Feeling Strong

Okay, so I haven't been as good about updates as I would like, but I feel the need to give one now! Today's run gave me so much confidence! It was a 3x2mile repeat. We have been doing these "strength" workouts for a few weeks ago. They are always a total of 6 fast miles. The goal pace is 10 seconds faster than half marathon pace (we were training for a half marathon first!) so that is around 7:35. That has been hard for me to do. Last week and this week, I think I broke through!

Today's paces: 7:21, 7:27, 7:20, 7:28, 7:12, 7:26. I was so happy with this! I really need to run a 5K and 10K to see how fast I am. :-) The best part is that my heart rate didn't even get as high as it has been getting. Yeah for getting faster at a lower heart rate!

I feel like my eating is going well. I am at a healthy weight and I am trying to get more sleep. Hopefully my half marathon this Saturday will show my improvements.

Goal is to not see a mile with an 8 in it. I want to start at 7:59 and end in the 7:30's. My PR is this same course last year and it was a 1:47:20. So, here are my 3 levels of goals.

1. sub 1:45
2. sub 1:47:20
3. Finish strong and smiling. :-)

I am ready for this! I am excited to see what I can do!

Marathon Training- say what?!

Well, clearly I didn't keep my plan to write every week. :-) I kind of went into a depression after my pre-diabetes diagnosis and I quit following the elimination diet as well as I had been. So, I have gained back a couple of pounds but still doing well overall. I was following the Hanson's Marathon plan with the 30K as my goal race on March 5th. Then I decided to be crazy and run the Phoenix Marathon with Annie! It is February 27th which is in 7 1/2 weeks. Jeff had bought me a Garmin 620 watch for Christmas and it reinvigorated my running! I had a 15 miler that went awesome so I decided that I will do this. My plan will be to use it as a "practice" marathon so I can try to figure out the nutrition.  That sounds crazy, but I really think it is the only way for me to learn what works. I can do just fine up to 18-20 miles but I can't quite figure out the last 6. My hope is to PR, but no matter what I want to learn something! :-)

My training has been going well. I have been doing the speedwork much faster than before because I was training for a half. We will see how the half goes first and then I will make goals.

No Limits- Week One

I am going to try and update each week. We will see...

Monday- 6 miles at 8:36 pace, pretty quick but felt strong
Tuesday-Trackwork, 12x400's, did as fast as I could. Ranged from 1:37-1:42, Tough but didn't die! total 6.95 at 8:30 pace
Wednesday- 6 miles at 9:20 pace, legs were tired, 3.4 miles with my youth running group,
Thursday- Tempo run, 1 mile warmup at 8:59, then 7:50, 7:33, 7:28, 7:31, 7:37, 8:59, 7:22 @8:00pace, really tough but I am glad I could do it
Friday- 5miles at 10:13 pace, legs tired
Saturday- 8 miles at 9:10 pace, legs tired, definitely a big jump in miles and pace. Will enjoy my rest tomorrow.
Total Miles- 42 miles
Good start! We will see where this takes me. I wasn't as good with my eating, so I am up a couple of pounds. Will do better this week. I will also be starting strength training again Monday. :)

No Limits

Well, I guess I am just inspired by my good friend Annie who ran a marathon and crushed her PR by 13 minutes, running a 3:21 marathon at Revel Canyon City. She has set some pretty big goals and is willing to put the time in. I have decided that I am fighting back the diagnosis by continuing to work hard on my exercise and eating healthy. I am going to train for a half marathon and I am not going to have any time goals. No limits!!  I am just going to work hard, be consistent and see where it takes me. I did my first day of trackwork today and it was tough, but I was happy with the results for Day 1. I ran with 2 fast friends and stay just behind them. I did 12x400 and my splits were between 6:36 pace and 7:07 pace. Let's see where we go from there. The half marathon we are training for is February 5th. I will be doing 2 days of speedwork and just running for fun the other days. I will still be focusing on my eating, but I have other goals in my home that are more important to me than any of the running goals, so this is what I am putting in! I also want to try to sleep more. :-) I am following Hanson's Marathon Training plan again ending with the 30k in March. I want to see what I can do, but keep things in balance. I am nervous for my tempo run days but I can't wait to see what I can do!!

Prediabetes

Wow. I am not really sure how I feel about this. I have been meeting with a naturopath who wants to help me figure out my PCOS. Ultimately the way I process sugar and deal with insulin will help me in all aspects of my health, including my marathon success. We had a bunch of blood tests run and most of them came out normal and healthy, but my A1C number (which measures glucose that is attached to hemoglobin) was in the prediabetes range. I have always known that I process sugar differently than most people, but now I have the numbers to prove it. At least it shows that I really do need to figure out my diet, it is not just in my head. So, what now? I have been on an elimination plan to figure out if I am allergic to anything. Right now, I am not supposed to eat corn, sugar, soy, gluten, peanuts, dairy, or eggs. I have been doing this for about a month and I have a couple weeks left. I have definitely not been perfect, but I have done the best I can.  I have also been following a 15 minute strength training workout and running pretty regularly. I have actually lost 7lbs and I officially weigh less than I have since 2006. I feel pretty good, but I don't know what this means long term. I guess I just need to trust the naturopath and take it one step at a time.  I will keep you posted. But, it is crazy to think that even with how much I exercise and pay attention to my food, I can still be in the prediabetic range.

My new experiment

Hello out there!

So, it is time to figure out my body- woo hoo!! I have fought my weight and my eating for my whole life. I am determined to find the best way for me to eat and exercise and now is the perfect time. I met with a Naturopath last night and we just talked about some of my health history. He asked if I had heard of Maffetone and I had, but I didn't realize this method wasn't just about running slow, but also about food. So, I am going to take at least 3 months to focus on low heart rate training and also eating healthy. I want to teach my body to burn more fat and figure out the nutrition I need in distance. I am going to keep good notes. The best part is that I shouldn't be tired on this plan- yeah! And, I love seeing myself get faster with less effort. Wish me luck!

Day 1- September 25th
Jeff was sweet enough to run slow with me. You figure out your max heart rate by doing 180-age. He says you can add 5 beats if you have been training for 2 years with no injuries and seen progress. I went ahead and added 5 beats. It was still tough to keep it down, but I wasn't as slow as I thought I would be.

Mile 1- warmup- 10:17 with hr ave of 135. I was at first trying to stay under 143
Mile. 5- 10:34 pace
Test
Mile 1- 10:03 with hr ave 148
Mile 2- 10:40 with hr ave 149
Mile 3- 10:45 with hr ave 150
Cooldown- 11:43 with hr ave 146, 12:07 pace with hr ave 145,

Total 6 miles at 10:48 pace, hr ave 145 and max 157.

I am starting a 2 week test for food and basically it is no carbs. We will see how it goes. It is not a starvation diet. I am just excited to cut it all out and see what happens. :-) I want to learn what works for my body.


I love that I won't be tired! Yeah!!

4th of July Sauvie Island- training and result

Wow! I didn't realize that I didn't post at all in those 8 weeks. I am just going to do a quick update. I worked my butt off for 8 weeks! I followed Jen's plan to the letter. It was one of the hardest things I have ever done. The tempo runs were long and fast (usually around low 8's pace for 8-10 miles), the track work was as fast as I could run (realized I am faster than I think!) and the long run pace runs were lonely and I couldn't always do them as well as I would like. I also added in spinning and strength. It was an experiment and I gave it my all. I felt stronger and fitter than I have ever felt. My last pace run of 19 miles was amazing and I really felt I could do it. I was trying to figure out my nutrition so I stopped gatorade and went to more natural drinks- I can't remember the name right now. :-) I tried different things but ultimately didn't figure out what worked. The day of the race was July 4th and it was the hottest July 4th since 1997, in the 90's. I decided to still go for my goal. I started out at an 8:20 pace and kept it for about 15 miles. Then my body just shut down. I finished as strong as I could and ended with a 3:58. Still a sub-4 but of course was disappointed.

I figured out my age change for Boston happens in September 2016 so I think I will wait until then to try to BQ. I need to figure out my nutrition. It has been a great learning experience but my body needs a break. I am going to get in the best shape I can. I am trying to figure out nutrition.

Wish me luck!