6 Weeks

I have committed to refraining from sweets (candy, cake, donuts, etc.) and alcohol for the next 6 weeks.  I started this abstinence last Wednesday and it will until Sunday, March 20th.  You'll notice that this period coincides with Lent.  While I'm not a particularly religious person, a combination of things moved me this year to participate in giving something up.

The countdown begins (1)

One of the motivators for me was that I've been eating way too much sweet junk food.  My overall diet is pretty good, but I tend to overindulge on cupcakes, candy, cake, and other baked items.  I don't sit down and eat a whole box of donuts, but even eating one donut (or cupcake or piece of candy) a few times a week can really add up.  I know from experience that when I eat crap, I feel like crap.  And lately, I just haven't really been feeling my best.  So the onset of Lent was a great way for me to hit my reset button, to clear out my house of sweets, and to practice some self-constraint.

 These look sooo good... (2)

A cleaned up diet is certainly a worthwhile goal, but the main motivator for me this year was my Grandmother.  Gram was always a devout Catholic and always gave up something for Lent.  She was also one of the sweetest people that I've ever met and was very influential in my life.  Although Gram passed away over two years ago, I still miss her every single day.  So I'm also practicing something that was important to her as a way to honor her and her memory.

In memory (3)

So how's it going so far?  I'm only one week in and to be honest, it's been a bit of a struggle.  It was hard resisting an awesome looking cupcake when I was grabbing a cup of decaf coffee in the afternoon.  It was a challenge to refrain from buying gourmet cookies at the grocery store during my weekly shopping trip.  It was a struggle to refrain from buying Easter (!) candy that is already out on the shelves.  But every time I am tempted, I remember why I'm doing this and so far, I've been successful in avoiding indulgence.

I am hopeful that with each passing day, the desire for extra sugar and baked goods will fade a bit.  I am hopeful that by the end of this time period, sweets will again become more of an occasional treat and not something that is indulged in every day.  I am also hopeful that by cleaning up my diet, my running performance will improve.  It may be a coincidence, but it already seems like I am running slightly faster at my lower heart rate.  I guess time will once again tell.

1. Calendar, by Dafne Cholet, CC BY
2. Cupcakes, by Karen, CC BY
3. Marguerite, by Frederic Bisson, CC BY

Ten Tips for a Long Distance Treadmill Running

Phew. So glad it's the weekend! This has been a very busy week. I had hoped to post at least once but as you can tell, it didn't happen. I'm still trying to figure out a consistent schedule - as is everything in life, this blog is a work in progress!

Anyway, I'm happy to report that despite my packed schedule, I was able to get in some pretty good mileage this week. Five on Tuesday, six on Wednesday, five on Thursday, and 10 on Friday.  Running my long run during the week is not usual for me, but I knew due to the cold snap I was going to have to run it on the treadmill and since I had the time and opportunity on Friday, I thought why not?

MAF Test #3 (The Redo)

After my last MAF test, I was feeling pretty discouraged about my running and whether or I was making any progress at all.  So, as I promised myself last week, I went to the gym yesterday morning to re-test to see if last week was just a fluke or if it is truly where I'm at.

In order to control some of the test variables (gym overcrowding and temperature), I arrived at the gym a little earlier in the morning than last week - 9 AM vs 12 PM.  I was hoping that the gym might be a little less crowded earlier in the day.  Unfortunately, the gym was still pretty busy at 9 and the majority of the treadmills were occupied.

Injury

Quick training update for the week.

My 10 miler on Sunday went fine, despite the fact that my big toe hurt (more on that later.).  I was still running pretty slow, but it was so nice to run outside!  Some parts of the trail I ran on hadn't been cleared yet, but it actually felt good to run on the packed snow.  It was just like running on the dirt trails in AZ again!

This week is supposed to be a lower mileage week - around 18 - 20 miles.  My plan calls for a varied schedule where I run higher mileage for 3 - 4 weeks and then scale back in mileage for a recovery week.  I haven't exactly had a bunch of high mileage weeks, but I decided to keep the recovery week in my plan anyway.

Favorite Runs: Papago Park in Phoenix, AZ

This post is hopefully the first of a series where I discuss some of my favorites: runs, gear, books, races, etc.  For my first installment, I wanted to share a favorite place to run that I discovered several weeks ago during my trip to Arizona: the trails at Papago Park.

MAF Test #3 (Hint: It wasn't good)

Quick note:  After I posted about my treadmill run on Wednesday, I went back and reviewed my running schedule...doh!  I was supposed to have run 6 miles on Wednesday after all!  So I didn't really add any extra miles to the week, which is OK.  I just decided to forgo the extra 3 miles and leave my total mileage at 33 for the week.

The past couple of days have not been great from a running perspective.  I had a busy afternoon on Friday, so despite the nice(r) conditions outside, I wasn't able to get out before dark.  So I had to suck it up and go to the gym for a treadmill run.

MAF Tests

I've mentioned a few times how I'm currently experimenting with heart rate training.  More specifically, I'm trying to follow the MAF method and attempting to keep my heart rate under 145 for each run.  I calculated this heart rate using the 180 formula, which is essentially just 180 minus my age.

It's started out pretty tough to try to keep my heart rate under 145.  I had just finished training for my half-marathon and it was a little bit of a challenge to switch from a couple of days of speed work each week to slow and easy runs all the time.  It was also a challenge to run at the pace required to keep my heart rate below 145.  When I started running using this method, my pace was around 12-13 minute miles and I had to take several walking breaks to keep my heart rate down.

Treadmill Run

Just a quick update while I'm waiting for dinner to finish cooking...

This afternoon I put on my running clothes, psyched myself up to run in the chilly air and went outside to find am ugly, wet mess. Our temperatures were above freezing today so all the lovely snow we had this past weekend started to melt. This is great news for driving, but not so great news for running as I would have had to run through spots where the water was inches deep. At this point, running the street (with the deep puddles) is my only outside option as the sidewalks and trails aren't clear. So I decided to forgo the fresh air and headed to the gym.

I was dreading the gym a bit as it's always crowded this time of year and therefore pretty warm. I guess people were still stuck at home today because it really wasn't too bad. Warm, but not stifling. I had a 5 mile run on the schedule for today, but since I only managed to squeeze in a 3 mile run yesterday, I decided to run 6 instead to make up some mileage.

Overall, the run went pretty well. I managed to get into a groove fairly early on and zoned out a bit while I listened to instrumental music and watched a close-captioned episode of Property Brothers. The best thing that came out this run today was actually my first third or so. Despite the warmth of the gym and despite the fact I was a little tired going into this run, I was running at around a 10:00 minute mile pace for the first two miles! At one point, I even ran for a bit UNDER 10 minute miles and was able to keep my heart rate in check.

The fact that I was able to run at this pace, even for only a mile or two, is super encouraging. Sometime, as I'm trudging through my miles, getting frustrated with having to slow down for each subsequent mile, I wonder whether or not the heart rate training is really paying off. Today gave me hope that it's actually making a difference! I'm really looking forward to my third test coming up this weekend. I am hopeful that the numbers will show another drop in time.

Winter Running

If you hadn't heard, the Northeast was slated for (and received) a fair bit of winter weather this past weekend.  You may recall from my schedule that I posted the other day, that I try to do my long runs on the weekends.  Since the blizzard of 2016 was going to hit Friday - Sunday, I knew that the long weekend run was out this week.  Luckily, we had several days notice for this storm so I was able to switch my schedule around a bit and fit in (almost) all my runs.

I managed to squeeze in a 9 miler after work on Wednesday, a 6 mile run after work on Thursday, and a 6 mile run Friday morning before the storm.  I had already run 4 on Monday, so that brought my week total to 25 miles, definitely shy of my planned 33.

I spent most of Saturday doing chores around the house.  I accomplished a lot, but didn't get in any cardio or exercise of any type.  So when I woke up on Sunday to find that the snow had stopped, I was hopeful that I might be able to get a run in.  Here's the winter wonderland I woke up to that morning - so pretty!

After a lazy morning of coffee, waffles, and chores, I ventured outside to see if a run was doable.  To my happy surprise, my street and the main neighborhood roads had been somewhat cleared.  There was still ice and snow on the roads, but it was compact - perfect for my YaxTrax.  I received my YaxTrax (traction cleats for running in the snow/ice) a few years ago, but hadn't had the opportunity to try them out yet.  Here's what they look like on my shoes:

After figuring out how to put them on and doing a brief test walk on the snow, I headed out for a 5 mile run.  Between dodging snow piles, walkers, sledders, and 4WD vehicles, it was a little slow going, but it still felt great to be outside in the fresh air.  I ran painfully slow (even slower than my normal MAF method training), but I put the miles in and made it to an even 30 miles for this week.

It looks like the weather is going to cooperate better the rest of this week.  Let's see if I can fit in all my runs (35 miles) and most importantly, make it to the gym this weekend to run my third MAF test to see if I've made any progress with these slow runs.

Current Training Plan

After having accomplished my goal of running a sub-2 hour half marathon in December 2015, I knew that I needed to take a step back and focus on strengthening and building my running base before jumping back into racing again.  I truly believe one of the key factors of my success in meeting my goal was the fact that I took the time over the summer to build a strong running foundation.

From June to late August, I built my base by running 25-30 miles per week at a slow, easy pace.  Although it was challenging at first not to have a "plan" that I was working towards,  I eventually just relaxed and had fun with it.  By switching my focus from a running schedule culminating in a race to a running schedule simply to build mileage, I felt better physically and mentally by the start of Fall.

So after my great base-building experience over the summer, I decided to focus on base building again this winter.  I eventually want to meet my goal of a sub-23 minute 5K this Spring, so I'll spend the first few months of this year building my base and then follow a more specific plan to improve my speed.  

For this go round of base-building, I decided to give heart-rate training a shot.  More specifically, I'm going to follow the MAF method (at least the exercise piece - I'm not going to change my diet at this point.)  The MAF method requires that you calculate your maximum aerobic heart rate and run all of your weekly mileage below that rate.  According to the 180 formula, my maximum heart rate is 145 so I am making a concerted effort to keep my heart rate below that number for every single run.

Every couple of weeks, you perform a MAF test, which requires you to run 3-5 miles AT your maximum aerobic heart rate and to record the time for each mile.  In theory, by running at a lower heart rate, you're working more aerobically and you become a more efficient runner.   That means for each MAF test you should see a decrease in mileage times because your fitness improves to allow you to run faster at a lower heart rate. 

So here's a look at my running schedule for the MAF method. I'm building my base for about 15 weeks and trying to average between 25 - 35 miles per week. Since I'm writing this post in the middle of my training, I've included previously completed weeks. You'll notice that all hasn't gone according to plan as I was sick after Christmas this year and had to take some days off for travel. 

Week	M	T	W	R	F	S	S	Total
12/14/15	OFF	4	3	3	8	4	5 (Test)	27
12/21/15	4	OFF	6	4	3	5	SICK	22
12/28/15	SICK	SICK	SICK	3	4	4	5 (Test)	16
01/04/16	3	OFF	OFF	3	4	5	5	15
01/11/16	4	4	OFF	3	6	5	6	28
01/18/16	4	OFF	6	5	4	9	5	33
01/25/16	OFF	5	6	5	4	10	5 (Test)	35
02/01/16	3	OFF	3	3	3	3	3	18
02/08/16	OFF	5	6	5	4	10	5	35
02/15/16	5	OFF	6	5	4	10	5	35
02/22/16	OFF	5	6	5	4	10	5 (Test)	35
02/29/16	3	OFF	3	3	3	3	3	18
03/07/16	OFF	5	6	5	4	10	5	35
03/14/16	5	OFF	6	5	4	10	5	35
03/21/16	OFF	5	6	5	4	10	5 (Test)	35

Kind of a boring schedule, but I'm very interested in seeing whether or not my times decrease for my miles.  As you can see above, I've already done two MAF tests and I'll reveal the results of those in a separate post later this week. :)

I admit that part of me is a little worried that running so slowly will make me a slower runner.  But I figure even if that appears to happen after this trial, I can always just follow the same schedule I did this summer as I did last summer and hopefully have a great fall running season!

Long Time, No Blog

I had the best intentions last year to continually update this blog with my progress towards my goal of running a sub-2:00 hour half marathon.

Obviously, my good intentions weren't enough to make it happen.

So let's try this again!  But this time, with a new goal.  Yes, that's right - I accomplished my sub-2:00 hour half marathon goal last year!  After a disappointing May race, I was able to run a 1:57:50 in December.  I'll post more details about my journey to a sub-2:00 race (bumps - literally and figuratively) in a later blog post.

This year, I actually have two goals.  The first is to run a sub-23:00 5K and the second is to run a sub 1:50 half-marathon.  Given my progress and success over the past year, I think these are realistic and achievable goals.  Stay tuned for additional blog posts as I document (this time, for REAL) my journey towards these mileposts!