New Goal - Week One

I've gotta come up with a name for this new goal... maybe "Get It Back" or something.
Anyways, so last week went well. No real aches or soreness and I didn't feel any pressure to run more than I felt comfortable with. Of course I already wrote about the first part of the week.
Friday I headed to the gym for Back

Then got home and took the dogs for a 5.3 mile run... Jetta of course drove me crazy.

Saturday morning I got up and headed to the gym for Biceps, Triceps and Chest. I also got on the Hip Adduction and Abduction machine too, while my mileage is low I am going to use these two machines and the leg press at least 2-3 times a week.

Then I changed at the gym and headed out the door for an easy run.

I got in 15.5 miles that week and 5 hours and 49 minutes at the gym, and I feel pretty damn good about it. I can already tell that my body is adapting to it and the soreness is nearly unnoticeable.
On Sunday I didn't run or go to gym, but the husband and I tore up the carpet and carpet mats in our living room and dining area and pulled the staples AND the tack strips which took like 4.5 hours to do, and boy did it feel like a workout.... which is why I didn't go anywhere this morning lol.
In order to focus and reach my goal, I am printing out pics of what I had attained back in 2015 when I was at my peak. I'll stick these to the wall in my office, in the bedroom, and in my kitchen to constantly remind me of my goal so that I don't fall off track and eat something I shouldn't.
Here are the pics and where I want to be by Fall if not sooner.

Looking Things Over and Changing Plans..... A New Chapter

The Harmonie Trail Marathon is not going to happen this year, the half still might, but at this time I am not sure. For the last 2-3 weeks I have been seriously debating and arguing with myself about it all, I was determined to do the marathon even if my longest run hadn't reached 16 miles by the time the taper started, I know I could do it but at what cost?
Two to 3 weeks of no running at all just to recover from a grueling distance? I don't want that, I want what I was able to do last year and it's time to admit that isn't going to happen. I've come to the realization that I must start over and rebuild my base, back to where 13.1 miles and even 16 miles came easy for me and that is going to take some time. Having a big race glaring at me just 8-9 weeks away wouldn't be helping me but causing me to constantly try and get out there and put out the mileage even through pain and injury. I am not going to do that, no freaking way. 
So with that decision having been made, I am starting over and that includes going back to the gym and getting back into my weight lifting. 
Chapter 1 - Week 1 of this new plan. 
My goal is to get stronger again, to get back where I was in 2015 when half marathons back to back came relatively easy and when two trail marathons just barely 2 months apart came without a cost. 
Last Friday I went back to my gym to sign back up, and I knew deep inside that I was making the best decision.
Saturday morning I headed to the gym.... I think at like 3 AM.... and I focused on my back. I told myself to expect to be weaker than I was when I quit going.

Wide Grip Lat Pull Downs - 60x8 / 55x12 / 60x8 / 55x12 / 60x8
Underhand Grip Cable Row: 5 sets of 60 lbs for 8 or 10 reps (I can't remember)
Bent Over Dumbbell Row: 30x12 / 35x8 / 30x12 / 35x8 / 35x8
Torso Rotation: 50x12 / 70x8 / 50x12 / 70x8 / 70x8
Cable Rows: 60x12 / 65x6 / 60x12 / 65x6 / 60x12
Narrow Grip Lat Pull Downs: 60x8 / 50x12 / 60x8 / 50x12 / 60x8

  Surprisingly it didn't feel to awful but I am definitely not where I was 18 months ago in some areas. After that, I got home and then took the dogs out on the roads to run 3.3 miles.

Sunday I rested and I was definitely feeling the workout in my back. 
Monday morning I headed to the gym to focus on my Biceps, Triceps and Chest. This one was a little tougher, and humbling.
Standing Barbell Curls: 40x12 / 45x8 / 40x12 / 45x8 / 45x8
Standing Triceps Cable Pull Downs: 40x12 / 50x8 / 40x12 / 45x8 / 40x12
Loaded Plate Chest Press: 90x8 / 80x8 / 70x12 / 80x8 / 80x8
Triceps Dumbbell Kickbacks: 15x12 / 20x8 / 15x12 / 17.5x8 / 17.5x8
Dumbbell Curls: 20x10 / 22.5x8 / 20x10 / 22.5x8 / 22.5x8
Torso Rotation: 55x12 / 70x8 / 55x12 / 70x8 / 70x8
Fly Delts: 50x12 / 60x8 / 50x12 / 60x8 / 60x8


Later that day I took Dorian to the riverfront to run 3.1 miles, it was like 74 degrees and sunny.... I was not enjoying that part but no pain so that was nice.... Pushing a stroller after a morning Biceps, Triceps and Chest workout..... really hard.

This morning I headed to the gym and focused on Shoulders and Delts
Cable Face Pulls: 40x12 / 50x12 / 50x12 / 60x8 / 60x8
Plate Loaded Overhead Press: 60x8 / 50x12 / 60x8 / 50x12 / 60x8
Dumbbell Shoulder Shrugs: 5 sets of 20 lbs for 12 reps each
Upright Barbell Rows: 30x8 / 25x12 / 30x8 / 25x12 / 30x8
Rear Delt: 40x10 / 50x6 / 40x10 / 50x6 / 40x10
Front Plate Raises: 5 sets of 12 reps, 25 lb plate

 From there I headed to the river front and ran 4 miles, then for the first time I ran up a pretty big flight of steps twice. I'll have to get a pic of it during daylight but this is what I took at the top.

I'm Still Here.... Barely....

Yeah it's been tough, my body is fighting me every step of the way and I'm losing hope on being able to do the Harmonie Half, today it is 8 weeks away and the longest run I've gotten was the Bound the Mound 13.1... and I've been suffering since.
The week following the race I only managed 17 miles, the side of my right glute or Gluteus Maximus part.... I don't know just where but following it is a soreness in my left Piriformis thing and kind of into my hamstring or quadricep.... It is seriously driving me crazy.
This morning I woke up and my neck and shoulders were so sore when it finally hit me, my pillow is as flat as a pancake... and I don't normally keep a pillow when it reaches that stage but this thing has been flat for a couple months.... so I bought a new pillow today and hopefully I'll notice a different in a couple of days. 
Last week I ran nothing.... I just didn't want to push it and end up sidelined again for 3 weeks or more. Yesterday morning I ran 3.6 miles and the first mile was fine but by mile 2 I started feeling sore in my Gluteus Maximus part but not horribly. It really felt like I need to stretch it or foam roll it, it was sore for a couple hours after but went away. I didn't run today and hopefully I can run 3-4 miles tomorrow on the trails with the dogs.
Thanks to that stupid storm on the East coast, we're dealing with normal winter weather.... I was hoping winter was over dang it!

Week 8, and the Bound the Mound 13.1

  First off, let me just mention how much I hate being reminded how out of shape I am compared to just last year or even 6 months ago..... it sucks horribly. Six months ago I could run two half marathons back to back with the 2nd one being much tougher than the first one, and hardly feel any soreness 48 hours later.... Now.... ugh....
Alright, let me begin at the start of last week. 
Monday afternoon we ran 5 miles in 49:48, I pushed Dorian in the stroller and had the dogs on the leashes. It was 70 degrees and sunny, Rocky didn't enjoy it too much and it didn't help that Jetta was trying to force the pace to something Rocky couldn't handle.
Wednesday morning the dogs and I hit the roads out by the house, it was 55 degrees and foggy and a little humid. We ran 7.3 miles in 1:12:29 with an average pace of 9:56 min/mile, again Jetta was trying to kill Rocky.
Then Thursday evening I took Dorian and the dogs to the Newburgh river front and we ran 4 miles in 40:27 with an average pace of 10:06 min/mile and again I wanted to kill Jetta because she tries so hard to kill Rocky on our runs. It was 72 degrees and just freaking warm, Rocky wasn't enjoying any of it.
I took Friday off, mainly because I just didn't have the time and it was crazy windy outside. Saturday morning I got up for the race, it was a feels like 23 with winds at 12 mph W.... freaking cold.
I did a warm up run of .8 miles.... mainly I just wanted to find a place to use the bathroom out in the woods. They have two port-a-potties but it just sucks if you've got a line of people waiting just a couple feel from the door..... really impersonal so I go out in the woods during trail races.
Let me just say that I haven't a half marathon this tough in a long while, and the 2016 Evansville Half Marathon was only tough because I went out too fast.
I told myself this would be just a long run, and I wouldn't try to push myself too crazy and hard. Well.... as usual that is not always the case, the first loop (3.1 miles by their measurements, 3 miles by mine and it gets worse from there as mine just keeps falling back until I had finished the race at 12 miles on my garmin) was a bit faster than I wanted but I did my best to slow it down a little. 
I finished the first loop or first 5k at 27:07 with an average pace of 9:22 min/mile
By the second loop I was secretly wanting to walk some but just as I was getting back into the woods (from the start/finish is about .1 miles of grass/field before you head back into the woods), Mat Barker came from behind and started chatting with me. Mat is fast, like one of the top in my area so I felt bad that he was willing to slow down to my pace and run with me. But he said he had only ran the 5k with his daughter and was just wanting to get in some more miles. He ran the second loop with me and helped me finish that 5k in 29:21 with an average pace of 10:08 min/mile. Then we said our goodbyes and I went onto my 3rd loop out of 4 before the little out and back thing to make up 13.1.
The 3rd lap was tough, I walked some and was a little mad at myself but kept reminding my head that this was only a long run and I was not in the shape that was a year ago or even 6 months ago. My legs were tired, I think I felt this way during my first half..... and probably my first trail half....
I finished the 3rd loop (3rd 5k) in 30:59 with an average pace of 10:41  min/mile, yes I was slowing down to a bit more walking. I think I had drank some gatorade after the 2nd loop was finished and then I drank some more after the 3rd loop. I headed out for the final 5k before that little out and back, I was already pooped and soon realized I would have to make a pit stop somewhere in the woods. Luckily there was only 23 runners left out there.... I think, maybe some walkers who were still doing the 5k and 10k...
I struggled at the pit stop because I forgot I tied my capris and had a hard time untying so let's say I wasted like 3-4 minutes total from the pause to the resume. I did walk quite a bit this time, and just kept reminding myself that this was a long run and it didn't matter if I was the last one to finish or the last woman to.... it was just a long run..
That out and back sucked, I ran the whole thing (it was like just over half a mile but not quite a mile).. I wanted to walk some but spectators and other who had already finished could see this part of the course so my pride kept me going. Plus I realized that two people were about 100 feet behind me, and one I knew for sure was a woman so I now knew I wasn't the last runner or woman!!! I just had to keep ahead of them, that was it.
I finished the 13.1 miles in 2:09:12 with an average pace of 9:52 min/mile, I was beat and sore and tired and soon very cold. I hadn't realized how cold it was until I had stopped running.... Bloody hell!!!! 
I soon realized that I had won 1st in my AG out of 4 ladies so that made the pain a bit more bearable and I soon realized the full results:
Overall: 13th out of 23 finishers
F 20-29: 1st out of 4 finishers
Female: 2nd out of 8 finishers

  So... not bad at all. And I got a much needed massage later that evening, and as of now I am still a bit sore. But my medal is pretty cool!

Week Seven..... and Some More

  So, this training cycle has already proven to be a bit bumpy... whatever was wrong with my legs back in December are still somewhat sensitive to higher mileage and back to back runs so it's been tough.
  Week five sucked balls, after the 10 mile run finishing off week 4 my legs were pretty sore and sour... I ended up only getting in like 12.3 miles with only 2 days of running.... it really sucked.
  Week six was slightly better with the Hearts on Fire 5k finishing it up, I ran 3 days but 4 times. The dogs and I got in 4.5 miles on the trails that Monday, then 7.1 miles on the road Wednesday, then we ran 6 miles Saturday morning before I went to the race. The 5k sucked balls, it was 63 degrees and sunny and my head was on fire.... I heat up way to quickly and easily dang it. I finished in 27:44 and 4th place in my age group..... so in other words I didn't get a trophy. Week six finished with 20.7 miles total.
  This last week was quite a bit better, though the long run was the toughest.... 
We ran 5.4 miles on the road Tuesday morning. We then ran 4.2 miles on the trails Wednesday morning, and 4.1 miles on the river front pathway Thursday afternoon (including Dorian in the stroller) and 7.7 miles Friday morning. Sunday morning's long run was a toughie, starting out my right foot arch was sore for whatever reason but soon eased up within the first mile. I left Rocky at home so it was just me and Jetta for this, I made two pit stops... first time in weeks during a run. It was a tough run, both quadriceps were heavy and a little sore but not awful. I was having hunger pains after mile 6 and I think some gas pains. It was 50 degrees... and I had overdressed with capris and my long sleeve Under Armour shirt with a t-shirt over it.... thankfully I didn't wear gloves or my head thingy. The plan was for 10, and early on I was worried I wouldn't get that.... but it turns out that Jetta and I got in 12 miles due to the route I picked. We ran 12 miles in 1:55:45 with an average pace of 9:38 min/mile, elevation gain of 174 feet. This was more a progression long run with the pace....
Laps/splits
Mile 1 - 10:25 min/mile
Mile 2 - 10:16 min/mile
Mile 3 - 10:01 min/mile
Mile 4 - 10:01 min/mile
Mile 5 - 9:55 min/mile
Mile 6 - 9:44 min/mile
Mile 7 - 9:40 min/mile
Mile 8 - 9:36 min/mile
Mile 9 - 9:13 min/mile
Mile 10 - 9:07 min/mile
Mile 11 - 8:58 min/mile
Mile 12 - 8:46 min/mile

  Yes indeed, it was a tough run..... I am definitely not in the shape I was just a year ago... that is for sure.... blah.... Anyways, week seven totaled out to 33.4 miles so not bad.... hopefully the soreness will go away because I have a trail race this Saturday... if the trails aren't flooded by then... the Bound the Mound 13.1... we will see what happens.

Week Four of 2017, and My Comeback from this Whatever... It Was

So this week was a little tougher, I ended up running 5 days instead of 4 and 3 of them were consecutively in a row. This morning's run was my long run and was the longest I've ran since.......... the Run with the Yeti 15k trail race back in late November.

I rested on Monday and ran 5.1 miles on Tuesday with both dogs... wasn't nearly as chaotic as I expected although Jetta did try to dictate the pace and kept dictating Rocky's position. It was 41 degrees, with a breeze. We ran it in 50:52 with an average pace of 9:53 min/mile.

Laps/splits:

Mile 1 - 10:13 min/mile

Mile 2 - 10:11 min/mile

Mile 3 - 9:52 min/mile

Mile 4 - 9:51 min/mile

Mile 5 - 9:42 min/mile

Wednesday afternoon it 61 degrees... that's Southern Indiana for you... I took the dogs and Dorian (in the stroller) to the Newburgh river front and we ran 4 miles. It was busy out there, so I was a little irritated. We ran the 4 miles in 39:11 with an average pace of 9:47 min/mile.

Laps/splits were:

Mile 1 - 10:13 min/mile

Mile 2 - 9:40 min/mile

Mile 3 - 9:35 min/mile

Mile 4 - 9:41 min/mile

I rested on Thursday, then took the dogs out on the roads Friday morning. Jetta was being a bit more difficult this time, nearly dragging Rocky who was having a tough time (his short legs compared to her long legs.... he has to literally gallop while she just leisurely trots). To say I was irritated with her would be an understatement. It was 31 degrees with a feels like 25, winds at 8 mph WSW.... it was kind of cold. We ran 6.3 miles, the last..... .75 miles I let Rocky run loose so he didn't have to deal with Jetta's bossy behavior, she wasn't happy about it but I could tell Rocky was very happy. We ran it in 1:03:12 with an average pace of 10:02 min/mile.

Laps/splits were:

Mile 1 - 10:19 min/mile

Mile 2 - 10:08 min/mile

Mile 3 - 10:05 min/mile

Mile 4 - 10:11 min/mile

Mile 5 - 9:45 min/mile

Mile 6 - 9:51 min/mile

Mile 6.3 - 9:35 min/mile

Saturday morning it was 25 degrees with a feels like 19 and a breeze.... I miss summer dang it. I took the dogs again, we ran a different route - an out and back. Jetta wasn't nearly as bad as Friday morning. We ran 5.4 miles in 53:27 with an average pace 9:54 min/mile. 

Laps/splits:

Mile 1 - 10:38 min/mile

Mile 2 - 9:58 min/mile

Mile 3 - 9:44 min/mile

Mile 4 - 9:47 min/mile

Mile 5 - 9:32 min/mile

Mile 5.4 - 9:29 min/mile

This morning I got up at 7:30 AM, the plan was to run 10 miles with Jetta. I was not going to take Rocky because I just didn't want to deal with the insanity between the two of them. Starting off, I realized just how sore my legs were feeling, especially the left so I just told myself to try and get more than 7 miles done.

Just after mile 2, I finally experienced an aggressive dog (and I didn't have my pepper spray). This mutated Mastiff/Lab/Pit mix looking thing wasn't on a leash, no the stupid old man had his freaking Min-Pin or whatever on a leash but was letting this monster go loose. He charged us, and I pulled Jetta behind me and yelled at this dog. It stopped just 3 feet away and had it's eyes on Jetta, baring his teeth and barking in an aggressive way. I knew not to move, I wasn't about to turn our backs on it as it wasn't backing off. The old man was weakly yelling at him but to no avail. Finally after what felt like forever, I guess the old man's son came out yelling at the beast who finally turned around. The old man motioned us to go so we did, from now on I'll be carrying my pepper spray.

Other than that, everything went well. The real soreness started to ease up after mile 6 or so, but I was definitely feeling what I used to feel during my long runs. We ran 10 miles in 1:34:12 with an average pace of 9:25 min/mile, oh and it was 34 degrees.

Laps/splits were:

Mile 1 - 9:53 min/mile

Mile 2 - 9:42 min/mile

Mile 3 - 9:13 min/mile

Mile 4 - 9:34 min/mile

Mile 5 - 9:39 min/mile

Mile 6 - 9:47 min/mile

Mile 7 - 9:08 min/mile

Mile 8 - 9:17 min/mile

Mile 9 - 9:07 min/mile

Mile 1-  8:49 min/mile

I toughed it out, and although I am feeling a little sore, it's a soreness I remember and missed. I got in 30.8 miles this week, not bad. I've got a race on February 11, the Hearts on Fire 5k. Then I have a 10k on April 18, Spring into Fitness 10k. And I've signed up for the Harmonie Trail Marathon which is on May 18th. I've my training plan already made for that, starting this next week. Wish me luck.

Third Week of 2017, Success

  So this week has been great, some soreness as I increased some mileage and added my 4th day but other than that it was great. Friday and Saturday were gorgeous weather so I had taken Dorian for some hiking in Audubon, he loves that place and we might end up going again today.
Anyways, so here's what went down.
Monday morning Jetta and I went to the river front in Newburgh to run, we ran 4.2 miles in 40:52 with an average pace of 9:44 in/mile. It was 43 degrees.
Laps/splits
Mile 1 - 9:42 min/mile
Mile 2 - 9:44 min/mile
Mile 3 - 9:42 min/mile
Mile 4 - 9:48 min/mile
Mile 4.2 - 9:39 min/mile
Wednesday morning I took both Rocky and Jetta to the river front in Newburgh and we ran 5 miles. It was 41 degrees, we ran it in 48:59 with an average pace of 9:47 min/mile.
Laps/splits
Mile 1 - 10:12 min/mile
Mile 2 - 9:35 min/mile
Mile 3 - 9:42 min/mile
Mile 4 - 9:41 min/mile
Mile 5 - 9:47 min/mile
Friday morning it was 63 degrees out and I was wearing shorts and a tee shirts and still sweating, Jetta and I ran 5.2 miles out in the "neighborhood" in 51:08 with an average pace of 9:50 min/mile.
Laps/splits
Mile 1 - 10:16 min/mile
Mile 2 - 10:06 min/mile
Mile 3 - 9:54 min/mile
Mile 4 - 9:38 min/mile
Mile 5 - 9:23 min/mile
Mile 5.2 - 9:12 min/mile
Friday evening it was still warm out so I took Dorian for a run/hike at John James Audubon State Park, we ran/hiked 3 miles in 1:09:59, it was a bit muddy but not nearly as muddy as Angel Mounds would be.
Saturday, late in the morning I took Dorian for another run/hike. We ran/hiked 3.3 miles in 1:10:50, we ran a little more and had quite a bit of fun.
This morning, it was 48 degrees but I went ahead and wore shorts and a tee- shirt, it was pretty chilly at first. The plan was to run 5 with Jetta and 2 with Rocky.... but somehow during a bathroom break I must've hit the down button to "save" and then without knowing I did that, I hit what I assumed was "resume" but instead "save". That was at 3.64 miles, so a new run began from that point, 1.4 more miles to home with Jetta. I didn't save that run but kept it paused while I got Rocky ready and we headed out for the final 2 miles.
All in all, 7 miles in 1:09:48 with an average pace of 9:58 min/mile.  It was confusing so I am not going to post the stupid laps/splits. But overall, this week I managed to get in 27.7 miles and I'm feeling good :)