Training Plan Week 8 - 01/14 - 01/20

Planned:
Tuesday - 3 miles
Wednesday - 5 miles race pace
Thursday - 3 miles
Saturday - 10 mile LSR
Sunday - Cross-train

Actual:
Tuesday - 3 miles in 38 (12:36) plus walking warm up/down.  I ran up and down the hills by campus.  School must be starting because it was more crowded than usual. I won't run through campus until after the semester again.  It was about 35 degrees out but still a lovely run.
Wednesday - I went for a hike with my friend and her dog to enjoy the social for the day. It was a lovely hike and she goes quite quickly (3.15 miles in 1 hour).
Saturday - 11.88 miles cycling in 59 minutes.  We were ready pretty early for the kids' birthday party so I went out for a bike ride.  It was a lovely day and I went easy to run LSR on Sunday (let's revisit that). 

That's it.  I woke up Sunday with something wrong with my back. I've never had any significant back issue before in my life.  But I could barely walk.  I spent Sunday and then the Monday holiday on a heat pack on the couch.  I didn't go to the funeral I planned to attend Sunday or for a run or walk. I didn't clean the kitchen or do laundry.  I sat and sat and took pain killers. 

Today it is slightly better but it hurts and is hard to walk.  Running is literally incomprehensible to me.  The half-marathon is less than 4 weeks away.  So far in my training plan, I've done my 5 mile LSR, skipped the 6 mile, had to stop the 7 mile at 5.5, run the 8 mile, skipped the 9 mile due to my stomach issues, and missed the 10 mile due to my back.  I'm concerned about the race.  Assuming my back feels better I can walk it in the worst case scenario but this is by far the least prepared I've ever been for an event. 

On the bright side, our best friends donated $100 to my Livestrong effort yesterday putting me over my $1500 goal.  I raised my goal to $1750 and hope to get a few more donations but right now I'm well over my previous high.  I guess even if I have to walk the HM, I still have made a difference to those who need services from Livestrong.org.

Training Plan Week 7 - 01/07 - 01/13

Planned:
Tuesday - 3 miles
Wednesday - 5 miles
Thursday - 3 miles
Saturday - 9 mile LSR
Sunday - Cross-train

Again blogger won't let me upload my image file. This ones shows more bars than last week. 

Actual:
Tuesday - 4.1 miles in 46 minutes (11:13) plus walking warm up/down.  This one was in rain ranging from sprinkling to pouring down rain throughout.  Temp was about 49 so not freezing but bracing.  I ran at the track to avoid having to deal with very much traffic.  Pace seems faster than usual but I checked and double-checked my lap count/math and it seems pretty good. 
Wednesday - Raining again and I skipped the run to go to lunch.  It just seemed... unwise.  While I hate missing a workout it didn't feel right to me and felt really wrong to my ChocolateWife (which I didn't actually know until later but makes me feel even better about skipping).
Thursday - 3.76 in 46 minutes (12:14) plus walking warm up/down.  I ran the hills around and through campus.  It was a really nice run in perfect running weather - 55-60 and sunny.  Strangest sight was a dead adult possum I saw near the end of the run.  I guess it wasn't perfect running weather for him.
Saturday - 20.3 mile bike ride in 1:45 (11.6 mph).  It was supposed to be LSR Saturday, bike Sunday but I wanted to bike in 68 degrees and run in 40 so I switched the schedule.  The only downside was that I was riding in the pretty wet and a little light rain.  Felt really good throughout though.  I don't go fast but I feel like a 20 mile ride is very doable for me now. 
Sunday - 12.5 mile bike ride in 1:02 (12.1 mph).  It was cooler (45 or so) but dry.  I should have done a LSR but my stomach has been very problematic and I'm very nervous about runs when my stomach feels like that.  Bike ride didn't give me my LSR time on my feet but did a little cardio and activity and calorie burning. 

Right now this is probably the least prepared I've been for a race.  I've missed 2 LSRs completely and cut one short.  Right now I'm just trying to keep myself active and make it fit into my life. 

Training Plan Week 4 - 12/17 - 12/23

Planned:
Tuesday - 3 miles
Wednesday - 4 miles at race pace
Thursday - 3 miles
Saturday - 7 mile LSR
Sunday - Cross-training

Actual:
Tuesday - 2.8 miles in 35 minute (12:30) plus 1.2 miles walking warm up/down.  Not a good run.  Too many thoughts in my brain, not enough rest, phone call during saying that the refrigerator was not cooling. 
Wednesday - 3.6 miles in 41 minutes (11:16 mm) plus walking warm up/down.  It was >80 degrees, humid, and windy so I'm really happy with this for a race pace run. 
Thursday - too much chaos and not enough healthy food (no refrigerator) so I did not run.
Saturday - 5.5 miles in 1:13 (13:09) plus walking warm up/down.  Should have been longer but all the bad diet and gluten with no access to healthy food really got me.  I got very suddenly sick on the run.  Sick enough that I had to call the family to come get me.  I'm so glad that the refrigerator is working again.
Sunday - 16 miles in 1:20 on the bike. I went to the post office and mailed everything that needed to go out. Then continued.  Nice ride. 

Weight - probably unchanged and I've had very little control over my diet.  Last week the refrigerator was broken. This week we're at the in-laws'.  I'm trying to be pretty hard-core avoiding the gluten but otherwise, it's hard to eat healthy at all.
Fund-raising - my fundraising for Livestrong is going very well.  I got some donations last week (in response to my "hey the end of the tax year is coming"... e-mails).  I'm over $1100 of my $1500 goal. 

Training Plan Week 3 - 12/10 - 12/16

Planned:Tuesday - 3 miles
Wednesday - 4 miles
Thursday - 3 miles
Saturday - LSR 6 miles
Sunday - Cross train

Actual:
Tuesday - 3.44 in 45 (13:04) plus walking warm up/down.  Surprised at how slow this one was. I felt good while running.  2:00/:45 run/walk up and down some hills and on trails.
Tuesday - Core work for 30 minutes. I did the work after dinner and felt sort of crummy but got it done.
Wednesday - 12.75 miles in 1:00 biking. Schedule was wonky so I came home early and decided to take the chance to bike rather than run. 
Thursday - 4.15 in 50 minutes (12:02) plus walking warm up/down.  Ran a nice 2:00/:45 ratio.
Saturday - Core work for 30 minutes. I got this done before dawn so a good start to the day.
Saturday - Bike 13.66 in 1:06.  A very busy day meant I did my bike ride in the only time available. The ride was just lovely once I managed to avoid being hit by two different vehicles running stop signs at the same intersection.
LSR - Did not.  Sunday was not a good day.  Not good at all. Very upsetting and I'm still having trouble sleeping.  

Notes:
Weight unchanged.
Feelings about weight unchanged.
My fundraising for Livestrong is over $950! 
Four more days of work until I have a week off.
I've biked/run > 1000 miles this year.

Training Plan Week 2 - 12/03 - 12/09

Planned:
Tuesday - 3 miles
Wednesday - 3 miles at race pace
Thursday - 3 miles
Saturday - LSR 5 miles
Sunday - Cross train

Actual:
Tuesday - 3.9 miles in 47 minutes (11:56) plus walking warm up/down on the hills near/through campus.  This one felt really good and was faster than I expected once I got back to work and mapped it.  I ran 2:00/:45 intervals and thought that was a good interval.  I also stopped at traffic lights for 2-3 minutes so pace was even faster really.
Wednesday -  3.61 in 40 minutes (11:07) plus walking warm up/down.  This was supposed to be "race pace" and was even faster than I think of my race pace. First I did 3:00/1:00 intervals then I switched to walking 1:00 per lap on the track.  Distance is approximate but I would feel safe calling it 3.49 to 3.61 which would be between a 11:07 and 11:30 pace.  All still in a good range for me.
Thursday - Pre-dawn core work done pre-dawn.  30 minutes of the pre dawn work but mixed in ball crunches and metronomes.
Thursday - Lovely 11.72 mile bike ride in 1:00.  My intention is that it's ok to put in one bike ride in place of a run 1x a week if I can make it fit with my schedule.
Sunday - LSR 5 miles in 1:05 (13:00).  Very approximate.  I ran on the Trails at Walnut Creek.  I ran a 1:00/1:00 and took it pretty easy.  It should have been run Saturday, Bike Sunday, and core one of those two days.  Instead it was have a migraine Saturday.  Lay in bed. Groan. Moan. Take advil.  I wasn't totally useless, I did laundry, cleaned the kitchen, we got the tree decorated.  It just wasn't possible to do any exercise. 

I got my replacement phone so I'm back to logging my food and trying to lose this weight.  I'm also feeling like this cough it finally moving on. 

What I learned this week (specifically Sunday):  Taking my key off my keyring and sliding it into the back of the armband for my phone so I can run with just that rather than the key fob only is a good plan if I know that my key actually fits and opens the doors.  I don't remember that I've ever tried to use the key to open the car door before (the car is 11 years old).  Either it never fit the car door or the lock is rusted or filled with dirt and grunge.  Either way, I found myself hanging out at the park for an extra 10 minutes while my wife/kids/dogs drove over to unlock my car for me. 

This week - 3 miles Tuesday, 4 Wednesday, 3 Thursday, LSR 6 Saturday, Bike Sunday, and core 2x.

Training Plan Week 1 -- 11/26 - 12/02

Yay!  Week 1 of my Training Plan. 

Planned: 
Tuesday - 3 miles
Wednesday - 3 miles
Thursday - 4 miles
Saturday - 4 mile LSR
Sunday - cross-train
Actual:

Tuesday - 3.29 in 38 minutes (11:28/mm) plus walking warm up/down.  Wow. I pushed myself on this one.  I ran 3:00/1:00 and for me it was faster than race pace and really working. 

Tuesday - 30 minutes core work.  Basically I did the pre-dawn routine with ball crunches mixed in. 
Wednesday - 3.15 in 40 minutes (12:39/mm) plus walking warm up/down.  I went easier than Tuesday with a 2:00/1:00 but really enjoyed the run.  I'm still struggling with a cough so it feels good to run hot and try and cough up the congestion.
Thursday - 3.43 in 45 minutes (13:07/mm) plus walking warm up/down.  I went back to my winter work schedule so I'll run at lunch time 3 days a week.  I love running at the park but probably lost 2-3 minutes waiting to cross streets.  Without street stops, my pace was more like 12:23.  I ran 1:30/:45 ratios and am considering dropping all my walk ratios to :45.  I feel like I'm mostly recovered by then. 
Saturday - Core work.  30 minutes of Pre-dawn runner's program with some ball crunches mixed in. 
Saturday - 4.8 miles in 1:00 (12:30) plus walking warm up/down.  Saturday was probably the worst I've felt as far as my cough and cold went.  But I went running anyway hoping the heat would help and it did as it has for weeks.  I felt very tight in the chest but enjoyed the feeling.  I wore no HRM because I didn't feel a need it on a LSR.  Unfortunately my phone had no music on it and wouldn't hook up any GPS so it was a naked run.  As it turns out the phone has nothing and after a while on the phone with the company I will be getting a replacement next week.  For the time being I'm using my old phone. 
Sunday - No workout but I knew that in advance. My niece had her fund-raiser for her upcoming Bat Mitzvah and I got up, drove to Houston, umpired, and drove home.  Tiring day but no workout.

Drinking enough water and watching what I eat is going well although I'm not sure how much progress I'm seeing weight-wise in just the first week.  More importantly, I'd like for the entire family to completely kick this cold/cough rather than just sharing it eternally.

Workouts 11/19 - 11/25

Considering that #1 it was Thanksgiving week and #2 I've still been fighting the cough, I had a pretty good workout week last week. 

Monday - 3.77 walking.  This was the day that I was worried I might actually be GETTING SICK.  I decided that running was unwise but I strapped on my backpack and walked to the store, bought some groceries, and walked home.  It felt really wonderful and I didn't start coughing until I got home.

Tuesday - 3.4 miles in 43 minutes (12:38) plus walking warm-up.  80 degrees out 2 days before Thanksgiving.  Still not feeling great but I just enjoyed the heat and the feeling of cooking that cough out of my chest. 

I really thought we would get Wednesday afternoon off work and that I would ride my bike but alas. 

Saturday - 30 minutes. Pre-dawn runner's core workout. I've been doing the pre-dawn routine but mixing in some ball crunches as well.  I'm really excited because I can now do the unilateral bird-dogs.  

Saturday - 20.2 mile bike ride in 1:38 (12.4 mph).  It was really gorgeous out and I really wanted to take a long workout and burn some calories.   Runkeeper was announcing every 5 minutes so every time it did, I pedaled hard for 50 strokes to make it a little more challenging.  This was the farthest I've ever ridden or run.

Sunday - 5.7 miles in 1:16 (13:19) plus walking warm up/down.  I considered this a LSR and did 2:00/1:00 then 1:00/1:00.  I didn't even check the Runkeeper cues, just ran and enjoyed it. 

Other:
Water:  I have been doing a good job of drinking water. I think I drank 64 oz or more every day that I tracked it (I didn't track while out of town). 

Snacking: Reduced but not eliminated. 

Noom: I'm using Noom for my calorie tracking pretty consistently. 



My Half-marathon training plan for the Livestrong officially starts Tuesday (11/27).  I've settled on the Hal Higdon Novice 2 plan but I'll be adding in core work and possibly some strength work. 

Training Plan for the Livestrong Half-Marathon

The Austin Livestrong Half-Marathon is February 17, 2013.  I'm finished with my paid training program and working with the coach, done with the Run for the Water 10 miler, and done with obsessing over the presidential election. 

It's time for me to think about my training plan.  Typically they last 12 to 16 weeks.  I've been looking at various plans with thoughts about tweaking them based on what I've learned from my work with the coach. 

Contenders and thoughts on them:
Galloway to goal plan - I've done this plan before.  It features 3 runs a week plus an easy walk day. The week day runs are basically timed runs and the weekend ones alternate between an LSR and 800 repeats.  This would be the easiest plan to do and easiest to supplement (more on that).  The plan would officially start 11/13 with a 30 minute run and a 5 mile run on Sunday.
Runner's World Smart Coach plan - The Runner's World site allows the user to enter some specific information such as a recent race time, race date, how hard you want to work, and race distance and it spits out a pretty detailed plan.  Start date could vary depending on when I'm ready to make the program spit out a plan.  Upside is that every run has very specific purpose and pace listed.  Downside is that all the Thursday runs (speedwork or tempo) require a 6 mile run which is (for me) a pretty high expectation and time investment for a week day run.  The other thing about the plan is that the LSRs start with a 10 mile run the first week and with the exception of a few recovery weeks all the LSRs are 10-14 miles. 
Hal Higdon - I've never done a Hal Higdon TP but I've heard good things about them.  The Novice 2 plan basically calls for 4 days of running a week.  T-W-Th are a 3 mile, 3-5 mile, and 3 mile run.  The Wednesday run alternates between a race pace run and a normal run.  The LSRs build from 4-12 miles with a week dedicated to running a 5K and another a 10K race.  The plan is 12 weeks long so it would start the week of 11/26.  So the difference between this and the Galloway is basically running T-W-Th rather than running T-Th/walk F and speedwork is every other W rather than every other Sunday.
No Meat Athelete - The No Meat athelete has an entire program called the Half-Marathon roadmap with workbooks and sheets and cds or maybe DVDs and a book and etc.  The book portion is available on Kindle for just 2.99 so I may buy it and see what it has to say.  I'm not sure that I'm going to find anything in a plan that differs significantly from the others listed above but it might be interesting to see what he says will be different for someone "running on plants." 

I'd like to make some decisions and settle on a plan in the next week.  Partially the choice depends on my knee.  Although I've never had any problems with my knee, it has been hurting since the morning after my 10 mile race. I will probably try to put on a brace and run this weekend and see how that goes.  In the meantime, I'm taking NSAIDs pretty regularly and resting it. 

Some factors that will influence my plan and my carrying it out include the fact that the training plan period will include both my childrens' birthdays and parties (or party if they share as they keep saying they will do), my niece's Bat Mitzvah, my niece's Bat Mitzvah project fundraiser softball game, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, and the start of the Legislative Session. 

Whatever plan I choose I want to also:
Become more fit (which is a more positive way to speak possibility into reality than saying lose weight).  That said, I'd like to settle at a healthy weight about 8-10 pounds lighter than I am now.  I also believe this would improve my running speed.  Two changes that should be simple but hopefully make a big difference are:

• Making sure I drink 64 oz of water EVERY day by using the water tracking app.  I believe that I average about 40-50 oz of water and 20 oz of iced tea per day. I need to increase my water consumption and be consistent about it.
• Not snacking after 8:00.  ChocolateWife and I have a pattern of watching TV, crafting, and having a snack in the evening.  I need to ... not (to put it simply).  Yes to TV. Yes to time with ChocolateWife. Yes to crafting.  But no snacking.  Or perhaps 1 evening snack a week on the day of the long run.

I will also supplement the plan with at least 2 and possibly 3 core workouts a week.  And if I can get an arms/shoulders or chest/back workout in as well that would be ideal but I'll concentrate on running. 

And I may substitute the occasional bike ride for a run or walk day.  I really enjoyed the bike rides in my plan with the coach and it seems like a good cardio workout but a change of pace that was refreshing. 

I need to make some choices (and need my knee to feel better). I've enjoyed my week+ of rest and I'm ready to get back to a plan!

Half-Marathon Training Program

Friday I signed up for a new half-marathon training program.  I actually signed up for the training before signing up for a race.  I’m leaning toward the Dare to Ascend half-marathon.  I think I’d enjoy a trail half marathon although I know a trail race is, by definition, harder and slower than a road half.  But I do like running on trails and the race is at the right time.  If the See Jane run Half Marathon were happening, it would be at the perfect time and would cost only $30 or perhaps nothing (I forget) but they are not running the race so that’s out. 

I’ve been feeling like without a goal race until next February, my training was just sort of plodding along.  I didn’t have a real compulsion to get out of bed and run one day versus another and while out on a weekend run, I didn’t feel like I was committed to any given distance or pace.  I would just run a bit and feel done and walk the rest of the way.  And the truth is that I’ve read blogs, books, recommendations, training plans, and everything else in the world and it’s just an overwhelming amount of input.  I can look at one plan that says run this much and these days and another that says the opposite.  One says race this often at race pace and one says don’t push too hard. 

One of the podcasts I listen to is produced by a set of trainers and he is frequently a guest on other podcasts.  One of the things I’ve heard him say is that every workout should have a purpose.  Another is that most people train too hard.  They are trying to do every run at race pace.  Both of those things really struck a nerve for me.  My race pace (based on Galloway formulas) would be 11:36 mm but I’m trying to do all my training (except LSR) at <12:00 which seems quite close to race pace.  So if not at race pace, how much slower should it be?  And am I training too hard? Running too long?  Too much?  Not enough?

So I signed up for some training that seems to be sort of hybrid pricing and setup.  The cost is not as high as one-on-one training would be but higher than buying a book or a prefab program or something.  I’m still trying to come to an understanding of the logistics of the training. It appears that I have a coach who will give me a weekly program that’s sort of customized and I’ll use the online tool to enter my training results, comments, metrics etc.  I don’t know how much direct interaction there will be.  Saturday she posted my first week of scheduled workouts which are sort of structured to give the coach an idea of my baselines.  It includes 3 strength workouts, 3 run workouts, 1 bike workout, and one core workout.  But the total time is just 5:55 so it’s not vastly different from my current time investment. 

I’m sort of simultaneously excited and anxious about the training.  I would certainly like some guidance and would like to see some improvements in my fitness and pace. 

Training 3/12 - 3/18

Tuesday - 5.22 miles in 50 (9:36) minutes plus .6 for walking warm up/down. I went over to the track near work to try and get in a magic mile. I made 10:03 which was not an improvement (9:46 for the last one) but I was dodging other runners and guys doing repair work on the track. After the mm, I worked on opening my stride and ended up logging fast miles. Quite obviously the Nike+ overestimated my distance but it did feel faster than usual.

Thursday - 4.34 in 48 minutes (11:03) plus .66 in 12 miles walking warm up/down. I went to the park to run a 3:00/1:00 ratio. I don't know exactly the distance but I ran farther than I usually do in that same location.

Friday - 3.0 miles 48 minutes (16:00). Easy Friday walk. I got up at 6:00 to do my walk before we left town for the weekend.

Sunday - 12.40 miles 2:44 (13:13) including my walking warm up/down. We're out at the farm. I ran county roads with a 1:00/1:00 ratio. It was a nice run with some humidity and around 68 degrees.

Galloway 10 Mile Race Training Plan

The Galloway Training Programs book has a 10 Mile race training plan.  It is 15 weeks long (including 2 post weeks post-race) so I'm not doing the full thing since the Austin 10/20 is April 15th. Basically I joined in around week 7 of the plan after a few post half-marathon weeks.  Every week has a 45 minute run on Tuesday, 45 minute run on Thursday, and easy walk on Friday. I'm not putting those in the table.  By the plan I should have done a magic mile last Tuesday so I'll plan to do one this week.  The plan Sundays are:

Date	Planned Run
03/04	10 miles
03/11	9 x 800
03/18	12 miles
03/25	10-12 x 800
04/01	14 miles
04/08	4 mi MM
04/15	10 Mile Race

Training 03/05 - 03/11

Tuesday - 4.55 in 50 minutes (10:59/mile) plus walking warm up/down. I ran over to the park and through it. The weather was gorgeous. 3:00/1:00 ratio.
Tuesday - You are Your own Gym (YAYOG) workout Week 1, Day 1. I finally started the YAYOG workouts again. I liked it back in November but then I had to return the book and then I got it for the holidays but I didn't want to start while training for the HM. The first day is basically arms. It was a good but hard workout.
Wednesday - Walking to/from lunch. YAYOG Week 1, Day 2. I used the Android app for my exercise which is nice. It tells you how long to exercise and rest. Legs.
Thursday - I could not run due to being in training and taking an hour (only lunch). I walked about 2 miles in 30 minutes.
Sunday - 7.0 miles 1:30. 50 degrees and raining for about half of the run. 9 x 800 repeats per the Galloway plan for a 10 mile race. My target was still 5:33 since I have not run another magic mile. Actual: 5:08, 5:12, 5:17, 5:17, 5:08, 5:15, 5:17, 5:23, 5:11. A very good run. The last 3 repeats felt easier than the first 3. I feel like I'm starting to get into a nice posture and rhythm in my running.

Training Plan for Austin 10/20 - Maybe

I'm undecided about what training plan to use for the Austin 10/20 in April.  I think that the Jeff Galloway Training Plans book has a 10 mile training plan but he doesn't have one on his website.  I'm guessing that the plan is 45 minute run Tuesday, 45 minute run Thursday, easy walk Friday, and alternating long run (probably going up to 13 miles) Sunday with speedwork.  I brought up a training plan on Runner's World Smart Coach online.  I actually had to redo the plan because at first I put in the 2:41 half-marathon time but I felt like that plan wasn't aggressive enough so I changed it to my magic mile pace of 9:46 and reproduced the plan.  The plan looks pretty reasonable with nice target paces including the long runs nearly every weekend.  My biggest problem would be fitting in the Thursday runs.  Most of them are 6 miles and I can't cover that distance in the time I have during my lunch hour.  Still I'm leaning toward trying this plan (starting next Monday) for my next race.

Training Plan Week 11

Training Plan Week:

Week	Monday Date	Tuesday	Thursday	Friday	Sunday
11	02/13/2012	45 min run	45 min run	easy walk	Half-Marathon!

Actual Week:

Tuesday - 4.05 miles 49 minutes (12:05/mm) trail run on my work lunch hour plus .6 walking warm up and down. Very nice run although the trail was muddy. Did a 2:1 ratio.
I missed my Thursday run with a bit of a stomach bug.
Friday - 2.4 miles 45 minutes. Lunch hour walk.
Sunday - 14.45 miles (on Nike+)/13.1 Half-Marathon. 2:41 (11:11/mm or 12:17/mm). More on this in a separate post.

Training Plan vs. Actual

For the upcoming Austin Livestrong Half-Marathon, I used a modified Jeff Galloway Run/Walk to time goal training plan. Over the course I did a few extra walks or runs, missed three (one due to migraine and 2 due to toenail issues). For the most part I was on target with my runs:

I'm pretty happy with my adherence to the plan, particularly given that I dropped my gym membership and trained for a Winter marathon without owning a treadmill.

Training Plan Week 10

Training Plan Week:

Week	Monday Date	Tuesday	Thursday	Friday	Sunday
10	02/06/2012	45 min run	45 min run	easy walk	5 miles/MM

Actual Week:

Tuesday - 4.0 miles 47:00 minutes (11:45/mm) plus walking warm up/down. It was a beautiful 59 degree day. I ran over and through the park which I'm really enjoying these days.
Thursday - 4.67 miles 48 minutes (10:16/mm) plus walking warm up/down. This run is so much faster than my usual that I wondered about the measurement but I recalibrated Nike+ to RunKeeper again yesterday and they are very close. The run felt great and fast. I did my last magic mile in case the GPS wouldn't work over the weekend and had a 9:46. Honestly, I was disappointed with that time. I ran hard and felt faster than the last time. I have to trust it though and set my goal accordingly.
Friday – 3.47 miles 58 minutes (16:42/mm) walk. I went down to Book People and to Tea Embassy. It was lovely out.
Sunday – 5.48 miles 1:08 (12:19) includes walking warm up/down. It was only 39 and had been sleeting earlier. I felt sort of tight but enjoyed what felt like an easy 5 mile run compared to every other Sunday for the past few months.

In the morning I posted a request on my FB status that I was $113 short of my $1250 goal for Team Livestrong. I got that donation from an online friend which pretty much blew me away in a good way. It wasn’t until I got a $25 donation from a work friend that I realized I blew the math and was actually $138 short when I posted the first note so now I really did reach the $1250 mark. I raised it to $1500 of course as I still have some people who have told me they will donate.

Final Magic Mile

I ran the last magic mile in my training plan yesterday. It should actually be scheduled for this weekend but since I am never sure if my GPS will work, I wanted to go run it on a track while I could. I ran a 9:46 MM which honestly I was somewhat surprised and disappointed about. My last magic mile was 9:47 and I felt faster this time. I also really pushed myself (much more than you are supposed to do on a magic mile). My HR went to 195 which is perilously close to my max HR. I was hoping for a 9:25-9:32 mm time. I guess the consistency is good.

According to Jeff Galloway’s Race prediction I should run my half-marathon at 11:43 minute miles for a total time of 2:33:32.

Training Plan Week 9

Training Plan Week:

Week	Monday Date	Tuesday	Thursday	Friday	Sunday
8	01/29/2012	45 min run	45 min run	easy walk	17 miles

Actual Week:

Monday - Walking 3.59 miles 59 minutes (16:26 mm). Because I did my weekend run on Saturday, I felt like waiting three days was too long so I walked on Monday. It was a lovely day and I just walked when the walk light said to, then turned around and came back to the office.
Tuesday - 3.98 miles 48 minutes (12:03 mm). Plus the walking warm up/down of .52 in 10. Ran 2:30/1:00 on the hills near campus. The hills were a struggle but I felt like I was running faster than this.
Thursday/Friday - I did neither of these runs/walks. I had an ingrown toenail which both hurt badly and which I didn't want to aggravate and make worse.
Sunday - 14.3 miles 2:55 (12:14 mm). At first I thought I would be running between ChocolateWife getting home from a conference and the start of the Super Bowl but her conference time got pushed back so I ran early (out of the house about 6:35). It was 43 and windy and rainy. 1:1 ratio. The run felt great but my face and hands were cold. I forgot my gloves and actually considered calling ChocolateWife to either bring them or pick me up but gave it a little while and my hands got better. I'm really happy with this run. My target pace should have been 13:36 so this was both faster than that and faster than my run 2 weeks ago.

I am feeling very good about the Half-Marathon in 13 days. My last two LSRs have been really positive. I think that I am starting to really use Chi Running to my benefit. I base this belief on the fact that in both runs I had the sensation throughout that I was falling forward. I kept thinking that it's not possible for more than 50% of the run to be downhill (or I guess it could be but the other part would have to be really uphill). The other thing is that I didn't get any blisters on my feet or have to reapply body glide to my feet. On the downside, my running bra is rubbing me badly under one arm and across the front. I need to experiment with some body glide but I don't want to get a new bra 2 weeks before the race.

BTW, a half-marathon at yesterday's LSR pace would be 2:37:51 or breaking my PR by 13 minutes.

Training Plan Week 8

Training Plan Week:

Week	Monday Date	Tuesday	Thursday	Friday	Sunday
8	01/23/2012	45 min run	45 min run	easy walk	12 x 800

Actual Week:

Tuesday - 4.11 miles 47 minutes (11:26/mm). Ran in the rain near home. 2:30/1:00 ratio. Another .52 miles or so walking warm-up/down.
Thursday - 4.14 miles 49 minutes (11:44/mm). Ran on track near campus. 3:1 for first 30 then 2:1 ratio. Another .5 mile walk to warm up and down.
Friday - 3.35 miles 58 minutes walk (17:18/mm). I tried to walk easy knowing that I would run again Saturday. It was lovely out.
Saturday - 8.79 miles 1:52 (12:44/mm). 12x800 repeats. Target time based on my magic mile was 5:33. I beat that in every repeat: 5:21, 5;18, 5:20, 5:19, 5:16, 5:17, 5:23, 5:12, 5:20, 5:18, 5:18, 5:00. I felt really good about this run. Basically for every 800, I ran the first 400 in around 2:30, walked 30, and ran to the end. I was really excited that I was able to crank out that last 800 the fastest. Pace is not great because the total includes 2:30 walking between each and walking warm-up and down.

Planks - I did at least one one minute plank every day. Friday I posted on FB/Twitter that if I got a $25 donation (I got $80) I would do the PlankanHour challenge on Saturday. I did so even though some hours I got it in just at the limit and by the end my core was burning.

Training Plan Week 7

Training Plan Week:

Week	Monday Date	Tuesday	Thursday	Friday	Sunday
7	01/16/2012	45 min run	45 min run	easy walk	15 mile run

Actual Week:

Tuesday - 4.88 miles 1:00 (12:17/mm). Also .52 miles in 11 minutes walking warm up/down. It was ChocolateSon's birthday (happy birthday!) so I took the day off work. I ran with a 2:1 then 1:30/1 ratio.

Thursday - 8.65 mile 1:58 (13:38/mm) trail run. It was a state holiday so I worked 6 hours, then took off early for a nice long run. I went to Walnut Creek park which is probably my favorite place to run. Because it was still during the work/school day there were very few other folks there. 2:1 ratio.

Friday - 3.01 mile walk 48 minutes. I went for a walk on my lunch hour and it was quite beautiful and lovely.

Sunday - 14.44 mile 2:58 (12:19/mm). Includes warm up and down. I never intended to do 15 so I'm completely happy with the run. It was possibly the best run I've ever had. Certainly my best LSR. Pace target was 13:36 and my time INCLUDING WARM UP/DOWN was over a minute faster than that. I wasn't trying to run fast. It just felt easy and smooth. I worked on standing tall and leaning (very chi running) and just felt like I was falling forward much of the time. I actually had the impression that I was running downhill most of the time (obviously impossible since I ran a "there and back" route.

Total miles for the week = 32! I am at 80+ miles for January so unless something terrible happens this should be my first 100+ mile month ever.

I also had a good fundraising week. Tuesday I posted a note on FB saying that it was ChocolateSon's 8th birthday and that he says he will cure a terrible disease when he grows up but in the meantime would 8 people donate $8 to my half-marathon with Team Livestrong. My brother did as asked, another friend donated $8 for each year he has been alive ($64), and my friend Jenny B who sponsored my registration for the race donated $50.80. I am close to reaching my $1000 goal so I raised my goal to $1250.