Weekly Training Update

Twas the calm before the storm.

Twas the week when my main objective was to take it easy, give my legs a chance to freshen up and get my mind in the game.

Twas my last week before training for the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon kicks off.

Historically, I have a hard time doing things like taking it easy but thanks to a couple friends and early morning wake-ups, I was able to do just that.

Monday's early-morning run downtown

Highlight: A runch in surprisingly mild conditions. The temp was in the 70s but there was a cool breeze and seemingly no humidity. I ended up tacking on an extra mile (three instead of four) to avoid the geese on the greenway and managed negative splits. I went back to work on Cloud 9.

Lowlight: I was tired and not necessarily feeling my long run on Friday. I felt like I was forcing a pace that would normally be easy. Thankfully, though, I had company from my BRF. I ran two miles solo and then met her for another 5. Even though we had to take cover in the YMCA from a lightning storm, thus running on the treadmill, we still managed a good conversation.

View from my runch

The week, in running:

tuesday
distance | 5 miles
time | 46:40
pace | 9:18

wednesday
distance | 4.1 miles
time | 36:36
pace | 8:53

thursday
distance | 3.1 miles
time | 29:23
pace | 9:26

friday
distance | 7 miles
time | 1:06:54
pace | 9:33

saturday
distance | 3.2 miles
time | 28:37
pace | 8:53

Weekly Workouts

"So you're one of those people," he said.

"He" was the kind man who took me up on my Facebook post in the run group for 8 miles at an easy pace – I was guessing 9:30 miles – early on Father's Day morning.

And by "those" he meant that I am possibly the person in a pack of runners who quietly, usually unintentionally pushes the pace.

He laughed. I laughed. And then I admitted that it was true. I never mean to pick up the pace or not run as advertised but it just happens. Mostly, when I am talking. I get excited about what I'm saying and, let's be honest, having a grown person to talk to that my feet follow suit.

But just as he was surprised at our 9:01 average for the run, I was floored. You see, after posts and posts bemoaning my lack of long runs, I did it. I got in more than 6 or 7 miles. Sure, it was 8.6 but it was more than anything I've done. I was worried I wouldn't be able to go the distance without significantly slowing down but there I was, that person on a run with somebody I never met.

Thankfully, he took it in stride. Literally.

And so that run capped off a decent week of workouts, giving me a much needed confidence boost with just a couple weeks to go until marathon training begins.

Here's how the week shook out:

tuesday
distance | 5 miles
time | 45:41    
pace | 9:06

wednesday
distance | 3 miles
time | 28:06    
pace | 9:20

thursday
distance | 5 miles
workout | 3 x 1-mile tempo w/0.25-mile recovery
time | 43:20    
pace | 8:40

friday
distance | 5 miles
time | 50:16    
pace | 10:01

sunday 
distance | 8.6 miles
time | 1:17:56    
pace | 9:01

Weekly Training Update {4/25-5/1}

We're getting there folks.

After nearly two weeks of lackluster runs after the Carmel half marathon, I got in some decent miles over the weekend that reminded me that recovery does not translate to lost fitness. If anything, it's letting the gains take up residence.

{Highlight} Running on the Chicago lakefront. There's something about being in a different city, being next to the water that just makes my heart happy. My girlfriends and I spent the weekend in the Windy city and when I was making up our itinerary, I made sure to plan some runs. On Saturday, we did a 5K near Soldier Field (not much to report – dreary, overcrowded and a race that's more about the cause than logistics). On Sunday, I went out by myself, running from our hotel to Navy Pier and back.

{Lowlight} Trying to push the pace too quickly after the half and when it didn't go so stellar, letting the races affect my confidence.

{On the humorous side} GPS maps from big city runs are always a joke – for me at least – as the tall buildings seem to affect satellite reception and thus data. My Garmin seemed to get it all right in the end but when the data was sent to Strava, my run went from 5 miles to 5.6 and it said I had a 6:48 last mile. I have never ran a sub-7 mile, and I doubt I would do it at the end of an easy run. Of course, maybe I woke up Kenyan and didn't get the memo.

The week, in training:

Tuesday: 5 miles
Wednesday: 4 miles
Thursday: 5 miles
Saturday: Chicago Police Memorial 5K
Sunday: 5 miles

Carmel Marathon Training {Weeks 13 and 14}

"Now that's a Healthy Strides quote," my friend Karen said as we stood in the parking lot at the trailhead on Saturday morning.

It was a balmy 27 degrees, supposed real feel of 17. There was a light dusting of snow on the grass and the asphalt had a thin coating of black ice. I was strapping on her extra pair of spikes (Due North brand, similar to these) and silently wondering how the hell we were going to run 8 miles. In those conditions. On April freaking ninth.

And so I made a comment about how ludicrous it was that my first run in traction aids was in spring, on this April day. Surprisingly, it didn't have any cuss words in it. We all know that if I had uttered any, I would write them here. It sure would have sounded better than my whiny McWhinester comment.

By the way, we ran those 8 miles just fine. The first half-mile was the diciest as the pavement was complete ice but as we got farther on the trail and I got more comfortable with the spikes, we were able to pick up the pace. Karen and I ran 5 miles and then picked up two more for the final three. By the time Tina and Shannon joined us, the sun had come out and the ice was melting a bit. We all opted for traction but for runners getting a later start, they would have been fine.

Taper for the Carmel half marathon began last week, and Mother Nature celebrated with another curve ball. I spent half the week on the treadmill  and the other half completely bundled up.

I'd shake my head and throw up my hands but the weather has been so insane (in two hours we had sun, rain, sleet, sun, hail, sun, snow) that I can only laugh ... and thank my lucky cards that I was logging shorter runs on the treadmill rather than pounding out 8 miles of intervals.

Here's how last week shaped up:

Monday: 5 miles, easy
Tuesday: 4 miles, 2 at race pace
Thursday: 5 miles, 5-4-3-2-1 intervals
Friday: 3.5 miles (with Denali!)
Saturday: 8 miles

And since I'll likely post a race recap in lieu of my last week of training, I thought I'd share what I'm doing this week.

Tuesday: 4.5 miles, mid-2 at race pace
Wednesday: Easy 4 miles with my BRF
Thursday or Friday: Easy 20 minutes to 3 miles
Saturday: 13.1 miles in Carmel!!!!!!!!!!!

Carmel Marathon Training {Week 11}

Last week will be known as the week of the tights. Otherwise known as the week winter came back to Fort Wayne. Otherwise known as the week I was reminded of the importance of checking the weather before getting dressed. Otherwise known as ... who gives a crap.

Week 11 of training was my favorite.

For a few reasons:

• The hardest workout was 6 miles with the goal to negative split the run (average pace of the first three miles slower than the average pace of the last three miles). My other runs were easy, easy and cross train.

• I had company for three of my runs. To top it off, the Saturday long run was the first time in months my ladies group was all together. Between injuries, holidays and crazy schedules, it's been two or three here and two or three there.

• My rest day was Sunday, and it was totes nice having a weekend day off.

• I couldn't even write a lowlight for the week if I wanted. My running felt good and my legs seemed to benefit from the rest.

I did make one swap. The plan had me down to do a 12-mile long run but after 15 the week before and 13 two weeks prior, I felt due for a cutback. Plus, I have a 20K on April 2 so I switched my March 26 long run (12 miles) for April 2nd's (10 miles).

The week, in running:

Monday: 5 miles, easy (with BRF Tami)
Tuesday: 3.1 miles
Thursday: 5 miles, treadmill (stupid windy)
Friday: 6 miles, negative split (stupid windy ... again)
Saturday: 10 miles

Carmel Marathon Training {Week 10}

"Why does this feel so hard?" I gasped.

We were about 13, 13.5 miles into our 15-mile run and headed directly into the wind.  Though our pace had remained steady, I felt like we had slowed by 30 seconds a mile – or more. My legs were tired

"Because it is hard," Joe said.

And hard it is. Running. Long distances. Running long distances after a long tempo the day before. Running long distances into the wind after a long tempo the day before. Mentally, it's tough to feel committed and confident to do a long run into the wind after a long tempo the day before.

This point in training is hard, too. I'm 10 weeks into a 15-week plan. I'm running a lot of quality miles and the race is close enough to second-guess goals but not close enough to get excited.

But I keep telling myself that there are training plans that are nice and training plans that make you better. This plan – no matter how much I curse it and its overachieving long runs and lengthy tempos – will make me better.

It is making me better.

I just need to do my part, find a way to make me better, because if I learned anything this week, it is that I need to bring my mental game to the table and not worry about what I've done or what I have to do.

A photo posted by Kimberly (@healthystrides) on Mar 15, 2016 at 8:09am PDT

Highlight: A solid pace during my hilly run. I had taught a challenging circuit class on Monday, and my legs were smartin'. I thought that I'd be slow, for sure, but it was at what could be goal pace ... or faster than goal pace ... or maybe just a smidge slower ;)

Lowlight: The struggle of the long run. It's hard to feel so challenged and then think about running 30 seconds to a minute per mile faster on race day. Actually, I was supposed to run that race pace (for 6 of the 15) on Saturday but I didn't even entertain the idea since I was with the group.

And that was weird ... I usually carry my phone with me during morning runs but don't always use it to listen to music. So, I guess it's for safety? Anyway, I had it with me on Tuesday for my hill run at a local cemetery. I used it once to grab pictures of the fog but otherwise just held it. About 45 minutes in, my Garmin alerts me to a text message from my co-worker.  "WTH," it read. I check the conversation and my phone had sent four pages of gibberish texts to him and another gal. I should say near gibberish because there were just random words. I have no idea how this happened but I think it an odd coincidence that I was in a cemetery.

The week, in running

Tuesday: 6 hilly miles
Thursday: 5 miles, early with my BRF
Friday: 6 miles, with 4 at tempo
Saturday: 15 miles

Carmel Marathon Training {Week 7}

"Neither rain, nor snow, nor sniffle, nor fever shall keep me from my training schedule." 

I couldn't have written that line from a Runner's World article better myself (which is why I didn't).

Halfway into a "race it" training plan for the Carmel half marathon, I was facing what might have been my toughest week yet. It wasn't the workouts on tap nor challenging weather conditions. Oh, no. Snow and wind – I laugh in your face ... and then run on the treadmill.

Rather, it was lack of sleep due to a sick baby and my own bout of illness. It started with some pressure in my sinuses. And then my nose started to drip. Congestion began to set in and then came the cough. Oh, the cough. It was persistent and dry, reminiscent of a long-time heavy smoker who moonlights as a adult phone operator.

I could have, understandably, phoned it in last week but the whole sick baby thing left me yearning to run more than ever.

So I consulted Dr. Google and Runner's World, finding solace in the "neck" rule – if symptoms are north, you are clear to go. South of the neck? Well, dose up and stay in bed.

This view is supported by research done at Ball State University by Tom Weidner, Ph.D., director of athletic training research. In one study, Weidner took two groups of 30 runners each and inoculated them with the common cold. One group ran 30 to 40 minutes every day for a week. The other group was sedentary. According to Weidner, "the two groups didn't differ in the length or severity of their colds." In another study, he found that running with a cold didn't compromise performance. He concluded that running with a head cold--as long as you don't push beyond accustomed workouts--is beneficial in maintaining fitness and psychological well-being. {Source}

As my symptoms were all in my head, literally, I kept up with my training – if only for my psychological well-being.

Highlight: A surprisingly speedy run on Friday with my BRF. It was a great run for so many reasons but a sub-9 pace after a night of coughing was a great boost.

Lowlight: My long run was a challenge from start to finish. I was heading out solo on a long run for the first time in ages; Mark and I were not on good terms when I left; and I had some mighty headwinds. My plan called for 14 miles with 5 at goal pace, and I was ready to quit after the first 6. (I ran three loops – 6 miles, 5 miles and 3 miles.) I managed to keep going but I had a really hard time hitting the faster pace. The goal miles were between 8:43 and 9:01, and I thought I'd be closer to 8:40 for all. But oh well. It's crossed off the schedule, and I can take pride in that.

The week, in running:

Tuesday: 3 miles
Wednesday: 5 miles, with 3 at tempo
Friday: 5 miles
Saturday: 14 miles, with 5 at goal pace
Sunday: 6 miles, negative split

Carmel Marathon Training {Week 6}

Training got just a little bit harder this past week. One of my weekday runs got bumped up to 6 miles (rather than 5), and the long run was 13 miles with a strong finish.

However, the plan was kind – or as kind as it's going to get – giving me a break from tempos and intervals and my quality miles were at race pace. The RP miles should be fairly comfortable but as I'm still waffling as to what my goal time at the Carmel half will be, I erred on the faster side, averaging 8:30 pace for 4 miles – a pretty decent cry from the 9:00-9:09 I've declared.

The most challenging part, though, might have been running my long run the day after that race pace effort. My run buddies and I started early for a Sunday (7 a.m.) and my legs were just tired. We kept it easy for the most part but the push in the last mile was all grit. I was so thankful that I had people with me to help me push.

Highlight: Going for my first runch in a long, long time. It felt so, so good to get out of the office for a bit and stretch my legs. I also saw a ton of geese on one of the half-frozen rivers. It was gorgeous. I still feel guilty taking beaks since I'm pumping twice a day but I'm hoping as I wean Si at a year that I can do one of these a week.

Lowlight: Heavy legs on a couple of my runs. I really need to heed my own advice and actually foam roll regularly.

Overall: I'm feeling good, even with hitting 30 miles this week. I still need to work on my confidence in terms of believing I can hit certain paces for certain workouts.

The week, in running

Monday: 5 miles
Wednesday: 5 miles, negative split
Thursday: 3 miles
Saturday: 6 miles, 4 at GP
Sunday: 13 miles with strong finish

Carmel Half Marathon Training {Week 5}

Welp, it arrived – that blasted thing called winter.

After a relatively mild winter and running in shorts the last weekend of January, northeast Indiana was hit with a rather ferocious cold front. We had single digit temperatures (and negative windchills) in the morning and just enough snow to frost over and make footing on pavement rather precarious.

While I'd really like to whine about it, I can't. Our instances of spotty weather pale in comparison to the unseasonable conditions we have had.

Case in point: I was sent a pair of YakTrax to review last year for the blog. I had hoped to use them but we had more ice than snow and many days with bitter cold (we're talking windchills of -30). Factor in my pregnancy, and it just didn't seem prudent to use them. But I was going to redeem myself this year, dang it.

Except I haven't. Why? We haven't had enough snow to warrant getting them out. In fact, I'm fairly certain that my family in Cincinnati, 160 miles south, has had more accumulation than us.

But, this past week, I found myself finally pulling on my big girl tights and braving the elements for my weekend runs. I did head indoors to make use of the treadmill at the Y but running intervals in the cold and on slick pavement seemed dumb.

Week's highlights: Setting a PR in the 5K and getting to celebrate with my BRF; finishing my interval strong; and keeping a respectable pace for my long run when my legs were tired.

Week's lowlight: Letting mind games get the best of me on Saturday; fueling poorly Sunday because of the weather

The week, in running:

Monday: 5.1 miles, easy
Thursday: 5 miles, intervals
Saturday: Cupid's Chocolate 5K + 2.1-mile warmup
Sunday: 10.2 miles, LSD

Carmel Half Marathon Training {Week 4}

I am going to let you in on a secret – one that might surprise you.

I don't want to PR the half marathon.

It sounds weird, right? Many times we go into a training cycle with the hope of getting stronger, faster and nailing a certain time. I want to do those things, of course. I want to get stronger. I want to get faster. And, when I toe the line in Carmel on April 16, I want a certain time. I want to run 1:59.

My PR, though, is 1:54:12. I ran that time 5.5 years ago and came within 1:30 of it in September 2014, when I was 12 weeks pregnant with Si. It was hard work to get that fast (relatively) – I ran 30+ miles a week, my log full of long tempos and intervals. I felt pushed to the limit and like I was breaking barriers. I set PRs in the 5K and 10K that helped me believe a half marathon best was possible. It was a type of training that I was ready for, and it was the only way I could tackle it.

Now, life with two kids, I'm not ready for that and as such, I haven't expected super great things with my running. I've been plugging away albeit picking up a challenge here and there along the way. So color me surprised when I crossed the mats at a local, low-key 5K on Saturday in a time of 25:17 – two seconds off my PR.

Later that night, Mark told me that I was definitely going to PR in Carmel. I wanted to shrug him off but part of me wondered if it would be wrong to call him a nut job and ignore him.

The race was part of a long run sandwich – log miles before the start, run the race and then keep going until you hit your mileage goal. The plan called for 12 miles with the mid-4 at race pace (9:00-9:09), making the long run sandwich an ideal option.

The first 5 miles went great. I ran with the girls for four, hitting about 10 minutes/mile for the first three and then picking it up to 8:50 for miles 4 and 5. I felt good and loose by the time I hit the start and told myself that I just had to run two more fast miles and then I could jog it into the finish. My running partner, Karen, was also participating and thought she'd like to be around 8:30 pace for the race. I figured that I'd keep her in my sights and chug away.

Which is what I did. Except, she ran more like 8:05 and I averaged 8:09 (officially).

I'm not going to give you a blow-by-blow of the race – don't even think I could if I wanted to – but a few notes. It was hard, and I definitely was working. However, I know that there were 3 seconds that could have easily been shaved. The park is known for its hills, and I nearly called "trail hill" on the second go-around. It was windy, and I definitely tried to draft off some of the high school guys who weren't keen on letting me pass them any way.

The course, two loops at a local park, and I know I finished the first lap in less than 12:30. According to my Soleus, my splits were actually pretty consistent between 7:55 and 8:05. But as with most GPS devices, it had me finishing the 5K distance in 24:4X and finishing the race around 3.2 miles. To break 25 in the 5K is a definite goal for the year, and it was rad to think I'm close.

I'm not getting ahead of myself, mind you. I'm going to continue training for Carmel as I have. Goal pace will be 9:00 to 9:09 and training paces will be based on that. But, I'm not going to hold myself back either.

The week, in running:

Tuesday: 5.2 miles, tempo
Thursday: 5.1 miles, hilly
Friday: 5 miles
Saturday: 12 miles total

Carmel Half Marathon Training: Week 3

When life gives you ice, make ice cream. And when the universe delivers unseasonable temps, you get your ass of the treadmill and run outside. But when life gives you unseasonable temps and a bit of overnight freeze ... you do what you do an improvise.

BRF Tami and I had scheduled a run date for Friday morning and being the awesome person that I am {please note the sarcasm}, I had agreed to tackle her hill workout. The goal was to spend 15 to 20 minutes of the workout climbing a hill for 30 to 35 seconds before jogging back down and doing it again. Our normal route is fairly flat but there is a hill nearby, and I suggested that it could work.

But when I headed out to the car that morning to warm it up, I slipped and nearly biffed it before even jogging a step. The temperature was just cold enough that the morning frost was able to create a sheet of black ice. I called Tami and suggested we would meet downtown, as it just didn't seem safe to do hill repeats on a likely slick sidewalk. She agreed and made the turnoff to head my way.

When we convened in the parking lot, we worked out a plan of attack. We were both dressed in fleece tights so heading to the Y for a go on the treadmill wasn't an option. The downtown sidewalks are usually salted as are the streets, and we could easily run loops to hit 5. But I felt terrible that she would miss a workout. She saved the hills for us.

I thought and thought. And, then, I had an idea. It wasn't my own idea. I had read about people doing this many a time and thinking, "I should try that sometime," but never half-knowing I'd never actually try it. It would be perfect, though, for our early-morning quandary.

Running in a parking garage!

Tami agreed and off we went to run a cautions mile warm-up around downtown before heading into one of the garages. We stopped, stretched, took a deep breath and then headed up, up, up.

There were so many pros to this, I can't even tell you. Wait, I will. It was relatively covered so there was no concern about ice. The building kept us shielded from the wind, which has been the biggest con of this mild winter. The garage, about seven levels, offered about 4 minutes of climbing – inclines like that are near impossible to find in this part of Indiana. At the end of each set (we did it three times), we were rewarded with an amazing starlit view of the downtown skyline.

Don't get me wrong, it was HARD. I might have cussed a few times ... or a thousand – but in the best way. 

The one thing to note: GPS tracking was next to nill on this excursion so we just guestimated the distance based on time and effort. 

The week, in running:

Monday: 5 miles as 2-mile warmup, 2 miles at tempo (8:03, 8:11), 1-mile cool down 

Wednesday: 3.2 easy miles

Friday: 5(ish) miles, hills

Saturday: 10.8 miles as 8 miles easy and 2 miles fast finish (8:36, 8:33)

Sunday: 6 miles (Scott Jurek run)

Total miles: 30

Weekly Training + October Wrapup

Via Voxer {one of my favorite apps ever}, I listened to my BFF work out the math to hit 100 miles for October.

"Five on Tuesday, 3 on Wednesday and a long run on the weekend," she said ... or something like that.

She's training for a half marathon on Thanksgiving day, and a 100-mile month is a good goal when training for that distance.

Me? I'm not training for anything, and I wasn't so sure how my runs would add up for October. For most of the past six weeks, I have been in this cycle of taper, race, recover, quick build, taper, race, recover. My mid-week runs were rarely more than 5, and my long runs, I thought, weren't really double digits.

So color me surprised when I saw that I wasn't going to just 100 miles but reach my highest monthly mileage in more than a year.

Stats

Week of 10/26

Runs: 5 {5.2, 5, 3, 4.18, 8.07}
Total mileage: 25.45 miles
Fastest run: Wednesday, 9:04 pace over 5 miles
Favorite workout: Masquerade Dash at the running store
Favorite route: Downtown Fort Wayne while on the Selfie Scavenger hunt
Focus for the week: Incorporate quality, not just quantity.
Highlight: Gorgeous fall weather

Month of October

Runs: 20
Total mileage: 123.52
Fastest run: Interval workout, 9:02 pace over 5.25 miles
Favorite workout: Fartlek – 1 minute at a hard pace, 2 minutes recover
Favorite route: Leg 1 of the Bourbon Chase, hands down
Focus for the month: Rock out the Bourbon Chase
Highlight: Eye spy ... lots of wildlife. I haven't seen many deer in Fort Wayne up until this year but I seem to keep stumbling on them on my mid-morning runs. It's such a treat.

Weekly Training Update {10/19/15-10/25/15}

Ouch.

Oochy, ouchy, oh.

Every step I took for the first few days after the Bourbon Chase hurt. My quads and inner thighs screamed, my abs felt tight. It was like I had spent a weekend riding the horses of Kentucky not running its hills. It looked so sexy, let me tell you  especially when I tried walking down the steps.

#saveahorserunahill

I was in so much pain that I was really questioning how I was going to teach class on Monday but somehow I pulled it out. I just kept it easy on squats. And lunges. Deadlifts forever! I'm sure my participants were really disappointed.

As far as running, my plan for the week was to do what I can, not get wrapped in running a certain amount of miles and let my legs dictate the distance and pace of my runs. On Tuesday, I shuffled through a few easy miles and was able to eke out 5 on Thursday thanks to some bad math.

Here's how the week shook out:

Monday, October 19
X-TRAIN | Circuit class
Time: 45 minutes

Tuesday, October 20
RUN | 3.1 miles
Time: 28:57     Pace: 9:20

Wednesday, October 21
X-TRAIN | Boxing fusion class
Time: 45 minutes

Thursday, October 22
RUN | 5.1 miles
Time: 47:55     Pace: 9:23

X-TRAIN | Boxing fusion class
Time: 45 minutes

Friday, October 23
RUN | 5.5 miles
Time: 50:30     Pace: 9:10

Saturday, October 24
RUN | 10 miles
Time: 1:41:00     

The Bourbon Chase: Training

It's called the "Jogger" schedule, which, to me, implies novice. But, the plan from the folks at Bourbon Chase looks nothing like a beginning runner plan. Each week has five to six days of running per week and strides. Lots and lots of strides. The mileage is fairly low on the plan, most runs less than 5 miles but it's intimidating nonetheless.

Sort of like running a relay.

Having run two before (Hood to Coast 2013 and Bourbon Chase 2014), I had an idea going into training this year with what it takes to do an event like this. A good endurance base, experience running on tired legs and the ability to run whenever on whatever terrain.

As my total mileage for the race will be 15 miles, too, I knew I should be able to come close to running that distance on a long run. Knowing the terrain of the Chase, I knew I needed to be serious about hills. And the threat of cutoffs, I wanted to have some fire in the legs.

So my weekly plan shaped up to be a little like this:

• Easy run with strides at the end. This run was usually in the 4- to 5-mile range.

• Mid-week quality run. This run, more often than not, was a combination of hills plus speed at a local cemetery. Initially, I wanted to alternate between shorter intervals and hills but an experienced runner encouraged me to combine the workouts. Example: Run loop with hills, recover, hit perimeter of the cemetery for 400s. Alternately, I would run a fartlek – 1 minute hard, 2 minutes easy – over a hilly course. I tried to make sure that I ran at least 5 miles on this day but preferred to do at least 6.

• Mid-week run with the BRF. We usually run 5 miles at a whatever pace. If we were particularly grumpy or excited, we did them faster. If we were tired, we ran them slower.

• Long run. I slowly built my endurance to get in half marathon shape. Every third week, though, I split the long run so that I could do a double. Hurt so good.

I'm feeling really good with where it left me. I felt strong on the small rollers when I ran the Muncie Mini-Marathon, and I had a faster than expected race at Fort4Fitness. My endurance is on point, too, and I finish long runs tempted to keep going with my marathon-crazy buddies. But, I don't.

An aside, as they had a cutback week this past Saturday, I ran all 12 miles with them. The pace slowly crept up the last few miles and I decided to go for it the last half mile. We finished with an 8:50. Holla!

Here's how the last few weeks of running have looked like. I didn't have as many quality workouts between racing and tapering but that's how it be.

Week 9

Monday: 3 miles with Tami, 9:58 pace
Tuesday: 5 miles, 9:40 pace
Thursday: 4.2 miles, with strides, 9:39 pace
Saturday: Fort4Fitness Double Play – 10K at 8:49 pace and 4-mile race at 9:20 pace

Week 10

Tuesday: 5 miles, 9:41 pace
Thursday: 5.52 miles, 9:26 pace
Friday: 4.25 miles, 9:31 pace
Saturday: 13 miles, long run, 10:01 pace

Week 11

Tuesday: 5.25 miles, 9:02 pace (1-2-3-4-5 intervals)
Thursday: 6 miles, 9:28 pace (hilly route)
Friday: 4 miles with Tami, 9:47 pace
Saturday: 12 miles, long run with strong finish, 9:55 pace

Weekly Training Update {8/31/15-9/6/15}

Currently training for: Muncie Mini Marathon, Fort4Fitness Double Play, the Bourbon Chase

The dining room armoire. That's where I found them. 

My 10-ounce Nathan Quick Shot, my larger Nathan handheld (I think it's 22 ounces) and my Nathan Speed belt.

Obviously, the key components to my hydration arsenal belonged in my flipping dining room armoire where I would never thing to look for them. I wouldn't, say, put them in the kitchen cabinet with the rest of the water bottles or a different one where I stored them last year. I didn't pack them away in the storage tote with the rest of my summer running gear nor did I put in the basement next to my vest.

Nope. They were in the dining room for a good 9 months, two of which were spent actively searching for the bottles.

But all is well and good now ... now that I have them. I can now go on long runs, even short runs considering our recent streak of 90+-degree days, and feel good with my hydration.

Well. Sort of.

On Saturday, I took the larger bottle for my 12-mile (!!!) run and it was good to have that much Nuun with me. I needed it on a rather sticky morning. However, it was a pain and a half to carry – heavy and hard to hold. I feared that I was going to get a blister from holding it the wrong way. Thankfully, I didn't but still.

The problem – from locating the bottles to the potential chafing – would have been moot had I properly cleaned my vest. Not just that but purchased the right stuff to clean it, rather than letting it hang out in the basement all winter. I need an industrial length bottle cleaner to save it now. 

Or at least I think. I'm scared to actually look at it. I am such a flipping grown-up ... as evidenced by my stellar storage skills.

But enough about that. I ran 12 miles, and it was OK. Pretty decent, actually. And now I can say I'm relatively trained for the half in two weeks. Holla.

The week, in training:

Monday, Aug. 31
X-TRAIN | Boot camp {taught}
Time: 45 minutes

Tuesday, Sept. 1
RUN | 5 miles
Time: 49:18 Pace: 9:38

X-TRAIN | Boot camp {taught}
Time: 50 minutes

Wednesday, Sept. 2
X-TRAIN | Piloxing {taught}

Time: 45 minutes

Thursday, Sept. 3
RUN | 5 miles
Time: 46:44 Pace: 9:20

X-TRAIN | Boxing fusion {taught}

Time: 60 minutes

Friday, Sept. 4
RUN | 4.11 miles

Time: 39:48 Pace: 9:48

Saturday, Sept. 5
RUN | 12 miles
Time: 2:00:03 Pace: 10:00

Sunday, Sept. 6
REST 

Note: I have added affiliate links. It's a douche move, I know, but I'm trying to be fiscally responsible and reduce my debt. Also, diapers are expensive, yo. I'm trying to make the little things add up. The links are a little thing. Thank you for your understanding.

Training Update

It was a beautiful sunrise run and bad math that gave me the confidence to make the somewhat foolish decision to register for the Muncie Mini Half Marathon.

The day was Aug. 8, and I was meeting four of the women who have become my training partners and friends. I had 7 miles on my training plan, a half marathon schedule that I modified to fit the Bourbon Chase; the ladies had nearly double that as they are training for a full. While we would normally do an out and back, this run was different. We ran a mile or so in the other direction to hit up a bathroom before running back to the start and then on the intended route. I thought I knew the turnaround but, well, I didn't and I ran nearly 8 miles.

Oops.

But, the slip up allowed me to do something that I wouldn't have considered otherwise: move up my long run schedule and add an 11- to 12-mile run on Sept. 11. It's not the perfect build-up to a 13.1 race (on Sept. 19) but it's adequate, especially as I plan to take the event casually and possibly use a run-walk strategy.

Also improving my odds for avoiding complete and utter failure is my steady increase in weekday mileage. I would love to say that it's intentional but it's one part desire to keep my FitBit seven-day step total above 100,000 and two parts my twisted mind, which thinks runs less than 4 miles are not as good as runs of 5 miles or farther. I'd like to change this mindset but, in this case, it has worked in my favor.

I've been lucky, too, that I've been feeling good with the increased mileage. I feel decent on most of my runs, and I've ended nearly every long running feeling like I could have done more. Physically, that is. Mentally, I'm not interested in doing the crazy long runs of marathon training.

Honestly, one of the biggest challenges has been monitoring my milk supply but that's a story for another day. Maybe.

So running ... here's what things have looked like on that front:

Week of Aug. 10

Monday: 5 miles
Tuesday: 5.1 miles (intervals)
Thursday: 4.5 miles, including strides
Saturday: Double – 6.1 miles in the morning, 3 miles in the afternoon

Week of Aug. 17

Monday: 4.6 miles, including strides
Tuesday: 5.5 miles, hills
Thursday: 4 miles
Saturday: 9 miles

Week of Aug. 24

Tuesday: 4.3 miles
Thursday: 6.5 miles, mix of hills and 400s
Friday: 5.1 miles
Saturday: 10 miles

Weekly Training Update {8/3/15-8/915}

There are things that I wish were easy. Getting up early, nailing negative splits, picking the perfect pair of running shoes. Running, in general.

Last week, all of it seemed so difficult. My Thursday run with a clubber was slower than I would have projected, leaving me feeling guilty for putting her through 10-minute miles. My Friday run, though slightly faster, felt worse – my legs were tired and heavy, and I could never find a rhythm.

Note: It probably did not help that I taught five classes in four days, having subbed for a friend at the YMCA, and did more squats than I would care to count.

I was in a space where I began to question what I was doing. Was it enough? Too much? And how on earth was I going to run 7 miles with the girls on Saturday?

With grit, determination and a little help from my friends – that's how.

Oh, and it helps when Mother Nature provides you this backdrop.

Seriously. This run.

For all of the struggling that I felt like I did the previous two days, my Saturday long run was the opposite. The first mile was a bit bumpy but the others seemed to click by, with the pace dropping steadily (but cautiously) as we ran.

And, thanks to my awesome running + math skills, I logged 7.6 miles (according to Strava, I swear my Soleus said 7.65) and I was tempted to keep running to make it 8 ... or 9.

The week, in training:

Monday, August 3
X-TRAIN | Boot camp {taught}
Time: 45 minutes

Tuesday, August 4
RUN | 5.1 miles, hills
Time: 49:27 Pace: 9:48

X-TRAIN | Boot camp {taught}
Time: 50 minutes

Wednesday, August 5
X-TRAIN | Piloxing {taught}

Time: 45 minutes

X-TRAIN | Body Blast {taught/sub}

Time: 45 minutes

Thursday, August 6
RUN | 5.4 miles
Time: 55:00 Pace: 10:05

X-TRAIN | Boxing fusion {taught}

Time: 60 minutes

Friday, August 7
RUN | 4 miles

Time: 39:58 Pace: 9:59

Saturday, August 8
RUN | 7.6
Time: 1:15:28 Pace: 9:52

Sunday, August 9
REST 

Weekly Training Update {7/27/15 - 8/2/15}

It's official. I'm training. With a legit plan. OK. I take the legit part back. It's a mish-mash plan that I made myself to get ready for the Bourbon Chase.

The goal of said plan is to increase my mileage so that I can run 15 miles over 30 hours without hurting myself or repeat a litany of curse words as I tackle the crazy hills. Solid goals, I think.

The basics: One long run; one workout, alternating between hills and intervals; one easy run with strides; one plain-old easy run.

Basics plus: It's a half marathon plan that I modified to fit my base fitness. It's also race specific in that every third long run will be a double, with the mileage split between a longer morning run and a 3-miler in the afternoon.

I had my first workout on Tuesday – 4 x 400s – or four rounds of quarter-mile hauling butt and a quarter-mile slogging. I haven't figured out how (or if) laps work on the Soleus but my miles with the repeats were post-baby fast, and I went under 9 minutes for the first time.

Another first for the week? Hitting 20 miles. #toolegittoquit #heyhey

P.S. Scroll to the end of the post for a giveaway.

The week, in training:

Monday, July 27
X-TRAIN | Boot camp {taught}
Time: 45 minutes

Tuesday, July 28
RUN | 5.05 miles, intervals
Time: 48:08 Pace: 9:31

X-TRAIN | Boot camp {taught}
Time: 50 minutes

Wednesday, July 29
X-TRAIN | Piloxing {taught}

Time: 45 minutes

Thursday, July 30
RUN | 5.05 miles
Time: 48:39 Pace: 9:37

X-TRAIN | Boxing fusion {taught}

Time: 60 minutes

Friday, July 31
REST 

Saturday, August 1
RUN | New Haven 10K
Time: 59:40 Pace: 9:34

Sunday, August 2
RUN | 4.5 miles

Time: 46:53 Pace: 10:25

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Weekly Training Update {7/13-7/19}

Mark and I strive for equality in our marriage. I meal plan/shop/cook and he cleans after dinner. He does the laundry, and I put it away. He offers 3,000 foot rubs while I'm training, and I begrudgingly half-ass one while watching "Grey's Anatomy" on Netflix.

It's not everyone's idea for the division of duties but, for us, it works.

And our MO is no different when it comes to childcare, trying to be as accommodating and fair as possible. I run at 7 a.m. Saturday, he's off to the Y at 9. I let him sleep in, I get an hour for a pedicure. He has a guy's night, I bank brownie points for overnight relays.*

So when he had a guy's night among an already packed weekend, I was a bit frustrated. "What about me? What about my time?" I thought ... and then whined ... out loud. I had a brief moment that could only be labeled as "Kim playing the martyr" before I came to my senses.

I told Mark that I needed an hour to exercise Saturday afternoon. Like the good man he is, he offered to take the boys shopping so I could have uninterrupted time.

The day was the first one that resembled summer in nearly two months, with the mercury passing 90 for the first time since September. It would have been nice to do my long run then but it wouldn't be fun or safe. But I wanted to coat myself in NAAWK and feel the sun on my face, the breeze on my skin.

A photo posted by Kimberly (@healthystrides) on Jul 18, 2015 at 2:25pm PDT

And what better way to do that than by bike?

My road bike, Peaches, is still on the trainer where I abandoned it in February. {Tip: Road bike + pregnant belly = no good.} I'm a good for nothing cyclist and would need Mark to take it off and put on the tire to ride it. It's a favor I'll call in soon but I didn't want to push my luck on Saturday. But, a ride is a ride and I had one in the form of my Trek hybrid.

I pumped up the tires, adjusted a brake line and wiped down the frame. It was beautiful. And I was ready.

For me, riding bike is not so much about exercise, hitting a certain mph or watts (assuming I know WTF watts are). It's about being outside and feeling myself move. It's about seeing my usual trail from a new perspective. It's about being free and feeling young again.

Ha. Young. Good thing you can't see all of my white hairs.

I rode about 7 miles on a nearly empty trail, going this way and that. It was the most fun I had had in some time. Except for the part where I encountered a huge flock of geese. Geese scare me. Actually, all birds scare me. I biked like hell then and prayed that one of the mamas did not hiss or charge at me.

I returned to an empty house but I felt full. I had a smile on my face, sweat on my brow and fresh rain on my hair. The latter was thanks to a brief summer storm.

When the boys came charging in 45 minutes later, I was ready and happy to be Mom again.

The week, in training:

Monday, July 13
RUN | 4 miles {with the stroller}
Time: 40:02 Pace: 10:00

Tuesday, July 14
X-TRAIN | Boot camp {taught}
Time: 50 minutes

Wednesday, July 15
RUN | 4.0 miles
Time: 38:48 Pace: 9:42

X-TRAIN | Piloxing {taught}
Time: 45 minutes

Thursday, July 16
REST

Friday, July 17
RUN | 4.1 miles, progression
Time: 38:43 Pace: 9:27

Saturday, July 18
CYCLE | 7 miles

X-TRAIN | Pi-Yo Defined

Time: 30 minutes

Sunday, July 19
RUN | 5.1 miles
Time: 49:37 Pace: 9:43

*Note: Please do not mistake this arrangement for pawning off our kids and avoiding responsibilities. Mark and I believe that in order to be a good, happy parent that it is paramount to retain our own identities – not just be "Mommy" or "Daddy" all the time.

Getting Over the Bump {Weekly Recap}

I'm linking up with Jesica at Runladylike to share my week in fitness.

I've started this post a million and one times, each draft ending with me whining and throwing the grandest of pity parties.

Running didn't go great last week. I'm getting slow, like a lot slower. My friends are too fast and getting faster. My belly is getting bigger – my ass, too, probably – and it's manifesting itself in a tight lower body. The feeling of invincibility I once had has been replaced with mediocrity.

In summation: Shit is not feeling great.

The thing is, I knew this was all going to happen and, had you asked me six months ago, I thought it would have happened a lot earlier. Things kept going well and part of me started to believe that it would never happen.

But it has. As my friend put it, I'm like really pregnant now (30 weeks/7.5 months). I have to put my big girl panties on (some really big girl panties) and deal with it. Or, I could stop running. However, I'm pretty sure Mark would fear for his life if the only reason I stopped logging miles was because I was acting like a petulant child, and I am fairly certain I will need him in 9 or so weeks and for the 30 years to follow.

As such, I promise this to you: No more bitching about pregnancy and being slow. It is what it is what it is.

So how's that for a recap?

WEEK'S WORKOUTS

Monday | Barbell class
Time: 45 minutes     

Tuesday | 5 miles, treadmill progression
Time: 48:26     Pace: 9:41

Wednesday | Barbell class
Time: 44 minutes 

Thursday | 6 miles, treadmill
Time: 1:00:30     Pace: 10:05

Friday | 4.06 miles, with Tami
Time: 41:25     Pace: 10:12

Saturday | 7.2 miles, with group

Time: 1:14:16     Pace: 10:18

Sunday | Rest

WEEK'S HIGHLIGHTS

• Running with Tami on Friday. The run itself wasn't all that great. The sidewalks were treacherous in places despite our best effort to find a safe route, and it was quite windy. However, we had fun while we were out there and even more fun celebrating at Starbucks after we finished the 4 miles. You cannot go wrong with coffee + Salted Caramel Cake Pops at 6 a.m.

• I wasn't able to keep pace with the gals I normally run with on the weekends but the change in pace gave me an opportunity to run with a relative newcomer to the group. She's coming back from an IT band injury so we haven't been able to run together much over the past few months. The 4.2 miles we shared was a great time to chat and (re)connect, as well as celebrate the calm before the storm.

• Hitting a January mileage PDR. The month came in at 98.09 miles, beating last year by more than 10. I'm not logging the farther runs on the weekend but I've been more consistent with my weekday mileage than I have in year's past.

WEEK'S STRUGGLES

I'm not posting any because I've been snarky enough. Also, I have a perfect life and would never struggle. Not ever, ever.

How did your week measure up?