Sara Lately!

Miss me?!

Yep, you have guessed it. My summer hiatus is over and I'm back to the grind. Not that I really got a summer anyway with working summer school and taking summer school for grad classes. My summer just wasn't the same as it has been in the past.

Here's what I've been up to lately, RUNNING and WORKING! When I'm not running, I'm working. When I'm not working, I'm running. I have loved training for this half marathon but the time commitment has really kicked my butt with work. I'm going non-stop during the week and it seems like I just don't have time for another thing. I'm kinda excited for the time when I can run just 3 or 4 miles and be done.

Weeks 9 and 10 have flown by with half-marathon training. I kept up with averaging the miles for the past two weeks and then just running that three times. I did really well but did skip one 8-mile run. It just wasn't going to happen and I needed the break. Other than that one skipped run I have ran every single mile I was supposed to.

In other non-school or work news, Wyatt has started playing soccer. His first practice was last Friday and to say I wasn't impressed is the understatement of the century. They didn't do much and their first game is this Saturday! That's right they will have their first game after only two practices. We shall see how this goes. I know during the soccer practice Mike was about to stroke out. As a former soccer player he wasn't liking anything that was happening.

Now you are caught up on my life and hopefully I can start posting regularly again. Here's hoping!

HMT Week 8 Recap & Week 9 Goals

This past week was Week 8 of Half-Marathon training. It was great because I actually got to run outside for a change! The weather was great and with the school starting back up running was the perfect stress relief!

Tuesday I headed out for a 4-miler and got to run outside. The weather was nice and there was plenty of shade while running. My favorite!

Thursday I had to hit the gym to get my run in because the husband was cutting hay all evening. I dreaded it. I really loathe the treadmill, now. It has been great to get my miles in during the heat but I can't wait to not have to use it. I sweated a ton!

Sunday morning I headed out for my long run. Last week I totally psyched myself out on my long run and I was really worried that I was going to do it again. I woke up early on Sunday had some orange juice and grapes and headed out to do my loop. I was feeling great and stopped by my house at 4.5 miles and 9 miles to get some more orange juice and grapes. This has been the best combo for me running in the morning, food-wise. I'm definitely going to have to bring them with me to my half.

I ran all 11 miles and it felt awesome! I didn't wimp out and try to quit early and felt a huge sense of pride when it was done. I kept my times pretty even with each other and was so happy to finish. In fact, when I got done running it I ran upstairs to my hubby and jumped on him and said, "11 miles bitch!" Yeah, I was a little pumped. I guess I can blame it on the runner's high, right?!

 

 

Week 9 Goals:

 

Wednesday-7 miles

 

Friday-7 miles

 

Sunday 8 miles

 

I've decided to change some things up with the rest of my training and don't feel like I need to complete another 10+ before my race. I just need to focus on maintaining energy and distance past 5 miles. So I'm taking my total miles for the week and averaging them over three days.

 

We'll see if it works!

HMT Week 7 Recap & Week 8 Goals & #running4maggie

Half Marathon Training Week 7 is dunzo! I can't believe I can even say that!

So let's recap!

Tuesday I rocked out 3 miles and it hurt! I was definitely still sore from running my 10k and then 3 miles on Saturday. I didn't stretch nearly enough after that.

Thursday I needed to run 5 miles and I decided to run it outside, since it was actually decent out. The humidity wasn't 100% but above 50%. It definitely felt warmer than the temperature listed in the picture but not unbearable. The five miles seemed to fly by and I tried out a new route and really liked it. I even got to run by the park and visit Wyatt and Mike while they were playing at the park.

So Saturday was my day to run my LONG run, 10 miles! I started out running outside and quickly discovered after 2 miles that is was much hotter out than I originally thought. I ran back home and quickly got my keys and headed to the gym to finish my miles.

Well I lasted 5 miles at the gym before just giving up. I was exhausted, mentally and physically, and just didn't have it in me. I headed home with only 7 miles done and feeling defeated. I vowed to run the remaining 3 miles on Sunday.

Sunday after a day of shoe shopping for Wyatt in KC I came home ate some supper and then headed out for my remaining 3 miles. I finished it and was pretty proud of myself. I really wish I would have been able to run the whole 10 miles in one shot but just couldn't do it.

I have also found myself craving sweet/sugary drinks after I run long periods of time. I usually drink water while running but thinking I need to switch to Gatorade to drink since I'm getting so depleted while running.

It did make me feel good to run my miles on Sunday for Sami in remembrance of her sister, Maggie who was killed in a car accident.

 

Half-Marathon Training Week 8 Goals:

 

Tuesday-4 miles

Thursday-5 miles

Saturday-11 miles

 

Here's hoping that Week 8 goes by better than Week 7! 

HMT Week 6 Recap & Week 7 Goals...Several days late!

Week 6 Recap:

I went ahead and ran my 5 miles on Tuesday after having a wonderful hot stone massage and spa pedicure. I was unsure if I would be sore from the massage but ran fine. Not my best time for running but I got it done.

On Thursday I got my 3 miles done. Nothing too exciting to report other than I'm getting tired of the treadmill. Surprise!

My long run had to be 9 miles. I had my first 10k race which got me 6.2 of those miles. I came home and got cleaned up and did the rest of my day and then headed out after dinner to get my 2.8 finished. I tried a new route and it was actually fun. This is definitely one that I will run again and has the possibilities to be extended for more miles.

I found this on Instagram and thought it was hilarious because it's one of my biggest fears when running a race.

 

 

Week 7 Goals:

 

Tuesday-3 miles (This run sucked and I was so sore from Saturday's runs.)

 

Thursday-5 miles

 

Saturday-10 miles (Hopefully I can run this one outside)

 

I'm officially on the down-hill slide of half-marathon training and it's only going to get more intense as they go on. I hope I'm up for the challenge.

 

Half marathon training? Do you have a fear of getting lost while running a race? Other race fears?

HMT Week 5 Recap & Week 6 Goals

I was able to meet all of my goals for the week and it seemed to fly by pretty quickly. I changed up my middle-distance run to be the first run of the week. The middle distance always seems to get me and is a big pain in my butt!

Tuesday I headed to the gym and while I was running a man two machines away from me was farting like there was no tomorrow. It smelled horrible and I even checked the machine behind him to see if he had shitted his pants. That's how bad it smelled! He did this several times through the rest of my 5 miles and I didn't even want to take a pic of my machine because it smelled so bad. I just wanted to leave before I passed out!

Thursday I had my short run and headed to the gym to knock it out. I made sure to get my compression socks on after to help with recovery. I love them so much!

Today I went on my long run, 8 miles! I decided to run outside since it's abnormally beautiful weather for July. I also was excited for a chance to wear my new running shorts. They were cool but I had some nasty chaffing starting at mile 6 and it hurt so bad. I had quite the raspberry on my right thigh. Looks like it's time to go to the Running Company for some glide for my legs. Does it make you run faster? Here's hoping!

 Week 6 Goals!

 

Tuesday-5 miles (We shall see how this goes because I have a hot stone massage scheduled for the morning as a treat to myself. If I have to I will go back to 3.)

 

Thursday-3 miles (Thinking I need to do speed training again. Try to get back to Yasso's 800s.)

 

Saturday- 9 miles (I have my first 10k in Manhattan! So 6.2 miles first thing in the morning. After the festivities i.e., free pizza and beer I am planning on running 3 more miles to get my 9 in for my long run.)

 

Here's to another week of training! After this week I will be on the down-hill slide to my half marathon!

 

 

HMT Week 4 Recap and Week 5 Goals

Week 4 of half marathon training went very well. I had to run a 3-miler, 4-miler, and then a 7-miler. I got them all done and even got to shake up my routine a bit with an added addition to my running.

I have never been one to run with music on. Even when I did my C25K program I never listened to music. It just wasn't something I could get into. In those early stages of running all I could think about is how the song was only four minutes long and I still had twenty minutes to go! Not the best way to think of it!

I was getting tired of watching TV at the gym while running and since there wasn't music already playing at the gym it gets pretty dull to listen to. So I decided to take my phone and listen to some music while running.

Apparently it's what I needed because my times have been faster and my walking has been less and less.

On Tuesday I ran three miles and ran two of them before I took a walk break! Yeah! I've also been making sure I walk a quarter mile cool down and not just jumping off the treadmill and calling it good.

On Thursday I had to run four miles and I ran three of them before taking a walk break! This is the first time I've ran a whole three miles without stopping. I felt great the whole time and was super pumped that I actually completed it. I also started changing my speed with songs. If it's an up beat song I try to increase my speed while the song is on and then go back down afterwards. This run was actually fun. Which is really hard to say because it seems like four miles and I have been arch nemesis this whole training period.

Friday night I was all geared up that I would wake up early Saturday morning and go run and get it over with. Well that didn't quite happen. My bed felt really good and so sleep won that battle. We ran errands that morning and afternoon and when we got home I had a package. My new Urbanhalos had came!! If you have not heard of them you need to check them out. They are the best headbands ever. They keep all of the sweat off of your face and stay in place without hurting your head. They had an offer that if you bought three you got two free! Yes, please!!

 

 

I headed to the gym that evening and knocked out seven miles! I went into it with a game plan. I knew I wouldn't be able to run the entire seven but decided to run for about 2 minutes every thirty minutes. I stuck with it and had ran over five miles in an hour! I finished my run strong and didn't walk until I got to the seven mile mark and then walked the last two-tenths for a cool down. I was super pumped that I actually accomplished it. I think this will be a big part of my training moving forward!

 

 

Here's my training schedule for Week 5:

 

Tuesday-5 miles

 

Thursday-3 miles

 

Saturday-8 miles

 

Here's to another fab week!

 

 

How's your training going? Which training program are you using? Favorite music to run to?

Half Marathon Training Week 4

This week I start week 4 of half marathon training. It's hard to believe that I've already spent the last three weeks training. I have even found myself thinking that three miles is a short distance! Shocker!! I never thought I would say that.

My goals this week are:
Tuesday-3 miles
Thursday-4 miles
Saturday-7 miles

I'm only running three days a week because the miles will start adding up soon and I don't want to injure myself. I'm starting to think I need to do some more cross training to get my muscle tone up. I'm not sure how I'm going to do this but thinking of doing some weight training. We shall see! I really love my rest days and use them to my advantage.

My new favorite running accessory are compression socks! I bought some last week and have been obsessed with them ever since. I wear them after each run and they have helped so much with shin splints.

Are you training for a half marathon? Into strength training?