Runners LOVE Vizslas

It's been way too long since I last posted! I've just been so super busy with grad school, work and my puppy. I figure now is better than never! It's about 9:30 PM and I have to wake up at 5:00 AM tomorrow morning, so I should probably be sleeping, but I'm not tired... Anyways, in this post I'll talk (write) about last weekend's Duathlon and then my preparation for 20 MILES tomorrow at the Road Runner Akron Marathon. 

Good thing Gary took pics, since this guy got in the way of my professional finish photo!

BLAKE! Needless to say, he beat me. :)

Last weekend was the Portage Lakes Triathlon and Duathlon. Blake and I competed in the Sprint Duathlon, which was a 5K run (3.1 miles), 12-mile bike, followed by another 5K run. It was not AS BAD as I thought it would be! It was pretty chilly in the morning, but I felt pretty good overall during the race. My overall time was 1:52:15. My first 5K was 26:56, 12-mile bike was 55:57 and my last 5K was 26:35... Not the best, but I didn't want to burn out, even though I felt like I could have pushed myself harder afterwards. I think I'm going to do more duathlons and actually train for them next year. They're a lot of fun!

On another note. We also met Miles' brother's owners at the Duathlon! One of them was competing in the triathlon. Runners LOVE vizslas! Here are some pictures of my little pup. Well, he's not so little anymore, about to be 14 weeks on Monday! Can't wait until he can start running with me. Dexter's (Miles' brother) owners said they've already starting running a couple miles with him. I tried running a little with Miles that same day, but he kept getting in front of me and whining. May take a few more tries. I'm also going to check with the vet on Monday first to see if it's alright if I start running him. Don't want my baby getting hurt, he's got a lot of training and races ahead of him!

Well, tomorrow is the Road Runner Akron Marathon! I'll be running in a relay with Blake, his dad Gary and two other people. Blake and I will be starting at the beginning and running to the last leg of the race to 19 miles, run an extra half mile and then run back and get on the bus to ride to the finish! I'm thinking (hoping) it'll be somewhat easier running with thousands of other people for 20 miles than just the two of us. It'll keep our minds of the pain! :)
Here is my preparation check list for a big race like this:
1. Dinner - Whole wheat pizza with broccoli and green pepper, with some almonds on the side.
2. Prepare breakfast - PowerBar and Gatorade!
3. Set out clothes and have bib by them
4. Put sensor on shoes.
5. Go to bed early (ehh, not happening!)
6. Set alarm for 5:00 AM (BLAH!)
7. Ice lower back for 20 minutes
8. Lay in bed and visualize how I want the race to go. Mentally go through the run and prepare myself for the ups and downs.
9. SLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP

About to go complete steps 7-9 now! I'll try to post again tomorrow on how the 20 miles went.

Stay fit my friends!:)

The Race Doesn't START Until Mile 20!

Blake and I ran 19 miles today! WOO HOO! A little bit of chaffing and sore legs later, I feel pretty good! I felt pretty good the whole time too - just had to slow down a bit the last few miles... Last night Blake and I made our whole wheat pizzas for dinner - it's our ritual dinner before a long run, and it works! Then about 45 minutes before the run I had a power bar and some Gatorade - which kept me pretty full and energized until the last three miles. After our run we had our favorite - PULP! I was pretty much hungry all day too... A couple hours later I had some Sun Chips and then three more hours I made lemon pepper chicken, whole wheat macaroni and cheese (I'm addicted to it no) and some peas and corn. Now it's almost 8:30 PM and I'm hungry AGAIN! :)

Blake made a good point during the run; it's true, the race doesn't start until mile 20... My legs were tired, sore and if I have to run seven more miles, I would have had a different mindset... It's hard to say how I'll be for that 6.2 race since I've never ran that far before. But, it'll definitely be interesting! Also, note to self, WEAR COMPRESSION SHORTS! The lining of the built-in underwear of my running shorts does some major damage to me inner thighs... I've been walking about like a baby with a diaper on all day! -lol-

Well, in two weeks I'll be running 20 miles at the Akron Marathon as part of the relay with Blake, his dad and some chick. Instead of just running one leg of the race, I'm going to start at the first leg of the race and keep running until I get to 20 miles (Blake is going to do that too). It should be interesting...

Also, next weekend is the Portage Lakes Duathlon in Akron, which is a 5K run, 12-mile bike and 5K run. I'm supposed to run 12 miles next weekend, so I'll just run six more miles on the Sunday after the race - if I can still move!

That's it for now. Getting ready to watch the season finale of True Blood! :)

Six Weeks of Training Down, New Friends and Cycling

IT'S SUNDAY!! WEEEEEE!! This morning I FINALLY ran with the Grunt Girls! I met up with a few of them at the Boston Mills Store on the Towpath, which was supposed to be at 8:00 AM, but I didn't get there until a quarter after because as usual I got lost... If you know me, you know that I am directional challenged... But, I made it and ran nine miles with some awesome ladies!! The trails were beautiful and it was nice to run with some females for once. We talked and got to know each other. That's one of the best parts of running with new people - learning about them and finding common interests. It makes the time go by soooooooooooooooo much faster!

The last mile I was struggling though... No matter how far I'm running, the last mile always gets me! But thanks to Christa I was able to keep pushing! I wanted to say "Hey, can we walk?" but with Christa's cheerful personality and optimism I didn't make one complaint. :) I really enjoyed it, minus the humidity... I was sweating profusely and was a dumb butt by wearing a heavy cotton t-shirt... Once we were done with the run though I stripped off my sweat-drenched shirt and threw it in the back seat for the drive home. I think I'm going to actually join the Grunt Girls! It'll be fun to have a group of girls to run and race with. :)

Yesterday Blake and I went on a 20-mile bike ride through Hudson and up through Seasons Road and 43. So, my booty was a little sore today, but what a great feeling that is! haha Then after our bike ride we went to PULP! NOM NOM! I got the usual, Asian Chicken Wrap on whole wheat and a small Anna Banana. For those of you who don't know or haven't been to Pulp (shame on you lol) an Anna Banana is a smoothie with pineapple juice, guava juice, low-fat yogurt, honey and of course BANANAS! SOOOO good! For dinner last night Blake and I had salmon burgers, corn-on-the-cob and fresh green beans (picture provided)! So good!

Well, while I'm writing this blog I'm also in the middle of getting ready to go to my dad's in PA so I better wrap things up. Tomorrow Blake and I are heading out to Atlantic City for four days! YAY!! Can't wait to run on the boardwalk and the beach! I will try to blog some on vacation, but we'll see how that goes. Until then, stay fit my friends! :)

Possible Reasons I Didn't Run the Full Last Year :-(

So I'm in the middle of the sixth week of training (WOO). I'm a little anxious about the next three weeks, because last year I gave up my marathon training at week nine! I ran 15 miles the week before and the day I was supposed to run 16, I just couldn't do it anymore. So, I called the Cleveland Marathon and told them I'd be downgrading to the half... Whomp whomp whomp......... That WILL NOT happen this year! Here are the factors that I believe played into me not completing my full marathon training...

1. I started training in the winter months and was in Bowling Green... Let's just say BG isn't the funnest place to run over 10 miles in.

2. I didn't have much motivation/support. Blake wasn't planning on running the full marathon in Cleveland and wasn't too thrilled about running that much. It really helps to have someone training with you. Now, Blake IS training for the marathon with me, plus I'll be joining the Grunt Girls, so I'll have TONS of support. Not to mention this blog. This is the main reason I started this blog - to vent about my training, get support and track my feelings and thoughts during the 18-month long process.

3. My body was just too exhausted. Maybe it was stress from school, poor nutrition or training, but I was so tired and sore ALL THE TIME. Hopefully more regular yoga and my early strength training will help my muscles from all the strain of road running. Plus, even though I already eat healthy, I'm trying to eat more carbohydrates and protein so my body can recover from those long runs.

Deena Kastor

4. TOO MUCH REPETITIVENESS! I only ran on roads and sidewalks, occasionally a treadmill. But, this time around I've been doing some trail running and plan to do more with the Grunt Girls. Trail running emphasizes different running skills, muscles and joints from your shoulders down. The ankles and knees really gain strength, but it also provides comfort from the hard pounding on the pavement, which can cause shin splints. Also, because of the unpredictability of the route, trail running improves your proprioception (the sense of balance and where the body is in space). According to Life Time Fitness, that's how American runner Deena Kastor won the bronze medal in the 2004 Athens Olympics Marathon. Therefore, MORE TRAIL RUNS!

This week's schedule looks like this: Monday I did upper body to give my legs a rest from the weekend's cardio workouts which included a 12-mile run on Saturday and a 10-mile bike on Sunday (my legs were KILLING me!). Tuesday was an easy three miles with some core work. Today was also an easy three miles, but Blake ran with me this morning. :) Tomorrow is going to be a six-mile pace workout. It's supposed to be 97 degrees tomorrow! YIKES! I'll have to get my run in early in the morning to beat the heat. Then I'll take a rest day Friday, Saturday hopefully a nice bike ride and then nine miles in the Peninsula with the Grunt Girls. :)

What Doesn't Kill You, Only Makes You Stronger!

Today was a tough long run... Blake and I ran 12 miles through the Metro Parks. We started off at the Route 8 entrance to change it up. We went out a little over four miles one way, went on the road a little and then headed back and ran the other way for a little less than two miles so I had to run back the way we started off a little further. I don't know if it was from running a lot in the sun or because I was hungry, but those 12 miles were hard, real hard! The first seven miles or so weren't too bad, but the last 3-4 miles really killed me. I had to slow down, stop to drink a lot, but I didn't give up. I just had to keep telling my self that there wasn't too much further to go and how good it'll feel afterwards to have ran the whole 12 miles instead of giving up. That's to me is more painful than any sore muscles - giving up and not trying my best. The pain in my legs will eventually go away, but the defeat and failure to finish will always be on my mind. Besides, 12 miles isn't even half of what I'll be running in October! I kept thinking, wow, can I really do 26.2 miles? I can barely finish this 12! Well, I'm still building on to my mileage and I know it'll get easier as I build up. I WILL NOT quit this time! I won't be making that phone call to the Columbus Marathon saying I'm switching to the HALF marathon like I did last year for the Cleveland...  I MUST complete 26.2 miles, even if it is only that one time on October 16.

Anyways, it was mainly my quadriceps that were killing me. I was breathing fine and everything else felt great, expect for my quads...  The last mile and a half Blake said he couldn't feel his legs anymore and didn't want to run in the sun so he stopped to go back to the car for a little bit as I kept going. When I ran back he ran the last quarter mile with me. Afterwards I felt sick to my stomach and thought I was going to keel over and/or throw up. I felt like I was going to throw up last weekend too when I ran the 11 miles, but not like today...

I do feel better now that I ate though. I had a PB&J on whole wheat bread with carrot sticks and a banana and green tea. I'm wondering if I should have had more than a half of a banana before I ran this morning? We didn't run until around 9:30 AM so I'm usually starving by then. Next weekend is nine miles, so I think I'll try eating something like a Luna Bar or something to see if I have more energy. That's what I'm thinking was wrong with me today - not enough energy. I felt very sluggish the last few miles and we ran out of water. =-/

Tomorrow I think Blake and I are going to go on a bike ride. I'm also just waiting on Blake now and we're going to go SWIMMING! I haven't gone swimming since last summer... It'll be good to get some sun (yes, I will be wearing sunscreen, my fellow wellness buddies :) ) and I'm sure my legs will love it too!

Sorry, no pictures today in this post... Lame, I know! Until next time, stay fit my friends! :)

Seize the Day!

I decided to change things up this week. I normally have a rest day today (Monday), but I got out of work and decided it was much too nice out to pass up a good to run, especially since it's supposed to "storm" all week.

Right before I hit the road, my right headphone went out! This is not a first... I've gone through probably eight different headphones over the past couple of years because of this. But, I think these ones are troopers. The same thing happened to me a couple months ago and it started working again. For now I'll just deal with music coming in through one ear. 

Also, I thought a 14-mile bike ride was nothing yesterday... Well, my legs think otherwise! My quads, calves and even my shins were throbbing the whole three miles today... I felt like I was going 10 miles per hour, but when I checked my speed on my handy-dandy Nike+ iPod it said I was going 8:30/mile. Not too bad for being sore and going up the hills of my neighborhood. I'm used to running at 6:00 AM and I ran at about 3:00 PM today so I was sweating like crazy! Even my sunglasses were fogging up... HAHA

So, I may just take off tomorrow to let my legs recover. I hate rest days though... In my head I'm like "Ohh ohh I wanna run, I feel like I can go 10 miles super fast!" But, my legs are saying "Take a chill pill, Colleen. We need to recover, damn it!" I usually don't listen to my poor legs, but I think tomorrow I will. :)

Oh, and an update on upcoming races... Saturday, July 2nd is the AMETEK Tree City 5K run for United Way of Portage County at 7:00 at Kent State and then on Monday, July 4th is the Aurora Fun Run 5K. I am deciding between the Kathleen Neitert Race for Hope 7.5 mile at Sunny Lake, which I've done for two consecutive years, and the Eddy's Bike Shop Sweet Corn Challenge on July 31st. These two are normally not on the same day, but this year they are... :( I've done the 50-mile ride with my dad and Blake for the past two years at the Sweet Corn Challenge... We'll see as it gets closer I guess... Also, I'm thinking about doing the Perfect 10-Miler on August 14th since I have to run 10 miles that day anyways. 

Well, I think that's enough for now. Have a great day! :) 

One Week Down, 17 More to Go!

Why hello there! Thanks for visiting my blog and for reading my first of many blog posts! I can't wait until October 15, but I'm also excited for this training program and to see the progress I will make. I am using Hal Higdon's "Marathon: The Ultimate Training Guide" for my training program. I am on the novice program since this will be my FIRST marathon.


Woo hoo! Week one of training for the Columbus Marathon complete! It really wasn't that difficult. Three miles on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and then six on Saturday. I also rode my bike today and did some strength training Friday on my rest/xt days. But, I figured he's starting off in lower mileage and will build up.

This is my first post, so it's pretty short - not many obstacles, YET! Legs are a tiny bit sore, but nothing I can't handle. :)

Here is a picture of my Mizuno Running Shoes. I have a little over 250 miles on them now, so in the next 250 miles I plan on buying the Nike LIVESTRONG Lunarswift+2  Shoes - see below. I've heard some great things about these shoes. Plus, they're yellow!


I'm going to try to update this thingy a few times a week - usually after my Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday runs. I'll also be sure to share articles I come across that may appeal to my fellow runners.

Stay fit my friends!                                                  

Colleen