1:59. We are also doing the required warm up and cool down, which I've never done before, but we're both pretty serious about not getting more, or re, injured!

Wednesday was a rest day, and thank goodness for that! I'm already tired!!

Thursday had me a little worried. The first two miles were to be spent warming up and working your way to your tempo pace. I had not run at any of those paces in a really long time and was anxious at the prospect of having to do so now. What if I bombed it?!! After a quick pep text from Brecka I finally made my way out there to tackle it. Not even a mile in, my Garmin died. That can't be a good sign right? I walked myself home and charged it up just enough to finish the workout. To my surprise, I completely nailed every pace and held the tempos 100% steady! That is a good feeling!
 

Friday was meant to be a cross training day, and I was looking forward to it, but I was having some serious pain in my lower back. I had inadvertently bruised some muscles while trying to roll out my upper back where there's another injury (super tight lats and traps). I decided to rest so I would be ready for the long run on Saturday. It was a good choice. I'll get the second cross training workout this week.

Saturday's run was pretty much perfect! It was amazing weather, a little cold, but not so bad it was uncomfortable, sunny (eventually, we started in the dark) and gorgeous! Brecka and I nailed paces, though a little scattered, and came in under the recommended pace time by 5 sec. Not something we should necessarily do, but GPS is a little wonky on the canal, so we'll make do.

Overall this week's training was pretty much perfect! I loved every minute of it. The sore muscles (not the painful ones), the nerves, the success, the friend! It was great. Some things I still need to work on... adding in upper body lifting. I'm recovering from too tight muscles in my left traps and lats and have been given permission from the chiropractor to start lifting light weights, but to be careful. I will hopefully have another appt this weekend to help work out the knots. I also need to start eating way better. I am not currently eating to perform, and that is not okay. The demands of training means I've got to fuel right. I'm learning, and I'll get there.

If you're still here reading, congrats! That was a lot to go through, haha! Thanks for sticking around and following my journey thus far! I am excited for this training cycle and where I could be in the next 16 weeks! Maybe a PR!

  

Also, are you wondering about the wraps I'm wearing with the positive mantras on them?  Let me tell you about them quickly.  I'll do a separate post about them in further detail, later.  The company is called Momentum Jewelry and the wraps I'm wearing are Motivate Wraps.  I've recently become an ambassador for them, and I couldn't be more excited!!  Right now if you sign up at their website to receive their newsletter (don't worry, they won't spam you), you will receive a 20% coupon code to order from them!!  Sounds like a good deal to me!!  I LOVE my wraps and recently made a huge order.  I've already got in mind the next ones I want for my next order!!  Head over now and get signed up!!

Tuvizo 2 Go Waist Pack

I have been lucky enough to be asked by Tuvizo to ambassador for them. What an honor to be asked by a small company to help get the word out there about their brand! I'm completely humbled by their faith in me.

As you may remember, I mentioned I would be testing out their new 2 go waist pack this week. You may have heard of other sport belts out there. They are of varying sizes and have different styles of pockets. Tuvizo has thrown their hat into the ring with their belt and I can give you an idea of how it works for me!

The first thing I always think, is running. How can this work for me to run? I hate carrying things in my hands as I run (though I do make exceptions for handheld water bottles as long as they work well) so using a waist pack has come in very handy for me. I have one I use regularly, but am always willing to try new things. Tuvizo asked if I'd test it out for them and write an honest review, and of course I said, yes! Send it on out!

***Disclaimer: I received a free pack in exchange for my review. Below are my own honest opinions on the pack.

I've been able to take this out on two different runs. One was a speed workout on the track, and the other was a long run of moderate speed. I also wore it to the gym, because having to carry around your keys, phone, headphones, and anything else (ipod, mp3 players, whatever it is) is annoying having to pick them up from and drop onto the floor, the whole time your there, as you move from one machine to the next. And how many of us have accidentally left keys in the treadmill bottle holder? Well, I guess maybe just me, but I'm sure there's someone else out there who does that stuff from time to time!

Front view

Headphone slot in the back of the pack.

The first thing I noticed right away was the size of the pocket! It's huge, without looking huge! My phone EASILY fit inside of it...along with fuel for the long run, my keys... and I had so much room to spare. Looking for things inside it is not hard, and even with all of that it there, it laid pretty flat against my body for discreet use. I also noticed there is a headphone port in the back of the pack, which I have never seen in a belt before!! I lost my headphones, so I currently don't need that option, but it actually made me pretty excited to see it! The second thing was how stretchy the elastic waist belt part was. The elasticity of the Tuvizo vest is perfect, but I was a little worried about it for the belt and bounce. The third and final thing, is the weight... or the lack of weight!! It is such a light pack!!! I love that!

For the gym, I loved the Tuvizo pack. It was easy to get at everything in it. I used the elliptical without noticing any bounce in the belt and then was able to lift weights with it on. The only machine I had a hard time with was the leg press, I pushed the buckle of the belt into my back, which of course hurt pretty badly. It was the only one I had a problem with though.

Wear it in the front...

...or wear it in the back!!

My first run was a speed workout on the track. It meant I was going to be running as quickly as my legs could take me. It ended up being a pretty long run by the time I was done. I wore the belt low on my hips under my shirts. It bounced quite a bit, even with adjustments, which was a little harder because of the elasticity of the belt. I didn't have too much in it, thankfully. While I noticed the bounce, it wasn't overwhelming and I was able to do my run with little to no hindrance. Later though I noticed a chafe spot on my waist from where the pack had ridden up and I didn't notice. It's not really bad, but you never want gear to chafe.

My second run I took it on was a long run with moderate speed. I started with it loaded up, around my hips, under my shirt again. About a mile in, I could feel it rubbing that same spot so I quickly adjusted it over the top of my shirt and higher on my hips. There was a little less bounce, and no more chafing! So that was a win!!

No flapping extra length straps!  Good thinking Tuvizo!

Adjusting the pack isn't hard and the straps are held down with a small loop so those aren't flapping in the wind, but when I run those move a little. I found myself adjusting them often. While it doesn't really interrupt the run, adjusting gear isn't my favorite thing to do either. I'm not giving up on this pack. I believe it will work well, sometimes it just takes a few extra tries to make it work just right.

While running with this pack is currently causing a small problem for me (I will work with it and update accordingly), it absolutely has a place. I could see this working very well for a cyclist or even someone out for a walk with the same problem of not wanting to hold everything in their hands.

My handsome model, how it fits on a child.

The strap loops don't hold it down on the littles.

Another thing I thought of was HIKING! We hike with our children a few times every year. They have a hydration pack that we pack a few snacks in for them to carry. Well, if they want to get at their snacks while we're walking, we have to stop, take the packs off, dig out their snacks, and then continue on. Then stop again to put everything away. As such, we stop, eat a snack and then continue on after we've put everything away. This waist pack would be an amazing fix to that problem. It's so light there's almost no extra weight for the kids! It's big enough to fit in several small snacks to keep them moving! I've thought about upgrading their packs several times just to give them a little more room, but replacing a hydration pack is expensive. If we were to add the waist pack, it would allow more room for the kids and save us tons of money! It is something for us to consider! (The pack was not made with children in mind, so the extra length of straps will lay to the side of them.)

I remember the last time we hiked, I had been wishing I had brought my other belt I use all the time.  I switch between the use of a camera and my phone camera and it's hard to hold both while hiking. I actually think this Tuvizo pack will work WAY better for my own hiking needs, than the one I generally use for running.

For some runners this pack may be the perfect match (go here to read other reviews). Just because it didn't work for me that way doesn't mean it won't work for you. It's great quality and really looks nice. With so much room, it's the perfect addition to your ride, walk, hike or just day to day if you don't want to carry around a purse. It's discreet enough to wear under a shirt and not draw a lot of attention to if you don't want it to!

Thank you Tuvizo for the opportunity to test it out. I haven't lost hope for it working on the run and will continue to use it making the necessary adjustments needed to try and make it work on the go!