Pfitz, Week 1 (33 miles)
One week down, 17 to go (damn that sounds like a lot). The training this week wasn’t much different than what I’ve already been doing, but I have to admit there were a couple of times I almost postponed due to crappy weather. But then I reminded myself that attitude won’t get me to Boston, so I laced up and headed out.
I know the hardest runs will be the mid-week ones. I actually relish the weekend long runs, but I typically keep my mid-week runs to eight miles or less. That distance is just the starting point with Pfitz; by week nine I’ll have a 14-mile mid-week run, and several 10-12 milers on other weeks (just what I want to do after standing on my feet all day). But fortunately I’m typically home from my cook dates by 3:30 and it won’t start getting dark until at least 5:30-6 p.m.
I’m also finding it tough to keep my pace slow for my general aerobic and recovery runs. For the former, I should be keeping it to a 9:30-9:45 pace; the latter should be 9:45-10:00. I’m also finding my heart rate seems to get pretty high, even though I don’t feel I’m putting in a lot of effort. However, it’s not too far off, so I’m not going to worry about it too much.
As for my weight? sigh. I’ve been a very, very bad girl. My darling and I decided to hit happy hour on Thursday, splurging on margaritas, chicken wings, Southwestern spring rolls and calamari (oh, and cupcakes from Cupcake Royale). On Friday we met up with friends at Shorty’s for pinball, hotdogs and nachos (oh, and a burger and fries at Dick’s on the way home). We were much more sensible on Saturday, preparing a huge salad with garbanzo beans and loads of veggies. (Oh, I guess I forgot to mention the aprés run mac & cheese and the evening martini. But hey — we were watching Casino Royale; how could we NOT have a shaken martini?). Today my darling joined some friends for the “Love ’em or Leave ’em” 5K at Greenlake; I however, decided to prepare brunch treats for everyone in the form of ooey-gooey caramel-pecan rolls and Southwestern strata. Looks like it’ll be lettuce leaves for the rest of the week!
Here’s a recap:
Sunday: 35 min. lap swim. It’s been so long since I’ve swum laps, so I started in the slow lane. But after almost swimming over several people, I quickly moved over to the medium-speed lane.
Monday: 1 1/2 hour gym workout (arm weights, PT exercises, core work, abs, stretching). I’m up to a 70-second front plank and 35-second side planks!
7.25 miles w/10 x 100m stride-outs; overall pace: 9:28, average heart rate: 146. After a 2 3/4 warm-up run around Greenlake I headed to the track for the stride-outs. For those, you pick up the pace for the first 70 meters, then “glide” the final 30 meters. You then slow to a jog for 100-200 meters. These were much easier than the speed work I tried with the FIRST program a couple of years ago. However, I think I over-estimated my goal pace at the time and my body just wasn’t ready to go that fast. With the stride-outs, given they were so short I could go all out without feeling like I was about to barf up a lung. I actually hit a 6:30 pace! (Okay, so it was just for 100 meters, but STILL).
Tuesday: Yoga. Although we’re still doing VERY basic moves, today seemed tougher to me. It’s clear I have a LONG way to go with my flexibility (my warrior pose will not be striking fear in the hearts of anyone for a very, very long time).
Wednesday: 1 1/2 hour arm routine, core work, abs; 9.25 general aerobic run. This was the first evening I almost bailed on my run. As I was finishing up at my client’s house I looked outside to see a hailstorm. Although the hail had stopped by the time I was heading back over the bridge, it was still raining and very windy. I was THIS CLOSE to convincing myself to put it off until Thursday when I clicked on YouTube and entered “Boston Marathon.” The first video that popped up wasn’t particularly motivating (I think it was an Adidas ad), but it did the trick. Within five minutes I was out the door. Overall pace: 10:07; average HR: 145.
Thursday: 1 1/4 hour gym workout (PT, abs and stretching).
Friday: 1 1/2 hour arms, core, abs. I didn’t have to cook, so I thought I’d get my 4-mile recovery run in early. WRONG! My darling and I spent the day running errands and next thing we knew it was close to the time when we were to meet our friends at Shorty’s. On one hand I thought if I were okay to bail on any training run, then the recovery would be it. But on the other hand I thought it would be pretty lame to bail on an easy, short run. So again, I bucked up. Overall pace: 9:39; HR: 140.
Saturday: 12.5-mile medium-long run. I was feeling creaky, so I opted to run a flat route along the Burke-Gilman. My darling joined me for the first 3 miles, but then decided to pick up the pace in order to get back in time for his 2 p.m. client meeting. Overall pace: 10:25; average HR: 137.
February 10th, 2008 at 9:44 pm
I want to hang out with you after runs…yummy food! Oh well everyone needs to splurge now and again!!! We wouldn’t be human if we didn’t!! Living life is GOOD!!
February 11th, 2008 at 8:23 am
Hi Betsy!
Congrats on your 9 on the 9th, I’m new to blogging so this is wonderful for me to “meet” so many runners. I joined in on the Virtual Run too! Had a great time!
I’m training for my first full marathon and am finding the long mid week runs hard to adjust to as well. They take me out of my little comfort zone, but have to get done!
Best Wishes for your training and upcoming race…
Stay in touch if you find the time!
Laurel (Lily)
February 11th, 2008 at 11:06 pm
When you are working that hard, it is tough to cut back on food. I’ve been eating everything that couldn’t outrun me this week! Seventeen more weeks may sound like a lot, but at least you don’t have to run the marathon this weekend 😉 You are off to a great start.
February 12th, 2008 at 11:07 am
Smart movie doing the You Tube thing. I’ll have to remember that one.