Monday, November 24, 2014

Napa Training Week 4... Salvaged


Perhaps it was the snow...

We had our first real snowfall of the year last Sunday night. I had worked all day then driven to my brother's house to pick up G after he had picked her up from Nutcracker rehearsal. The snow was coming down. It was cold. All I wanted to do was sit in front of a roaring fire - which he had in his fireplace. Unfortunately, we had to leave...

All I've wanted to do all week is curl up in front of a fire with a glass of wine and a crochet project. Ahh... like that's ever going to happen!

Here is the reality of my week...

Sunday - Rest. Spent the whole day at work.

Monday - 4 miles. After a weekend at work all I wanted to do was sleep. However, I had to drive back down in the morning for a 3 hour computer training session. Plan was to run after that. It was still cold and slushy out so I ended up at the indoor track. I almost quit after two laps. My head was throbbing and my heart felt like it was beating out of my chest. My legs were tired and my feet were just slapping the ground. It was suppose to be a nice easy run but there was no easy feeling at all. I finally made it a mile and then decided I only had three more to go so I finished the run but all I wanted to do was lay down on the track. Plus, I started getting a dull throbbing pain in my right shin. Shin splints. I rarely get them but usually it's when I'm tired and my feet just slap around on the ground. I don't know if it's a cause or an effect... normally I don't make any noise when I run but when I'm tired I can hear them slap the ground.

Tuesday - 8 miles. A really cold evening run on the Monon. My car said it was 21 degrees. My phone said it was 17 degrees. I think the wind chill was in the single digits. I was wearing capri tights and worried my ankles were going to get frostbite after a mile but continued on. The run itself was fine - which was a relief after Monday's run. When I got done I realized all the skin on my legs, exposed or not, was numb. I still had two hours to kill waiting on my daughter to finish her dance class. Usually I hang out at the library. I bundled up in fleece pants, pullover, and a down jacket after my run but I couldn't warm up. All the cold blood from my extremities came back to my core and I started shivering and couldn't stop. It was ridiculous! I ended up having to go back to my car to sit with the heat and the seat heater on for half an hour so I could warm up enough to stop shaking.

Wednesday - 4 miles. Not quite as cold but really windy. I ran my county road with the heart rate monitor on. Goal was to keep the heart rate under 150. The first two miles I had the wind at my back and ran 9:39 and 9:40. Next two were into the wind and I ran 10:18 and 10:44 and still exceeded my heart rate. Plus, I had that dull nagging pain in my right shin again.

Thursday - 4.5 miles. Plan was to do my 8 mile pace run with speedy Trena. We met at her house and I let her lead the way. Mile 1 - 8:15... OK, let's slow this down! Mile 2 - 8:33... somewhere during mile 2 my right shin started hurting again. The hurt became a real pain, and then a dagger. Finally, after about 2.5 miles I told Trena we were going to have to stop. I wanted to make it to Mile 3 though. Mile 3 - 8:48. I came to a stop and then couldn't put weight on my right leg anymore. It hurt too bad to push off my leg. I had to sit down. I had a moment when I had that stab of fear that something was really wrong. Breathe... breathe... it's just a shin splint. Why the hell do I have a shin splint? I never get shin splints! Why, why, why?!!

After Trena got to watch me roll around on the ground for awhile I finally composed myself enough to stand up and try to walk/run it out. I hobbled the mile and a half back to her house then retreated home to ice my leg. Ughhh.... so much for a good pace run this week!

Friday - Unplanned rest day. I was suppose to do my long run. It was the perfect day for a long run. Cold and sunny. I went less than 200 yards and felt the pain in my right shin again so I stopped and walked back home.

Saturday - 16 miles. This was suppose to be my weekend day off from both work and running. I spent all day doing stuff with my family. By 5 pm though, hubs was gone hunting and both kids were at their own activities so I was a free woman. What to do? Try my long run again.

I was scared. Scared my leg was going to start hurting again. I ended up running a half mile paved loop at the old Westgrove school so that I could stop if anything got bad. I ran slow and gingerly on my leg. After about 5 miles of no pain I relaxed a little. After 10 miles I felt a lot better about things and ran less gingerly. I made 16 and everything still felt fine. Whew! What a relief. I guess I really did have just a bad shin splint on Thursday. I don't think there's any way I could have run 16 miles without pain if I had anything more serious like a stress fracture in my leg... knock on wood.

So that was my week. A couple miles short but salvaged on Saturday night.

Week 4 Total Miles: 36.5
3 good days, 2 bad days, 2 rest days

Friday, November 21, 2014

Retail Therapy

I had to bag my run today for the second day in a row...  ugly deets to follow in my weekly update. Suffice it to say for now that my right leg is not cooperating with me this week!

After throwing in the towel again I decided to just go grocery shopping. I haven't shared a good couponing post in awhile so I thought I'd just share my deals today. Most of them didn't even need coupons. As a lot of you know, I've been a couponer most of my life. It's something I do every time I shop. Most weeks I don't even think about posting, or, more often then not, the deal is over before I get a chance to post and I'd hate to say - look what I got this week, too bad you can't get it anymore...

Keys to my shopping stategy...
- scan the weekly ad
- note the sales and pull the coupons that match the sale items
- goal is to get at least a 50% discount on most items
- make a list
- get in and get out
- above all, don't bring the kids or hubs!!

First stop - MARSH

Regular price per 12-pack $4.99. Sale price $2.50.
 
Diet Coke 12-packs are on sale this week 4 for $10. I never pay more than $2.50 a 12-pack. I was down to my last two 12-packs so I was getting nervous (yes, I'm an addict). I figured someone would run it on sale this week for Thanksgiving. Meijer was 3 for $10, Kroger was 4 for $11 so Marsh it was. I had to do 3 separate transactions to get all these. I am hoping they will last until the next sale. Usually someone will run them 4 for $10 for the following - Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, Super Bowl, Easter, Memorial Day, July 4th, Labor Day. The longest stretch seems to be from Labor Day to Thanksgiving unless one of the drug stores runs a deal in between. You have to pretty much adhere to the expiration dates for diet sodas because they will go flat. All of these cases have Jan/Feb 2015 expirations so I should be good.
 
Regular price per half gallon $7.49. Sale price $4.50.
 
Half gallons of Blue Bell ice cream were on sale for $4.50. You can get two prints of a  $1.00 coupon from www.bluebell.com once a month. This is one of our favorite brands so I always look to see who has it on sale and then print the coupon. Coupons expire one month from the date you print them. My final price for these were $3.50 each.
 


KROGER

Regular price per pound $3.99. Sale price $1.99.
 
I always stock up on butter, especially around the holidays and at fair time. This year I will be making over 40 gallons of caramel corn as gifts (I do it every year). I used to be able to find butter for $1.50 a pound but I think $1.99 is as low as it's going to go this year. I got 16 pounds to start. I will be going back for more.
 
I was thrilled to see that Kroger had it on sale this week. Butter will also be $1.99 a pound at Meijer the Saturday after Thanksgiving. I am working the night shift on Thanksgiving and Black Friday. That means I get off work at 7 am on Saturday morning. I am signed up for a 5K and 10K double in Columbus that starts at 10 am. I was trying to figure out how to manage getting off work, buying butter, and getting to Columbus in time for the race (yes, I will be trashed on race day!) but now I don't have to worry about the butter!
 
Turkey Hill 48 oz ice cream regular price $4.99. Sale price $3.00.
 
If you haven't figured it out by now, ice cream is sorta like milk and toilet paper at our house - a staple you don't want to run out of. There were $1.00 printables for the Turkey Hill ice cream at coupons.com so my final price for these were $2.00 each.
 
MEIJER
 
Regular price per box $2.49. On price drop for $2.00.
 
This was a deal I saw while shopping last week and remembered there were insert coupons out so I pulled them (10/5/14 Smart Source) for my next grocery run. Celestial Seasonings has a coupon out for $1.00 off  per box, making the final price of these boxes $1.00 each. My family likes the tea, plus they make nice gift basket items or stocking stuffers this time of year.
 
All of these deals are good until at least Thanksgiving. On the advertised deals you can also get rain checks if the store is sold out. Happy shopping!



Sunday, November 16, 2014

Napa Training Week 3... Lunch with Big Brother


So there it was... the Facebook ad that would not go away. Every time I opened the page, this ad would show up until finally, I clicked on it to find out more...

Sometimes it's eerie what is marketed towards you, like Big Brother is watching over you. Anyway, Big Brother invited me to lunch and I went with it. I had the day off. It was a local event. It sounded fun and relevant... so I went.

The speaker was Kacey Oiness, Ph.D. She is a sports and performance psychologist with St. Vincent Sports Performance. The purpose of the lecture was to focus on some mental skills to help you perform better as it was pointed out that a large part of your performance is mental yet most athletes spend most of their time working on their physical skills and hardly any time on their mental skills.

Here were some of my favorite quotes from the lecture and key takeaways...

"If you focus on results, you will never change; if you focus on change, you will get results."

"Confidence is not the absence of negative thoughts or feelings; it is the belief that one is able to perform well despite these feelings."

Goal setting should focus on the process rather than the outcome. Goals should be specific, challenging, realistic, adjustable, and measurable.

Other mental skills that were discussed were self-talk strategies - staying in the present and getting rid of all the "should have's" in your life; composure skills - ways to get yourself either calmed down or energized for an upcoming activity; working on concentration, focus, and visualization skills. You can work on these skills daily by writing down your daily goals, journaling, and/or working on focus/imagery/or relaxation skills for 10-15 minutes a day.

Performing well under pressure is accepting that some pressures will exist - be aware, prepare a plan and practice the plan. In the end, have goals, be immersed in the activity, pay attention to what is relevant, and enjoy the activity.

So Week 3 was a "drop down" week. Every third week in my program is an "easy" week to rest and recover. Here's how it went...

Sunday - 3 miles. This is where it's nice to have a schedule. I didn't feel like running but the schedule said I only had to go 3 miles so I was OK with that.

Monday - 7 miles. Got up at 4:30 am for another 10 hour work day. I absolutely did not feel like running in the evening but so wanted a total rest day on my day off on Tuesday so I laced up and hit the Monon while by daughter danced... and ended up having a really nice run.

Tuesday - Rest. Went to my luncheon.

Wednesday - 3 miles.

Thursday - 7 miles. Marathon pace run.

Friday - 10 miles. I got a new Garmin Forerunner 220 with heart rate moniter and took it for a test drive. My goal was to keep my heart rate under 150. Easier said than done! I found that I could keep it in the 130-140 range if I ran about a 10 minute pace on the flats however, the minute I started going up any uphill grade, my heart rate immediately started climbing. It got to be a game of "can I make it to the top of this rise before my heart rate hits 150." I ended up averaging 10:24 pace with an average heart rate of 143 and max heart rate of 156. It did keep me entertained the whole run though.

Saturday - Rest. Spent the whole day at work.

Week 3 Total Miles: 30
5 good days, 0 bad days, 2 rest days

My miles will be ramping up the next two weeks so fingers crossed that things continue to go well!

Thursday, November 13, 2014

Run the Mile You're In


Run the mile you're in. Run the mile you're in. That was my mantra today...

One of my takeaways from the sports psychology luncheon I went to this week was to stay in the present. Don't dwell on the past or think about the future. Focus on what you are doing at the moment.

Goal marathon pace run day and I had 7 miles on the schedule. I should be able to do this. Why is it that I always freak out about pace days? It's like a test... did I train well enough the preceding days to do this? Of course I can do this yet, more often than not, I feel like I end up bailing. I should have been able to do 5 miles at 8:45 pace 2 weeks ago yet I couldn't. Now I had 7 on my plate... and it was snowing.

Well, not snowing snowing but temps in the 20's with snow flurries... like snowflakes you can see. I almost retreated to the hamster track but I knew I had to do this on the road.

Suck it up buttercup...

Tights, long sleeve shirt, jacket, headband, gloves... I think I'm ready. Just go do it.

 
Miles 1-5 were fine. I knew I was too fast. I tried to reign myself in and just think about the pace for this mile. Miles 4 and 5 are always the hardest ones. Mile 4 starts and ends on a hill so I always end up speeding up at the end of Mile 3 in anticipation. Mile 5 ends on a short steep hill next to my house so I usually end every run sprinting up this hill. Today though, rather than turn around and go back down the hill to do another 2 miles I decided to run past my house on a road that had more of a gradual up and down grade than the previous 5 so I wouldn't have to climb so many hills and end my run on a hill.
 
I sprinted up the hill to finish Mile 5. As soon as I got to the top I went from feeling perfectly fine to "OMG, I think all my insides are going to fall out and I'm going to crap myself!" Boom. Just like that - in less than 3 seconds - I went from fine to total disaster. I did exert myself pretty hard going up that hill but I wasn't expecting to feel so horrible at the top.
 
For at least a quarter mile I considered calling the run, but each step was taking me further and further from my house. No! Suck it up and finish! Another couple hundred yards and I tried to fix my posture and my stride. My insides were calming down. I don't think I really crapped myself. I peeked at my watch. 9:41 pace. OK, see what I can salvage. I suck at runner math, especially when I feel bad... I'm not sure if I have 20 seconds or 40 seconds in the bank... maybe I can still average 8:45.
 
I made it to the 6 mile mark and saw 9:20. I was feeling better and there was more downhill than uphill to the finish. I tagged SR 144 and sprinted home.
 



Hallelujah!
 
What I learned today...
- I am capable of running 7 miles at 8:45 pace
- I need to slow down my early miles. 8-10 seconds a mile is too fast. It will catch up to me later. Better to run slower in the beginning. This is a horrible habit I have. I have never run a negative split ever in a race. My subconscious always wants to bank a couple seconds here and there in the beginning for later but I know that it really just hurts me later. I have to trust myself more.
- I have enough strength/mentality/gas to overcome a craptastic mile and comeback with a 8:10 7th mile. I have the ability to do this.
 
So happy I gutted out Mile 6 today!



Sunday, November 9, 2014

Napa Training Week 2... VO2 Max Assessment



This was a good week...

I jumped into the week with plans to schedule a VO2 max assessment so I could find out what my ideal heart rate training zones were for the 80/20 training I am doing. After looking at different options around Indianapolis, I decided that the National Institute for Fitness and Sport (NIFS) located in downtown Indy offered the most reasonably priced assessment at a non-member price of $115. I called on Tuesday and was a bit shocked to get an appointment for Wednesday.

The following information is taken from "Running for Fitness" by Owen Barder and seems to sum up VO2 max the best...

VO2 max is a measure of the maximum volume of oxygen that an athlete can use. It is measured in millilitres per kilogramme of body weight per minute (ml/kg/min).

As you increase your effort when you exercise, the amount of oxygen you consume to produce energy (and hence the rate at which you exhale carbon dioxide) increases. However, there is a maximum level of oxygen consumption, beyond which increases in exercise intensity don’t lead to further increases in oxygen consumption. This level of oxygen consumption is called the VO2 max. (The initials simply stand for volume of oxygen. )

Some experts believe that VO2 max is a key physiological determinant of an athlete’s running performance, and that it is an important objective of a training programme to improve it. Other sports scientists argue that the limits to an athlete’s running performance are determined by a range of factors – such as adaptation of muscles, running efficiency, metabolism – and that VO2 max is simply a measure of the oxygen that the athlete consumes at the maximum level of energy output. On this view, which I find persuasive, VO2 max is not the critical factor which determines maximum performance, but is rather a consequence of a combination of other limiting factors. Whichever way you look at it there is a measurable level of exercise intensity at which the athlete’s consumption of oxygen reaches a plateau and does not increase
further.


In a nutshell, VO2 max is a good measure of your cardiac fitness. There are other factors in training and racing such as muscle fitness and fueling/nutrition that also contribute to a person's overall athletic ability.

So here's how my test went...

First I had my "resting" heart rate and blood pressure measured. My resting heart rate wasn't exactly resting though because I missed the right parking garage downtown and had to drive around the block a couple times and then run to the facility... first time they took it it was over 100. I did some paperwork, tried to settle down, and they took it again and it was 77. (I actually took it yesterday at work and it was in the 60's). Next, they told me to warm up like I was going out for a run while they set up the machine... I did some squats, stretches, and a lap around their indoor track.

Now for the test. I am generally not a claustrophobic person... however (!!) the next thing that happened was I had a very tight fitting silicone-type mask put over my nose and mouth. It had headgear with four straps that went over and under your ears and around your head. There was a hose that came out the front...
photo from the NIFS website
 
When I put this on, all I could see was the silicone between my eyes. Oh, and I was standing on a treadmill - and everyone knows by now how I feel about treadmills! I had a heart rate monitor strap on and my heart rate went up to 114 even before the test started.
 
OK. Breathe... they started the treadmill. I was told the test would go in stages with the treadmill going faster for awhile and then the treadmill would incline up. I was suppose to give them a thumbs up if I wanted to do the next stage when they asked, or motion to cut if at any time I had to stop.
 
Lets just say I was a bit freaked out because I couldn't see the treadmill. All I could see was silicone. If I peeked way out to the left I could see the mileage on the treadmill but that was it. I had no idea how fast I was going or what the incline was. I could feel the incline going up somewhat but I was just lifting my knees like crazy because I didn't want to trip and fall. Falling was unlikely cause I had a hose attached to my face that someone was actually holding out of my way but still...
 
At just over 8 minutes I called it. Then I got my results. My VO2 max was 36.9. That put me at the very tip top of the "Excellent" rating for my age and gender. A tenth of a point more and I would have been "Superior." The competitive part of me wanted a do over!
 
 
To put things in perspective, here are the VO2 maxes of some well known athletes...
 
 
Most of the literature says that a lot of your VO2 max is genetic. Training can increase it anywhere from 5-20% depending on what you read. What's interesting is that there are a lot of VO2 max rate calculators out where you can put in your race times and it will calculate your VO2 max, or vice versa where you put in your VO2 max and it will predict your race time.
 
If I put in my last 5K time of 25:33 run on 10/25/14 in the VO2 max calculator HERE, I get a VO2 max of 37.3. Conversely, if I put in my actual measured VO2 max of 36.9 in the race pace predictor from the same site, I get a 5K time of 25:48.
 
What I got out of this is that, cardio-wise, I'm pretty fit. It's the other things like muscle strength and fueling I need to work on. The other thing I learned were my aerobic and anaerobic thresholds. The assessor actually wrote in my numbers because she disagreed with the machine printout. Interestingly, my heart rate actually dropped in the middle of my test, then went back up so the printout had my aerobic threshold at 160 bpm and my anaerobic threshold at 159 bpm. What I got was that I should keep my heart rate under 150 to run aerobically. My lactate threshold (anaerobic threshhold) is 160. If my heart rate goes faster than that, I am producing more waste (lactate) than my body can clear and this is not sustainable for a long period of time.
 
My maximum heart rate was 184. For the 80/20 training I am doing, 80% of my runs should be at less than 80% of my maximum heart rate. For me, 80% of 184 comes to 147... pretty close to my aerobic threshold of 150 that the assessor wrote in.
 
My take away - I need to keep my heart rate under 150 for all my runs except for my hard runs for the week. Ideally though, my hard runs, which right now are my marathon pace runs, should start to come in under 150 after awhile. If and when that happens, I'll need to start throwing in some faster intervals during the week. Next step for me will be to get a heart rate monitor for my runs.
 
So here were my Week 2 runs ...
 
Sunday - 3 miles. Nice shake out run after the Monumental.
 
Monday - 7 miles. Got up at 4:30 am and put in a 10 hour day at work. After last week, I figured I'd be trashed the next day so I just put up and did 7 miles in the dark while my daughter was at dance in the evening. It ended up being a very nice peaceful run having the Monon all to myself. Got home and passed out on the couch. Didn't even make it to bed til I woke up again at 2 am.
 
Tuesday - Rest. Yup. I was pretty much trashed.
 
Wednesday - 7 miles. Did the VO2 max test in the afternoon then another moonlit run on the Monon. I think the VO2 max test did me in cause I passed out on the couch again as soon as I got home!
 
Thursday - 14 miles. Temps in the 40's, wind gusts between 20-40 mph, and when I stepped outside, I realized it was pouring down rain. I retreated to the hamster track and worked on fueling.
 
I have gone back and forth on what to fuel with during my marathon. I thought about trying some of the super starch drinks such as UCAN but then decided I just don't want to carry any fluids with me during a race. There is always an abundance of fluids out on the course and carrying around fluids sloshing around in a waist belt just drives me crazy! I've decided on trying more chews or gels. I found out I can actually chew (Gatorade chews) and run at the same time if I'm running easy. I think I need to eat more often. Usually I just take a gel an hour. Now I'm practicing to eat every 30-40 minutes. If anything, it does provide me with a little more entertainment on my long runs. Running long at an easy pace gets boring. I was really tempted at the end of this one to pick it up the last couple miles just so I could be done!
 
Friday - 3 miles. Got up at o'dark thirty to run before work as I knew I wouldn't feel like it afterwards. I'm glad I did because my husband called me as I was driving home to let me know the family wanted to go out for dinner as soon as I got home. We went out for dinner and I passed out as soon as I got home. Actually made it into a bed though.
 
Saturday - Rest. Spent the whole day at work.
 
Week 2 Total Miles: 34
5 good days, 0 bad days, 2 rest days
 
I think I need more sleep too!
 



Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Napa Training Week 1 and Monumental Weekend



Week 1 of training is in the books!

I had some good days and some bad days. This is how it went.

Sunday - Rest. Spent the whole day at work.

Monday - 3 miles. Probably the worst 3 miles I've run in quite some time. I didn't get out til noon. It was about 80 degrees outside and windy. I ran on the roads by my house. I'd forgotten how open and hilly they were compared to the Monon. I was still really tight from the race on Saturday and dead tired from working all weekend. I really wanted to stop after half a mile but kept telling myself it was only 3 miles!

Tuesday - 6 miles. Easy run indoors on the hamster track.

Wednesday - 3 miles. Same route as Monday but felt better.

Thursday - Rest. Spent the whole day at work and was ready to drop when I got home
.
Friday - 6 miles. This was my pace run day. I was suppose to run 6 miles at 8:45 pace. It should have been a piece of cake. NOT! It was 40 degrees, raining, and windy. I thought for 2 seconds about hamster tracking it but decided I couldn't deal with the mental math involved since I can't use my Garmin to pace myself indoors. I just sucked it up and went outside.

Mile 1 - 8:43. Didn't feel too bad.
Mile 2 - 8:51. I started tightening up and felt horrible. Lately I've been feeling totally trashed the day after a long shift at work... this day being no exception.
Mile 3 - 9:55. I needed a breather. Better to run slow than quit all together but I was ready to quit!
Mile 4  - 9:39
Mile 5 - 9:19
Mile 6 - 8:54
Average pace was 9:13. No where close to 8:45. I was just a very hard run in the rain and wind.

As soon as the run was over though, Monumental weekend began!

Some of my Sole Sisters from my online running group came into town for the race - there was Tammy from New Hampshire (crazy woman drove here with her friend Michelle), Amanda from Missouri, and Araminta from Virginia. We met up at the Race Expo, looked around, and picked up our race packets. I had to leave them to do kid stuff for awhile but met back up with them at Trena's house for dinner.

Araminta, Tammy, me, Trena, Amanda, and Michelle
 
The next morning we met up at Tammy and Michelle's hotel to run the race. Trena and Tammy ran the full. Amanda, Araminta, and I ran the half. Michelle was there to cheer us on.
 
Tammy and Amanda pre-race
 
 Me and Araminta post-race
 
Araminta and I ran the whole race together. It was cool to see the text alerts at the end where we had the exact same time.
 
 
I did exactly what the training plan said for the day - low intensity 13 mile run. Didn't do anything stupid and enjoyed my run, which, by the way, was very COLD! Depending on where you looked, this was the forecast for the race...
 
 (from Joe)
OR
(from Araminta)

OR !!!!
(from Melissa)


 
Week 1 Total Miles: 31
3 good days, 2 bad days, 2 rest days
 
ONWARD!