Princess Half Marathon Training Week 2 (Brittany)

Week 2, Run 1

At 2 a.m on Tuesday, I was awaken by an awful storm. It was crazy bad! I really think it was two storms at once, the way the thunder rumbled non-stop. I'm not scared of storms, but we are pet sitting for my mother, and her dog, Carlee, came bolting into our bedroom in a panic! I calmed her down, but I could not get back to sleep for hours (even after both Carlee and Adam were snoring, I was a little bitter).  I finally felt myself nodding off about 4:30, so I turned off my wake up to run alarm, knowing I needed that extra hour to get through my day. 

I was a little annoyed not to get to knock it out early, as I had every intention to do. I even went to bed early in preparation, but such is life. Instead I was able to squeeze it in on my lunch break! That can be tricky because I need to make sure I don't get too sweaty before going back to work. 

I ran in a local park near my office for 30 minutes as scheduled. It is funny because I felt kind of slow and clumsy during the run, but I ended doing my fastest splits ever, 13:08 and 13:38. I believe that 13:08 in my fastest mile ever, so I'm pleased. When I break that 13 minute mile, I'm going to celebrate! 

After  my run, I went to Moe's, and celebrated with a taco that I had carefully built to meet my calorie and protein needs. It was delicious.

Week 2, Run 2

This run started out with much less drama than the one before. I went to bed early the night before, with some complaints from my husband (apparently, he likes to spend time with me). There was no storm to wake me up in the middle of night, and I was able to get up when my alarm first sounded.

I decided to do a run around the neighborhood and by a short nearby trail. I was hoping I would be as fast as Tuesday.   But I wasn't. Who knows why. Maybe I was less warmed-up, maybe this route is harder, but my two splits were 13:44 and 14:13. Boo. I'm not worried about it though, I'm sure my splits will get more consistent as I go. 

Week 2, Run 3

Today I had to do my run on the treadmill due to the gloomy weather outside. What a bummer, the treadmill is so tough anyway, and today I had to go 3 miles for the first time since my last 5k. If you remember, my last treadmill run I struggled greatly, having to bump down my speed after going a mile. This time I was determined to be consistent for all 3 miles. 

I set my treadmill at 4.3mph to start the run. Last time, I struggled with that same pace, even though it is just a 14 minute mile.  The pace didn't feel as hard as last time until the last mile. I had to block my stats so I couldn't see them, as staring at it was KILLING MY SOUL. 

But I was able to run the same pace for all 3 miles, with no adjustments. I'm so proud of that! Next treadmill run, I will bump it up to 4.4mph. I will keep doing that till I get a even faster treadmill pace. When I first started working out on the treadmill, I could only go 3.0 mph, so I've made a lot of progress.

Week 2 of training is in the books,

Brittany

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Princesss Half-Marathon Week 1 Training (Brittany)

Week 1, Run 1

I was so pumped all weekend, knowing I would officially kick off half-marathon training this week. I love having a plan to follow, knowing exactly what I need to do to reach my goal. That is exactly how I felt about Couch to 5k training when I first did it. I was so dedicated to that plan, and it got me where I needed to be. Being plan oriented is just a part of my highly organized personality. 

Wednesday night, I was determined to get my run done first thing in the morning, although I've blogged how hard that is for me. But when my alarm went off that morning, I decided I'd much rather have the satisfaction of being done with my work-out by 6:45 than I would get from sleeping till 6:45. So I dragged my butt out of bed and put on my running gear.

When I stepped outside, it was soo cold and soo foggy. This is not unusual being that I live in the Tennessee Valley, one of the foggiest places around. I knew I would warm up once I got the blood pumping, and the temperature would feel better. I did a short warm-up and took off running. I went around my block 4 times (it is a half-mile loop). I ended up going 2.2 miles in a half hour (Tuesday and Thursdays are just half hour runs). My first mile was 13:25, and my second mile was 14:25. I am still working on maintaining a consistent pace. I'm thinking of doing at least one treadmill run a week to help with consistency.

I was pretty proud and happy to get that first run under my belt, and not to mention to be done working out so early. 

Week 1, Run 2

I knew Thursday would be the real test run (ha pardon the pun) as to whether or not I could do this morning early run on the regular. Thursday is by far my longest day. And let's face it, by Wednesday night I'm gearing up for the weekend. But I did manage to get myself out of bed Thursday morning, and I'm super proud of myself. I know I can make these morning runs a habit now.

My run was pretty similar to the Tuesday run, in terms of splits and pace! The only difference was that instead of listening to podcasts, I crafted a Disney music playlist the night before. It is awesome, and I'm so going to share it. Every time a new song came on I would be like, "That's my Favorite!" And then I realized oh they are all my favorites because I picked them!

One funny thing that happen that morning, is while it was still dark, I was running, and went to step on a leaf. That leaf was a frog that dive bombed me! Scared me to death. Close encounters of the wildlife kind! 

Week 1, Run 3

I decided to do my last training run on the treadmill, for the whole consistency of pace thing. I had two miles on the schedule. It is kind of funny, because during training, Saturdays are long run days. But the first long run is just two miles. I typically run a little over 2 miles on my half hour outings on Tuesdays and Thursdays. So this will be the only "long" run that isn't longer than my Tuesday/Thursday runs.

I started my run on 4.3 mph on the treadmill. Can I just say that I forgot how much harder the treadmill still feels for me compared to running outside? It was a struggle the whole time, I even had to bump it down to 4.1 a couple of times. But if anything the treadmill helps me learn how to keep on going even when it feels sucky.

I'm so happy to have week one of training complete. Just 21 weeks to go!

Brittany

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The (Almost) Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Run

Today, I woke up pretty amped and ready for my Saturday run. Historically, Saturday runs are almost, always my best runs. I guess it is because I'm well rested. I usually don't set an alarm clock, but I still manage to wake up pretty early (8:30), when usually I get up at 6.  

I have a slow, Saturday morning routine. I browse the internet, skimming my favorite blogs, and favorite sites in complete quiet. No TV, no music, and no husband playing video games in the background with the OH MY GOSH most repetitive, annoying music ever. Anyone else have that problem?

I then lace up my shoes, and I decide where I want to run. I usually try to get outside on these mornings to vary things up. It has been cool all week, and it was raining all yesterday. But it was clear when I woke up, and my weather app pegged it in the 70's which seemed perfect. When will I learn to step outside instead of checking my app? Because it was perfect, perfectly MUGGY.

I got to the local trail, and I started running. But for some reason, I felt so stiff, and I was so not feeling it. Occasionally, I have those days. I took a break after .2 miles and I tried to get going again, but I just wasn't in the right mind set. So I turned around to do the walk of shame back to the car. I was feeling a little down on myself on that walk back. Sometimes I get so impatient, and I'm so ready just to be that 10 minute a mile runner who can easily go 26.2 miles.  Just forgetting that two months ago, I couldn't run one mile and now I am able to run 4!

But I had the idea, that I would give it a go on the treadmill when I got home. So when I got home, I didn't even think twice and jumped on the treadmill. It felt less hard, but I still wasn't in the proper mindset. However, I did manage go the fastest I have ever gone on the treadmill (4.1 miles an hour). I just did a mile. Which isn't much, but at least I didn't give up on the run. That is the most important thing.

So in total, I ran .2 miles on the trail, walked .2 miles to the car, and I  ran 1 mile on the treadmill.

I know I'm getting there and one run where I don't meet my goal (2 miles in this case) does not mean I won't ever reach my ultimate goal. I have to just keep putting myself out there.

After all, 

Tomorrow is Another Run,

Brittany

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The Week in Running (thus far)

This faux polar vortex the nation has going on right now is kind of rocking my socks off. It feels so good out, there is like zero humidity. It is especially awesome because during the last week it has been OPPRESSIVELY hot. Like make you want to slap your grandmama hot.

I've gone on three runs this week. Gradually increasing my distance by a half mile each time, just so I'm careful not to aggravate that injury. But so far the runs are feeling pretty good and, they are not causing me any extra pain. 

Saturday, I suited up with my new shoes and fancy socks, and I went for a slow half mile jog on the treadmill. I was so scared that my leg would be hurting a few hours later, but I was hopeful the new shoes would make a difference. And they totally did! They are a true blessing. A few hours later I felt no worse than before my run.

So on Monday, I did another run on the treadmill, picked up the pace a bit, and did a mile. While I was running, my leg felt a little tight, so I was worried about how I would feel post-run. But again, I went through the evening with no extra pain. 

Today, with the weather feeling so gosh darn nice, I knew I had to do my run outside. I had planned to go home and head out to our local trail. But when I got home, Adam was very mad because our internet was out. He works from home, so that is a big problem. So he needed to take the car out to hunt down some free WiFi (it is back up now but painfully slow). Meaning no trail run for me.

I could not give up running outside, so I just did the loop by the apartment. Which is not pretty, and it is totally boring and repetitive. But it has fresh air, sunshine, and oxygen, so who am I to complain?

I did 1.5 miles, I was not even aware of any leg pain. I was able to do the first mile in 14:48! I was so excited to see a pace under 15 minutes. This happened on my last run pre-injury. It makes me so happy to see that my pace is slowly but consistently getting faster.  My ultimate goal is to improve my time by a couple of minutes and do a 10k, so I can declare a time and get a better corral at Disney!

Right now, I'm just kind of riding out the happiness high I feel after a successful run. And in the words of Augustus Waters, "I'm on a roller coaster that only goes up, my friends." And if you don't know who Augustus Waters is, I am a little disappointed (it is only from one of the best books out there, The Fault in Our Stars).

Until Next Time,

Brittany

The Countdown is On...

The countdown to Disney is slowly ticking away! It's hard to believe that when I started my timer that we had well over 340 days! I like to randomly check and when I saw we were less than 250 days away I sent Brit a copy of the timer. Her response was "Holy Moly!" I know exactly how she feels because it seems so surreal to be getting closer by the day. We will be registering for our race on July 15th! It's so close! 

I finished my week of 4 milers on Saturday morning and it was HOT! My fastest 4 miles I did for the week was 58 minutes. My longest was 1hr 2 mins. I'm not going to complain because I'm still under the time limit for Disney and I know that over time my speed will improve. And before I move on, I must say how proud I am of Brittany for running her first full 5K on Saturday! That is such an amazing accomplishment! :) She has inspired me to try and run a full 5K as well. 

Today starts my 5 mile runs and since the weather has decided not to cooperate, I'm going to be using my Mom's treadmill. Even though I hate the treadmill, at least I will get my workout in without too much hassle. Plus, they were cutting the grass at the track I've been running at since I've been home and the pollen is RIDICULOUS! Hopefully this rain will help bring it down a little so I'll be able to run outside tomorrow! :) 

I've been home visiting my family the last few days as our "home" church is preparing for VBS starting tonight and I had a few Pampered Chef shows scheduled. Given that I'm out for summer break, both of these give me an excuse to stay busy and make extra trips home to visit. I love PC because I get to cook and teach while earning some extra income. If you've never heard of Pampered Chef, you can check out my website here. VBS is fun too because I get to be in charge of games with all the kids. There is nothing more fun than working with little kids and seeing their eyes light up. Our theme this year is Weird Animals. I can't wait for the kids to come into the church and see what we have in store for them! 

It's hard to believe that everything is moving so fast. It feels like just yesterday I started my summer break and in two more weeks I'll be setting up my classroom and gearing up for a new school year, my half marathon, and getting everything squared away for Disney! I feel so blessed and can't wait to see what happens! 

Have a Marvelous Monday,

Jana

2 Miler? Check.

Brittany here!

I am happy to report I was able to jog 2 miles today on the treadmill after work with no breaks. I'm super proud of myself for having the energy to do so, because I just started this summer camp we run at work,  which is where we take 50 of our kids (with emotional problems), and we do a treatment program. It is exhausting, but it is rewarding as well.

I decided to do the run on the treadmill because it was pretty hot outside. I knew if I was on the treadmill at home, I could watch TV, and jack up the A.C. So I turned on my DVR, started one of my favorite summer shows (The Next Food Network Star), and did a 4 minute warm-up walk.  Then, I was off!

I set the pace at 3.5 and didn't budge from it. Every couple of minutes I would do the talk test. That is where I say a complete sentence usually, "I can still talk in complete sentences." If I can say that without gasping for air, I keep going. I kept going till I got to the 2 mile mark.

It took me 34 minutes (a 17 minute mile). That is still slower than where I need to be for Disney by a minute, but once I'm stronger, I will up the pace.

Today I'm just happy with what I have accomplished. I'm sure I will have bad runs in the future, but I know I am so much stronger than I give myself credit for.

See you after the next run,

Brittany

Week 1, Work Out 1

Hey Blogosphere!

It's Brittany here! I wanted to report on my first workout in our plan to go 13 miles in 13 weeks. Week One involves One Mile Workouts. It was raining outside today, so I knew I would have to use the treadmill a.k.a the dreadmill. I don't know why I'm so anti-treadmill, I just find treadmill running a lot more difficult than outdoor running.

Maybe it is because it forces to me to keep a consistent pace? I'm not really sure. I'm also a lot faster when I run outdoors because when I try to up the speed too much on the treadmill it just feels too hard.

After work, I did a two minute warm-up walk at a pace of 2.7 mph. I then started my mile jog. I did my first 0.2 miles at a 3.5 pace, but I was pretty winded, so I bumped it down to 3.3 mph. I did that for a half mile, and then I was able to bump it back up to 3.5 for the rest of the mile (0.3).  I ended up doing about a 17:54 minute mile. When I'm outdoors, I usually can do a mile in under 16 minutes. 

I do think the treadmill can be helpful in my journey, as I  need to learn to keep a consistent pace. So I will definitely incorporate some dreadmill time in my future training.

I'm so glad my first work out is in the books because getting started is always a big part of the battle for me.

I will be out of town this weekend, attending my niece's graduation in Texas. So I'm going to have to find some time for running on both Friday and Saturday! Staying on track on vacation has always been a failure in the past. But I'm not going to let being out of town be an excuse for me this time.  I'm going to rock it out this weekend!

Love,

Brittany