10 K Training Take 2 Week #2

Monday - Ran 3 miles

I ran over Rob's lunch and I made a new route on Welcome Way. Loved it! Need a change. Perfect amount of small hills and nice neighborhood. I will be doing that one again. I ran pretty hard because by Mile #2 I was dragging. I got a second wind by 2.5. Feel like I am back in the running mode again. Hailey and I might do one of the Willamette Cross Country Nights on August 4th.

I also ran about 1/4 mile with Hailey and Derek at Crossler Middle School. Then they played in the long jump sand pit afterwards. It was nice to be outside with them. Hailey wants do the short run so I told her I wanted her to practice a couple times.

Tuesday - Ran 3.5 miles

I ran over Rob's lunch again. I just ran to Sumpter School and back. It was hotter out than I realized. I kind of wish I would have had water with me. The run went really well.

Wednesday - Intervals 8x400

I took Hailey and Derek to Crossler Middle School again. Hailey did the 400 and I ran with her part of the way. That was my warm up run. She got to about 200 and then kept wanting to walk. She did fine though. She also did half of my last interval and raced me at the end. The kids loves playing in the sand pit again.

I did my intervals while they played. Intervals kick my butt. I try to run them hard. But by the last two, I was sweaty, tired, and thirsty. It is nice to do have something different. It gives variety to the schedule. I also like including Hailey and Derek. I do have a memory of my dad taking me to the track while he ran. I must have been like 4 years old because it was at the high school in New York where Jennifer took gymnastics.

Thursday - Sunday

I got a little thrown off by the end of the week. Rob has been on and off sick with a sore throat. He is getting tested for strep right now. He is not wiped out like I was, but it is has been pretty persistent. He was in bed all of Saturday morning. I did not run any of these days. But Friday I did LOTS of walking. I went shopping with Cheryl and Trisha in Portland from around 2 - 8:30 PM. We were all over the place. Yesterday I hiked the South Falls at the church picnic in my flip flops. I know I worked myself because my legs are sore. I feel a blister coming, but I don't think it's bad.

10K Training Week # 1 Take Two

Monday - 3 Mile Run and Strength training

I am going to do a 10K! I really want to do it. I picked VBS Week as my kick off which is crazy. But I am not doing as much for VBS this year. Honestly VBS has stressed me out very, very little. I am thankful Hilda is in charge of all the stuff that stressed me out last year.

Anyway I ran three miles at Rob's lunch. I seriously need new streets to run on. I ran to Browning and on Alderbrook which is a very nice neighborhood. Then I back tracked on Lone Oak and back home again. I think my pace is still pretty slow and I don't feel as strong as I did a couple weeks ago. But I am completing workouts and I am not totally exhausted. Since it is a crummy cold summer and it was not even 70 when I went running at 12:30 PM (which I am not trying to be bitter about), it is possible to run during the day and not overheat.

I also did the arm training on the 10 minutes workout and it felt great to stretch my triceps, biceps and even do push ups. I also did about 7 minutes of abs on my own. Good way to start the week!

Tuesday - Ran 3 miles

Good run today! I ran my regular three mile (Lone Oak to Holder to Liberty). I ran during Rob's lunch and it was still so cool outside. Went really well. More tired today, but had a hard time sleeping last night.

Wednesday - I'm way behind on this! It's almost a week later! Trying to remember what I did!! I am pretty sure I rested on Wednesday.

Thursday - Ran 3 miles in the morning

It was so good to run in my peaceful neighborhood first thing! Great run!

Friday - Rest

I was so exhausted I could not get up early. I really tried, but I needed the sleep. I was busy all morning with VBS and the service project in the afternoon. Then I was finishing up VBS clean up stuff until 5 PM. Rob wanted to go out at night. I guess three runs for VBS week is good.

Saturday - Cross train

I hiked with Kara on my back for about 2 miles. We wanted to hike Mary's Peak, but the road was closed. People were hiking the road, but we had no idea how far it was to the trailhead. We decided we would go as far as the kids could handle. They did great! We did not make it to the trailhead--I don't think I could even done it with Kara on my back. The kids loved seeing all the wildflowers and bugs. Rob carried Kara back down. It was a really good workout. I love hiking!

Sunday - Ran 2.6 miles

I wanted to do a long run, but again we've been absolutely exhausted. I was really pressed for time. I did the Ewald route before church. Then I was in Portland all day with the kids visiting Jonathan and Megan. I was so tired I was crying by the time I got home. Good day with them. It's just been A LOT to juggle lately. Ready for some downtime.

July 10 - 16

Monday - 2 miles

I am back after too long of a running break. I had the same problem last summer. It's really hard to squeeze running in when you want to spend time with the kids and work on VBS stuff...and sleep in. I was up to 8 miles and had several good weeks of running. It was very frustrating getting strep twice in there and also dealing with seasonal allergies. I lost the drive to train for a 10K. :(

I am going to start a 8 week training program to improve my 5K. And possibly do another 5K in August or September. Then we'll go from there. If I do the Newport Marathon next June, I would not mind doing a 1/2 marathon in the winter. Right now the idea of improving on my 5K and doing 3-5 mile runs sounds best. Especially with VBS, family vacation, and trying to spend extra time with the kids before Hailey goes back to school.

This morning I got out the door at 7:25. I just did an easy 2 mile run around the neighborhood. I went really slow and I could tell I have not run in over 2 weeks...closer to 3. I did not have to stop and walk at all. I felt pretty strong. It was just good to get out there again.

Tuesday - 10 minutes of legs stretches/10 minutes of abs/1 hour of walking

I got up at 7:25 and did the 10 minute solutions leg stretches and abs. Felt so good to stretch. Really needed that! We did canvassing tonight for VBS and did a lot of walking. Again it felt really good to move and walk around. As I am writing this I have a minor sore throat. It's not like the last two times I had strep. I am SO hoping it's not. I had some anxiety about it this afternoon. I don't feel fatigued and it does not hurt to swallow at this point. I told Rob I will either be waking up in the morning and calling the doctor or else going running.

Wednesday - 2 mile run

No strep. By yesterday evening my throat felt more hoarse. Not like painful swallowing. I am congested and my eyes a little itchy. I think it is allergies. It still feels this way. It's not gotten worse. I am pretty sure it is seasonal stuff. What is up with this week? It's COLD here for July. Crazy. It's been raining the last two days. We can't even hit 80. What is the deal!

I ran on Rob's lunch because the timing worked better than going out in the morning. I did my regular 2 mile square and I felt really really good. The stretching was much needed yesterday and I think it made a difference. This is warm up week and then I am going to start a 5K improvement training. I need to scan fall/winter races and see if anything catches my eye.

Thursday - Rest Day

Friday - around 3 miles

I ran to Woodmansee Park and back which I believe is just under 3 miles. It was a great fun. I felt wonderful. I also saw that there is a race to support firefighters at Minto Brown in September. I could do the 10K. And Hailey wants to race again too. She could do a 1/2 mile. That is kind of our plan as of right now. Like I know, plans change.

Saturday - Rest Day

I really needed to catch up on cleaning today. I was active cleaning the house. Just did not get out and run.

Sunday - Rest Day

I was planning on running today, but I am starting a pretty intense 10K training program on Monday. I did not want to start it coming off a long run. Also I REALLY needed a nap. The fact Hailey actually took a nap allowed me a long Sunday nap. It was wonderful.

No running this week

I am not going to force myself to run this week. I feel like my body is still healing from the strep. I am taking the middle schoolers camping this week. Plus Derek was sick. Hailey had a stomach ache tonight (though I think it was due to eating too much ice cream). I really don't want to overdue it. I am probably too paranoid about overduing it. I will probably run again on the weekend or for sure start up next week. I don't know if I am going to do that race on July 30th yet. It really depends on scheduling at this point.

10K Training Week #8

Monday - Rest

I had thought resting might be a good day today after such a long run today. Honestly I was hoping to get a 3 miler in this afternoon. Not the case. Rob was feeling sick last night after we watched a movie. It turned into full blown sick during the night and he was pretty much in bed all day. I juggled everything including overseeing the whole canvassing the neighborhood for the park ministry which was a little crazy with juggling my kids at the same time. In the end it worked out really well. I was really active with Hailey in the backyard. We played soccer and ran around. I have not been doing a lot of cross training, but I have taken the kids to the park a lot and played with them. I am basically counting that as my cross training until I can do more. I still planning on running on Friday. I just have to realize I could get sick since typically (though not always) catch it after Rob. He was only down for a day as was Hailey. It hit them both pretty hard. I did find another 10 day at the end of July here in Salem. I would be OK with waiting another few weeks. We'll just see what happens the next few days.

Tuesday & and the rest of this week...

On Tuesday night I felt exhausted. I was outside with the kids pretty much the whole day. I was in the sun. But my throat was starting to hurt. I had a feeling it might be strep again. Rob tried to convince it wasn't. I don't blame him because it actually motivated me to not freak out and enjoy my evening before I was doomed to strep throat for a day. By the way as I am writing this, I am on some really strong medication that is making me loopy and like my head is partially a balloon. So hopefully this makes sense.

I went running for 3 miles Tuesday night. I ran to the Vista Roths and back. I felt a little more fatigued than usual. Not to an extreme. I've had 3 milers this training period that have been worse. Anyway when I got home, I was exhausted. Normally I have energy to do 10 minutes of thighs and 10 minutes of abs. I could not do anything. Just lay on the couch and watch TV. Throat was getting worse. Dumb throat kept me from sleeping well. In the morning I told Rob at 7:15 AM my throat hurt and I needed to go the doctor. He was really surprised and asked if I was just in a panic. I said I was not anxious and was not in a panic. My throat hurt. I could hardly swallow anything. It was not as bad as last time, but I was pretty sure it was strep again.

This time they swabbed it and I almost threw up on the nurse. Sure enough it was positive. The doctor put me on this strong antibiotic. I was in a loopy sleepy phase from 11:00 AM - 4:00 PM. I remember Rob coming in the room a few times, but I don't remember much else. Just that I wanted to sleep. By 8 PM, I felt better and was up and and walking around the house. Today, other than feeling slightly light headed and dizzy I am getting things done around the house. The house is a complete mess, but that is to be expected with everything this week. I had such a great day with the kids on Monday & Tuesday that I would not count this week a full loss.

I can't run the 10K tomorrow. I could probably do the 5K, but with the strong antibiotics, I am a little scared of falling or worse passing out or puking (one of the other side effects is nausea). There are a couple 10ks in July--one in Riverfront Park where the kids love to go. So I will probably just repeat the last 4 weeks of training, but keep my long runs at 7-8 miles. Then I hope to do one of those. I guess that is the way things go sometimes.

10 K Training Week #7

Monday - 3 miles run, 10 minutes of arms/chest, 5 minutes of abs

It's going to be a lot of running this week. If I complete everything, it will be the most miles I have run in quite awhile. I felt sore from last night's run. I ran around 3:30 PM when the younger ones were napping and Hailey was playing a game with my mom. I felt light headed around Mile #1. Not enough water. I got more at Woodmansee Park and that faintness went right away. I was able to complete everything. I did the arms/chest on the 10 Minutes Solutions on Netflix. I did my own ab workout so I could listen to Synod. Am I a Christian Reformed geek or what? Had a really good discussion with some people from Chicago, Canada, and California. It's help me feel connected to what is going on. Not sure if I should run tomorrow or take it as rest day. I will probably decide last minute and it depends on what we do in the afternoon.

Tuesday & Wednesday - Rest

Both these days were super busy and there was not a break in any part of the day to run. I got myself some slack. Even with my wonderful mom here helping me out, it is hard to get those runs in. Sleep has been way off. I can hardly get out of bed before 8 AM (the kids have been sleeping in too). I am falling asleep after midnight. I have been active enough with the kids at the park and I worked in the garden as well weeding.

Thursday - Tempo run - 50 minutes

Yes! Got a run in this afternoon around 4 PM. Came home to my sweet mom doing crafts with all three children around the kitchen table. :)

I am not sure if I am supposed to run at a slower pace, work up to a 5k pace, and then slow down. I kind of did longer intervals. I ran slow for a mile and a half, then hit it hard, then slowed down for a mile, and then ran hard for a mile. I walked about 30 seconds. Then ran the last five minutes quite slow. I felt like it was a good workout and the pacing was helpful. The only issue was I got really winded around Mile #3 to the point I could not take deep breaths very well. It hurt. It's like what Rob gets in high humidity when he can't catch his breath. My mom said she had the exact same thing when she walked to Walgreens this afternoon. I really felt such a difference in the air today...curious it was high humidity. I know the air was much warmer and my body is not used to that yet. I always go through that when spring turns to summer. I am really thankful I got a good run in today. I really needed it.

Friday - 4 mile Run & 10 minutes glutes & 10 minutes abs

The run went fine. I ran at 7:45 PM and ran to and around Sumpter Park and back. I felt the best on the last mile again. No pain anywhere. I still had some seasonal allergy issues again, but not near as bad as yesterday. It started getting breezy and cooling off at 6 PM. We're supposed to get a little bit of rain tonight and some tomorrow so I felt the weather patterns changing.

The other workouts were fine. Glutes way more challenging than abs. I need to find a new abs workout as this one is not as quite challenging anymore. That's a good thing.

Rob is home now!!!

Saturday - Rest

Yesterday we were so fatigued and by 7 PM I was spacey. Our Internet was down the entire nap time and I could not get any of my Banner work or church work done. So Rob sent me to the Roths cafe from 6 - 8:15PM and I got so much done. It dawned on me by 7 that I had not not even run that day even though I planned to. I was surprised because I will often forget about the laundry or to send an e-mail to someone, but never about running. I knew by that point it was too late. I did not feel too bad about either. We were so tired. Rob and I ate Garlic Jims, watched two old Cosby episodes on Netflix and went to bed. I heard Hailey coughing during the night and she woke up sick. Seems to be on the mend, but still really fatigued and no appetite.

Sunday - Ran 8 miles

Yay! I made 8 miles. I ran around 3:30 PM. I did my 8 mile route I have not done since the fall around the Rees Hill loop. It started out hot outside. I took Powerade and a Gu packet in my new water bottle holder. By around Mile #3 I did not feel quite so hot and less dehydrated, but I felt like my stomach was off. I thought 1) I am getting sick and catching what Hailey has (and Rob has it mildly) or 2) I am really anxious about running 8 miles. I think it was more of #2 because once I was through the Rees Hill neighborhood I felt more relaxed and I was running even better. I felt the best around Mile #5. I barely stopped. Just at Commerical and Madras for gu. I drank Powerade at every red light. Then I allowed myself to walk up the Idylwood Hill. My stomach was acting up again and this time it was not anxiety. I don't think my system is used to the powerade and gu yet. It takes a couple weeks.

I figure if I get sick this week, I can run another 10K. There's two close by in July. So I am not really sweating if I miss out. We don't have a whole lot going this week so I am not too worried about it. I just hope we all get over the fatigue and everyone can have their energy back soon.

10K training Week #6

I am going back to my weeks being Monday - Sunday instead of Sunday - Saturday. Yesterday (Sunday) I did not run, but took a much needed rest. I did take the kids to the park and played with them so I did not lay around all day. :)

Monday - 3 mile run & 10 minute solutions - arms and abs

It's funny how long runs can go so well and a 3 mile short run is tough. I think it is mental. I expect it be so easy going and it's not. I ran my regular three mile route - Lone Oak to Holder to Liberty. The weather was perfect. People are complaining about the rain coming back, but I'm just glad we're staying in the 60's and it's not so cold. I am thankful the kids still got some outside time today despite it being cloudy. I'll take that over what we had last week. :) I ran during Rob's lunch. I am finding I crave that midday break. As long as Rob does not mind, I am going to keep that as my prime running time until it starts getting into the 80's--which for us can be as late as mid July. It will be easier to run in the mornings once Hailey is done with school and Rob is back from Grand Rapids. Then I can easily run around 6:45 AM and be back before Rob goes into the office.

The 10 minute solutions is still really good for me. I want to stick with it for a few more weeks and then try something else on Netflix. I did the arms workout instead of the thighs and I felt it right away. I had not done arms/chest stretches for awhile. The abs workouts are still really good--not sure if I am seeing huge results. I honestly probably am not doing them enough. They recommend 4-5 times a week. It's hard enough scheduling running times in, but maybe I can be more dilligent with it once school lets out? Don't want to set my goals too high.

I am still planning on doing the 10K at the end of this month. We'll see where I go from there.

Tuesday - Intervals - 10 x 400m

I did enjoy doing intervals today and I pushed myself pretty hard. I felt like I got my speed up to the point I was craving that break in between the intervals. I ran to Woodmansee Park and ran on one of the trails in the park as well. All in all I felt pretty good. Now things are a little crazy with Rob being in GR. I am going to run tomorrow night as Denise offered to watch the kids. Then I probably will not run again until Sunday night.

Wednesday - Ran 5.5 miles

It was so nice that Denise could come and play with Hailey and Derek...and put them to bed. I had such a wonderful run to the Sumpter Park neighborhood and back. The weather was perfect and I felt great. I must have worked myself pretty hard because my legs are pretty sore today. We are having perfect running weather right now. There were so many people out walking and running last night.

Thursday & Friday - Rest

I had not planned on working out these days. With Rob away in Michigan, it is too much to find people to watch the kids so I can run. With Hailey's graduation and everything else, the break was needed anyway. Thankfully this is the first time I have been on my own with the kids and not in a constant state of anxiety. It has all gone very, very well. Stressful at times, yes. But not overwhelming. The kids have done great.

Saturday - Cross training - 10 minute Solutions for 45 minutes

I did the whole 10 minute solution program which works the glutes, abs, arms, and thighs. I skipped the 5 minute cool down. The glutes was the most challenging. I could really feel it. I thought the whole thing was not a major workout, but the fact I am a little sore right now makes me think it was what I needed. I know of two runners who got major injuries that put them out of major races from cross training and strength training workouts. I could probably work myself a little harder on cross training or strength training days, but I am really cautious of it.

Sunday - Long Run - Ran 7 miles

Today was one of those days where I felt like I could run forever. It felt so refreshing to run! I felt amazing. I love days like this. My mom came at 4 PM. She put Derek and Hailey to bed. I ran from around 7:45 - 9:00 PM with a 10 minute water/pit stop after Mile #5. My five mile run only took me 45 minutes. I went a little a slower the last 2 miles. I felt great. I am glad my mileage is up again. Can't wait for the 10K!

My friend Alyssa is started a big weight loss project with some of her friends. My weight is pretty normal for my height. I am not out to try and lose a whole bunch of weight. I do want to focus on eating healthier and working my abs. So I signed on to one of the calorie counting sites and I am going to try to do abs 3-4 times a week versus just twice a week. If I can lose a couple pounds or tone my flabby areas, I am all for it! I have been eating way more fruits and veggies in the last few weeks so that is a start.