Since I’m a big believer in journaling, I figure it will be good for me to keep record of my overall experience training for my first-ever half-marathon. This is the first time I’ve trained for a long distance race. To date, I’ve only run 2 short races: The SkirtChaser5k in February 2009 and the 4.2 mile Pat’s Run in April 2009. For SkirtChaser, I paced myself with my BFF’s mother-in-law, so we walked more than we ran. And somehow, still unbeknownst to me, I managed to maintain a just-a-little-over-10-minute pace for Pat’s Run, finishing in 43:02. Not bad for having not trained AT ALL for that race. (Oh, wait. I did go for a 2-ish mile run a few days before race day.)
In October 2009 I started training for the half marathon with the intention of running a half marathon in January 2010, but had a few factors working against me that caused me to throw in the towel. Most of it was in my head, but here are my “justifications” for stopping halfway though my training:
1. I got bored running alone. Particularly after my first 5-mile run. Even my dog couldn’t handle anything over 5 miles and she NEVER gets tired, so I was 100% on my own! Ultimately, Me + iPod shuffle + 6 miles = B.O.R.E.D.
2. I had 2 solid weeks of travel scheduled in the middle of my training program:
a. 5 days of which I spent floating around in the Eastern Caribbean, celebrating my best friend’s 30th birthday. Sure, I could’ve run 8 miles on a treadmill in the ship’s fitness center... Or run 80 laps on the 1/10 mile track on the top of the ship. But really? If you think any of this was going to happen while I was on vacation, then clearly you do not know me.
b. The 2nd part of the 2 weeks was spent “stranded” in Florida for 2 extra nights because of a huge snowstorm that hit the northeast the day before we ported back in Miami. I was supposed to fly into Baltimore on Saturday evening, but couldn’t get a flight out of FL until early Monday morning. Instead of finding somewhere to run, I opted to visit with family whom I hadn’t seen in years, and then pretended I was a Nicosia for an evening.
c. The final stretch of my vacation was spent over Christmas, in 27 inches of snow, with nothing but family, a TON of home-cooked comfort food & shopping with Mom and Dad to occupy my mind. You do the math.
3. Sheer lack of motivation. I started out strong, feeling good about my training for the first several weeks, but mentally convinced myself that I simply couldn’t run 13.1 miles. I suppose I hit THE WALL and never moved past it. But this year I’m not letting that happen. I’ve told myself that I WILL FINISH THIS RACE. And not just finish it, I WILL RUN IT (no matter how slow my “run” is! Hah!).
So that brings me to now… Two weeks ago, my roommate Suzanne & I started training for the 2011 P.F. Chang’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Arizona Half Marathon on January 16. Our friend Nick is training/running as well, but he is doing most of his training on his own because of our work schedules and because we live too far away from each other to run together every single day.
Week 1
We started training on Monday October 25 with our first 3 mile run… at 5am. Not so bad, considering we hadn’t been running AT ALL up to this point. But still not an easy, leisurely run either.
What was annoying is that it wasn’t my lungs giving me trouble, as I had expected (due to lack of CV exercise over the past few months). It was my nagging high school cheerleading injuries that made it so difficult! Sure, they flare up when I start a new regimen, but this was BAD, and by the time we rounded the corner for the last 20 yards or so to our front door, I seriously didn’t know if I was going to make it.
Monday late afternoon/early evening I was already getting sore… Tuesday morning I hurt from head to toe & by midday Tuesday I could barely walk. Even getting up from my desk at work took every ounce of effort I could muster up. I’m sure for anyone watching me, I was quite a spectacle, hobbling around like a 98-year old woman suffering from osteoporosis (and, no, I shouldn’t make jokes about that since it runs in my family!). Thank goodness that for our 2-mile cross-train that day, we agreed just to walk. It was ugly. And I could tell that Suz was super-annoyed that I couldn’t move any faster. (Hey, short, sore legs don’t allow for brisk walking!)
Wednesday I was still sore, but managed relatively well through our 3 mile run. At this point I don’t remember all that much about it, but I know I got through it and was already feeling better about my physical capabilities. Apparently I bounce back quickly, which gave me confidence that I really CAN do this!
Thursday = Rest Day = HOORAYYYYY!!!!
This week was additionally stressful because on Tuesday I found out that my dad’s little brother had passed away as a result cancer that had spread to his entire body. While I did not know my Tito Harlan, I was (of course) deeply saddened to learn of his passing, particularly because when I woke up on Tuesday morning, I was “stuck” on the fact that my dad needed to go visit Tito Harlan before it was too late. I literally lay in my bed early that morning, consumed by the idea of my father going to San Diego ASAP. I finally sent a text to my mother, and ultimately my father, insisting that he get there as soon as he could swing it. On my way home that evening, Dad text me to tell me that Tito Harlan had passed around 5am that same morning. Kind of freaky… I guess it just goes to show that no matter where you are, or how well you know (or don’t know) your relatives, there’s some sort of supernatural connection linking you to them. It’s especially strange to me since I didn’t personally know Tito Harlan. And even stranger yet, my sister and cousin had similar feelings/experiences on that Monday night/Tuesday. But I digress…
I wound up meeting my parents in San Diego for the weekend to spend quality time with Tito Harlan’s family and the rest of the Quiambao siblings (except Tito Bernie, who wasn’t able to make it into town until Tuesday for the services later in the week). Carlo and I were going to run my 4 miles on Saturday morning, but it was raining pretty hard, and we had already ventured out to do The-Family-Thing before it cleared off. It turned out to be a fun, enjoyable, beautiful day (despite the sad circumstances that brought us all together), but we all agreed that Tito Harlan would have been happy that we were able to spend time together, as it has been a very long time since that had happened.
Ultimately, as advised by my marathon-running BFF Beth, I skipped my first “long run” on the training schedule & picked up as scheduled for Week 2.
Week 2
Where did Week 2 go?!?!? I seriously can’t remember each specific day! Between traveling over the weekend prior and an INSANE work week and running or walking almost every day and anticipating the upcoming weekend (specifically Nick’s birthday celebration) and… HOLY MOLY!!! Let’s just say that the week FLEW by!
Both Suzanne and I were EXHAUSTED on Wednesday after work, so we decided to move our run to early Thursday morning instead. The only “win” that came with that run was the fact that we got up before work to get it out of the way for the day. We both were sluggish, walking a good bit, but still finishing in a reasonable amount of time.
We had agreed to wake up early Friday morning to go for a walk, but unfortunately I barely slept Thursday night, so I didn’t get up. Poor Suzanne! She came in to wake me up and I snapped at her. I slept a total of about 3.5 hours Thursday night, not all at once, so I was in no mood, nor condition to be up at 5am for a 3-miler. No. Freaking. Way.
Saturday was my first “long run” - 4 miles. Whatever I did Saturday morning should not be called running. I think I was still “hungover” from my lack of sleep Thursday night, combined with a long work day, then spending Friday evening at the fair. I was on-the-go ALL day Friday. And despite a fairly peaceful, all-but-8-hours of sleep on Friday night, I was still exhausted and sluggish Saturday morning. But I finished... With some (read: a lot of) walking along the way. We finished in about an hour, which, all things considered, was acceptable (though I’m not bragging about it!).
The past few months I’ve been neglecting myself – very minimal, if any, exercise; eating whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted… it got ugly for a while. I allowed myself to gain back the 8-ish pounds that I was SO happy to lose in the late spring, and instead of digging myself out of my dietary slump, I wallowed in self-pity and nearly let it get out of control. I attribute this slump to a few things: a late-summer job hunt and all of the highs, lows and frustrations that are associated with the process; my sheer laziness and lack of motivation and the vicious cycle that it created, making it even harder to dig myself out.
After merely 2 weeks of training, I have to say that I’m amazed at the physical differences I’m already noticing in my body. Everything seems to be a little less wiggly-jiggly each day. SWEET! I have noticed a significant tapering of my calves and ankles. Like many women, my thighs are my least-favorite part of my body, but even they are even starting to change! Silly as it seems, I’ve always been a fan of the iliotibial band (for those of you not in-the-know, it’s the flat band on the outer thigh that becomes more defined as your thigh muscles become more toned/defined). So now that I can see and feel mine more, I’m getting excited. In my crazy little brain, I’ve always used this as a gauge of my own physical fitness/appearance, so now that it’s coming back, I’m a happy girl, especially knowing that it will only become more and more defined the more/longer I train! (It’s the simple things in life that make me happy! J)
I can also already see a difference through my core. I’m starting to see a SLIGHT definition in my abs, something I haven’t seen in a while!! WAHOO! Aaaaannnnd… My muffin-top is shrinking already! Double WAHOO! Even my arms are starting to look and feel more toned, despite not incorporating any sort of upper body training (at least not yet). Obviously if I incorporate core and upper body training into my regimen, I’d see and feel results faster, not to mention that my overall fitness & running will improve. But so far, I’m just glad that I’ve been sticking as close to my running schedule as I have and finishing the mileage that I have covered thus far.
As of today, I have covered 24 miles (some walking, some running, depending on the scheduled workout) in the last 15 days (would’ve been 28 if not for the rain in San Diego last Saturday morning!). Only 142 miles to go til race day!!!
Woo hoo---love the blog!! And happy to see you're getting results already! I can't wait to read more :)
ReplyDeleteNext time I visit, I am staying longer and want to find out the deliciousness that is Sprinkles!