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Pipestave Done!
May. 14th, 2012 01:56 pmThe first ECTA trail race was a huge amazing fun time. I achieved a personal best for a 5k trail run: 32:30, average pace 10:30. My first mile was 9 minutes. These are big numbers for someone like me. Overall, though, I was just really pleased to be out there. The 5k is not my race at all. It is a race for sprinters and really fast people, not slow people like me. As my friend Jenn, a personal trainer, put it, "I would rather run slow for 30 miles than sprint for 3." I totally agree. It actually takes me around 2-3 miles just to get warmed up, typically. The Pipestave course was pretty technical: one really huge hill, lots of rocks and roots on the trail, several little "bridges" (boards and planks laid across mud -- I just ran through the mud!), and mud mud mud mud. I am already looking forward to the next race in the series, which is in June: a 5-miler that raises money to support a school in Africa.
I celebrated Pipestave by eating half a chocolate chip cookie afterward. I haven't been eating treats in a couple of months now, trying out better calorie management instead of eating crap and feeling terrible on my runs. I have been treating myself the past couple of weekends to fat-free frozen yogurt, though, and actually I think that bit of extra sugar in my diet has given me an energy rush for my longer runs. I am still working on balancing out nutritionally. It is very trial and error, though mostly my goal is a lot of lean protein and milk for muscle build-up, lots of fiber and green veggies, and enough complex carbs to fuel my workouts. Since I don't really like pasta or potatoes, this works out to being whole-grain bagels.
I have lost my first toenail:
As far as circuit training goes, I have added in jump up burpees (silliest name for an exercise ever), and more squats. A typical circuit run involves 30 minutes of light running/jogging, lunges, squats, weight lifting, about sixty or seventy pushups, about 100 crunches, plank, isometric exercises, 100 standing jumps, and about 40 dips. I try to do a circuit run twice a week. It has DEFINITELY helped strengthen my core and I think it has improved my running dramatically.
The whole reason I started training with circuits was to prepare for a "Mud Run," or a cross-country obstacle race this month. We decided not to do that race. It would have been silly because we have to be down in RI that weekend and rushing back to do the stupid race was not going to be easy or enjoyable. But I have been dreading it since January, really. I worried so much that I would not be able to pull myself over the 5 foot wall obstacle that I have been going crazy. I have DREAMED about that stupid wall. I know now that I could easily get over that obstacle, but the whole mental ordeal has caused me not to want to do the race at all. Soured me on it.
The GOOD thing is I have been purposely training with obstacles for months. Obstacles could include fallen logs, horse jumps, steep hills, boulders, fences, tree stumps, picnic tables, etc. This has been fantastic for my agility (which is poor because my sense of balance sucks) and essentially for my brain. Facing obstacles a lot prepares you to face more obstacles. If, as a runner, you always avoid the steep hills or challenging trails, you will never improve. This is something I have learned.
This week I am cycling back. Dan instructed me that, while preparing for a marathon, every 4th week one should back off on intensity and distance. I felt AMAZING on Sunday's "long run," which only lasted 1 hour instead of 2 hours, and I wanted to go another hour. And I have built up to half marathon distance, having run 13 miles last weekend with really no trouble at all. However, I see the value in getting that week of rest and allowing my body to recover. My goal of training for this marathon without getting hurt is important to me. I intend to do hill and speed workouts this week (hill workout tonight, speed workout on the dreaded treadmill on Thursday!), but I won't do as much and I will fill in with more easy jogging. Cross training this week has already involved rowing and riding a stationary bike; it will be interesting to see how it affects my performance next week.
I celebrated Pipestave by eating half a chocolate chip cookie afterward. I haven't been eating treats in a couple of months now, trying out better calorie management instead of eating crap and feeling terrible on my runs. I have been treating myself the past couple of weekends to fat-free frozen yogurt, though, and actually I think that bit of extra sugar in my diet has given me an energy rush for my longer runs. I am still working on balancing out nutritionally. It is very trial and error, though mostly my goal is a lot of lean protein and milk for muscle build-up, lots of fiber and green veggies, and enough complex carbs to fuel my workouts. Since I don't really like pasta or potatoes, this works out to being whole-grain bagels.
I have lost my first toenail:
As far as circuit training goes, I have added in jump up burpees (silliest name for an exercise ever), and more squats. A typical circuit run involves 30 minutes of light running/jogging, lunges, squats, weight lifting, about sixty or seventy pushups, about 100 crunches, plank, isometric exercises, 100 standing jumps, and about 40 dips. I try to do a circuit run twice a week. It has DEFINITELY helped strengthen my core and I think it has improved my running dramatically.
The whole reason I started training with circuits was to prepare for a "Mud Run," or a cross-country obstacle race this month. We decided not to do that race. It would have been silly because we have to be down in RI that weekend and rushing back to do the stupid race was not going to be easy or enjoyable. But I have been dreading it since January, really. I worried so much that I would not be able to pull myself over the 5 foot wall obstacle that I have been going crazy. I have DREAMED about that stupid wall. I know now that I could easily get over that obstacle, but the whole mental ordeal has caused me not to want to do the race at all. Soured me on it.
The GOOD thing is I have been purposely training with obstacles for months. Obstacles could include fallen logs, horse jumps, steep hills, boulders, fences, tree stumps, picnic tables, etc. This has been fantastic for my agility (which is poor because my sense of balance sucks) and essentially for my brain. Facing obstacles a lot prepares you to face more obstacles. If, as a runner, you always avoid the steep hills or challenging trails, you will never improve. This is something I have learned.
This week I am cycling back. Dan instructed me that, while preparing for a marathon, every 4th week one should back off on intensity and distance. I felt AMAZING on Sunday's "long run," which only lasted 1 hour instead of 2 hours, and I wanted to go another hour. And I have built up to half marathon distance, having run 13 miles last weekend with really no trouble at all. However, I see the value in getting that week of rest and allowing my body to recover. My goal of training for this marathon without getting hurt is important to me. I intend to do hill and speed workouts this week (hill workout tonight, speed workout on the dreaded treadmill on Thursday!), but I won't do as much and I will fill in with more easy jogging. Cross training this week has already involved rowing and riding a stationary bike; it will be interesting to see how it affects my performance next week.
