6.5 weeks to Philadelphia

I don't know why I've put off picking a training plan.  It's really not going to make or break the next 7 weeks; this year I have made progress in my half marathon times using different training plans.  I think I need to remind myself that.

I've been looking at:

• Hal Higdon's advanced half marathon plan 
• used for April & May half marathons
• some long runs were to be run with last quarter at race pace
• The plan from Women's Running magazine
• used for September's Rock n Roll half marathon
• long runs had mid-run mileage at race pace
• The FIRST half marathon training program (Run Less Run Faster)
• I read the book this summer
• similar to the Women's Running plan
• long runs should be run slightly slower than race pace

Some differences--
FIRST + Womens Running: 3 runs/week, longest run 15 miles
Hal Higdon Intermediate/Advanced: 5-6 runs/week, longest run 2 hours

I think since I just renewed my gym membership, I'm inclined to go with a plan with fewer runs/week so I can also utilize spin + boot camp classes for cross training. 

Since I took 2 weeks off of real training (but upped the cross training) I am hesitant to throw in a 15 mile run in only a few weeks, as the fewer-runs-per-week plans call for.


I'm thinking I'll give the FIRST plan a shot, but cut back a little on the longest run.

	Monday	Tuesday	Wednes	Thurs	Friday	Saturday	Sunday	miles run
9/26-10/2	boot  camp	spin	rest	spin  +abs	rest	3 mi PRO	6 mi hike
10/3-10/9	boot  camp	spin	3 mi	spin  +abs	6 E	rest	10 HMP+20	19
10/10-10/16	boot  camp	rest	3x[1600,  400R]	spin  +abs	5@ MT	rest	13 HMP+30	23
10/17-10/23	boot  camp	spin	10x[400,  400R]	spin  +abs	5@ MT	rest	10 HMP+20	22
10/24-10/30	boot  camp	rest  or easy	3x[2000,  400R]	rest  or easy	2x[1E,2MT],  1 E	rest	14 HMP+30	27
10/31-11/6	boot  camp	spin	2x[3200,  400R]	spin  +abs	5@  MT	rest	12 HMP+20	21
11/7-11/13	boot  camp	spin	5x[1k,   400R]	spin  +abs	2E,  3@ ST, 1E	rest	8 HMP+20	20
11/14-11/20	boot  camp	spin	6x[400,   400R]	rest	3 E	rest	The Half	8+13.1

All speedwork (Wednesdays) calls for 10-20 min warm up + 10 min cool down.
R= recovery
MT = midtempo
E = easy
HMP + xx = half marathon pace + (seconds)



I was thinking more about pace too.

I was slightly bummed that I wasn't faster at my half in September.  But, if you recall my 28:07 5k in August... according to Run Less Run Faster, a 28:05 5k predicts a 10:06 pace for a half marathon (2:12:24).  And I ran a 2:12:01 half marathon 5.5 weeks later.  So, really... I performed on par or marginally better than  predicted by my 5k.

The FIRST plan suggests you run at paces based on your current fitness level, not based on a goal time.  So my paces will be based on my 2:12:01 half from 2ish weeks ago.

Hooray for Headbands!

Today I received the headbands I ordered from Little Slice of Awesome!  A.k.a. Emily.  I like coming home from work to find good mail waiting for me.   :)

Me likey!  I can't wait to try 'em out on my next run. For now though, this is what they look like with a cardigan:

This is my "It's only Tuesday and I'm already feeling burnt out" face

 Though making a creepy face, I'm happy to have some new headbands

Post to follow after I get a chance to wear them while I sweat.

Now for some running mileage trivia!

This year, from January 1 - September 30 I ran 727.32 miles.

If I want to hit my random goal of 1000 miles for the year, I'll need to run another 272.68 miles before December 31.  That's an average of 90.9 miles per month.  That might be kind of ambitious given my record this year:

In the Year 2011...

I don't know what the odds are of THREE 90 mile months, but I'll try my best!  I guess it could also be something like: 115, 83, 75.  There are lots of possibilities, I will save you the pain of not going into them all.

To compare, for the same time period in 2010, I ran 518 miles.

Alright...my goal of 1000 miles will be my motivation to get my act together for the November half.  I'm planning on kicking myself out of bed early tomorrow to get in some miles before work.  I have not been eager to get out of bed early any weekday this past month, so this may be a challenge.  Wish me luck!

Do you have any mileage or other activity-related goals for 2011?

How close are you to meeting them?

For my friends with four-legged friends

I haven't figured out my training plan for the next 7 weeks yet, so in the meantime here is a post for my friends with four-legged friends.

Meet Molly Waffles:

Unfortunately we are lowly renters and do not have a yard.  When we go for walks, Molly Waffles has the luxury of either my husband or myself following her around and picking up her droppings with fun pastel-colored plastic baggies.  She's got quite the life.

These baggies used to be just under $5.00/36 at Target but as of Thursday they are now $6.24 (or $0.17/bag)

But wait, here's a fun discovery!

While shopping for one of my 397 friends who had babies this year, I came across these dog bags...in the baby section of Target.

 Baby bags on the left; Dog bags on the right

Oh look at that, they are IDENTICAL.  The difference?  The "Munchkin" bags are $4.09/36 bags (that's $0.11/bag).  That's right.  The bags are the exact same, yet when marketed to dog owners they cost $2.15 more per package compared with when marketed to baby owners.

So if you buy these fun little bags for your furry friend, get them in the baby section and save yourself some money.  Pretty awesome, I know.

Also, on a related note, while at Petco I learned that you can buy nail polish for your dog.  That's not really Molly's style, but if you have a fashionable dog - take note.

I bet this post blew your mind.

Time for me to go sulk about the weekend being over.  Mine consisted of a 3 mile run, a 6 mile hike, some serious apartment-cleaning, and baking banana bread.


How was your weekend?

Recovery Week

With 2 half marathons in 8 days I thought I should properly recover this week.

After Sunday's trail half and "cold water bath," I took it easy the rest of Sunday and all of Monday.  My legs felt a little tired on Tuesday but my quads and calves were not sore (hooray!) and I wanted to move my legs around.  A friend talked me into going to spinning with her that night.

So I bit the bullet and renewed my gym membership after a 5 month hiatus.

Thursday work was closed for a Jewish holiday.  I met my husband for Indian buffet lunch then swung by my favorite bakery ever.  (Alyssa and Kari can skip past this part because they have strong willpower and are 2 weeks into their dessert ban leading up to their marathons this month).

 

 For the fellow coffee fan, the coffee buttercream frosting is AMAZING.

Amazing, I tell you!

Their cinnamon buns are pretty special too.

That night, I went to spinning again, followed by a 1/2 hr abs class.

And Friday morning my abs were SORE.  Admittedly, I haven't done much for them since the Fit Abs Challenge that ended in early August.

Saturday I decided it was time to run again.  My goal was to run at a comfortable pace but with still with some effort for a favorite 3 mile loop.  I tried to not look at my watch too much.

I ran 3.18 miles and surprised myself with my splits: 9:50, 9:40, 9:15, followed by a .18 mile jog then walk cool down.  Apparently my spinning classes did not do enough to wear me out and I had lots of energy to get out of my system.  The run didn't feel like I was running that hard, though the cooler weather might be to blame/credit.  I didn't run until noon and it was only 62 out.  It was glorious!

[source]

Back to the gym:

Tuesday I dropped 94 big ones to get myself gym access-- including group classes-- through the end of 2011.  AND a free sample of deodorant.

 If you could smell me, today I smell like a rain kissed water lily.

The low cost, for me, is the main perk of going to a university gym.

Group classes are included which is a huge plus too.

They offer a bunch of classes, but my main interests are boot camp, spinning, and abs.  I don't see myself as a zumba person, the kickboxing paled in comparison to my previous cardio kickboxing classes at a martial arts place, but I hope to try yoga or pilates sometime in the future.


Some of the drawbacks?

• 2nd day at the gym and "looking good for spring break" has already been mentioned
• Realizing current freshmen are 10 years younger than me
• I was the oldest person in Tuesday's spin class (aside from the instructor) 
• one of the girls in the class loudly said the room "smelled like moth balls"
• The room did not smell like moth balls
• But I hope this was a reference to some of the older women leaving the room from yoga, not my friend and me-- soooo old in our mid-late 20s
• At one point during Thursday's ab class, out of 30 people, one student, another "regular" (university staff, not a student) and I were the only ones doing all the ab exercises.  The room was sooo loud because people were talking to eachother and not following along with the instructor. ONE girl was texting!!
• A) So rude to the instructor
• B) If you're taking up a spot in class, you better be working. Why else are you there?

Emily has touched on this recently, and I completely share her opinions.

I'll get over it.  Because it's cheap.  And at these classes - the undergrads will start dropping like flies in a couple weeks anyway :)
So to summarize:
This time around, my recovery included: very cold water bath, spinning, abs, baked goods, and a short run at the end of the week.

I'm ready to get running again!

Questions for you:
Do you belong to a gym?  University or other?
What's your usual post-race recovery routine?