Running, Biking, Swimming and thoughts of Spring

Jan 31 - Bike on trainer 1 hr 30 min, 25.3 miles
Feb 1 - Run 4.5 miles on treadmill, 45:15
2 - Bike on trainer 30 min, 8.5 miles
3 - Run 3 miles on treadmill, 31:15
4 - sick
5 - sick - hip exercises and ab work
6 - sick
7 - sick -push ups and ab work - hurt knee on stairs
8 - Run 4.5 miles on treadmill, 49:15
9 - Bike on trainer 30 min, 9.1 miles
10 - Run 4 miles on treadmill, 46:20
11 - Bike on trainer 1 hour, 18.6 miles AND Swim 1,500 yds, 32:53

I need to run 9 miles tomorrow or Sunday. Sunday has the better forecast, so it will probably be that afternoon.

Last weekend I was sick. Thankfully it was a "rest week" for me on my marathon training schedule. There was no way I could have done a long run, much less anything.

Today's swim went much better than my last attempt. I was still slow, but I was much more comfortable and able to do a complete workout.

PUSH-ups are back! I can finally do them again - AND I can sort of do sit-ups again. My time off in December was all worth it. The body is responding. :-)

Looks like nicer weather is on the way next week. Can't wait to be out running in the mid to upper 40s! (Please remind me next fall that I said the 40s sound good!) :-)

Over half of our driveway still has a coating of ICE that is about 1 1/2 inches thick. I've slowly been trying to chip it apart and throw it to the side. Twice now I've almost fallen while trying to walk down for the mail. UGH!

What's getting me through this right now are thoughts of Spring Break. I'll be doing a couple of 5 mile runs that week in Florida and the Bahamas! :-) YES! Matt and I are headed on our first cruise. :-) I'll actually get to wear a bikini again for the first time in 8 years! I CAN'T WAIT!

A whole day will be spent here, at Coco Cay, Bahamas. Ahhhhhhhh....

Running in Snow and Back in the Pool

Sat - Run, 7 miles on indoor track, 69:43

Yes, I ran 56 LAPS on the track at my gym. This is because the temperature was between 0 and -4 here that day! At least I was able to change directions after the first two and half miles.

Sun - Lift - Chest, Bi, Tri, Shoulders, and Hip exercises
Mon - Bike, 21.1 miles on trainer, 1 hr 15 min
Tue - Run, 4.5 miles on local streets, 47:30
Wed - Bike, 17 miles on trainer, 60 min
Thur - Run, 3.2 miles on treadmill, 32:30

Fri - Bike, 12.5 miles on trainer, 45 min AND - Swim, 1000 yds, 23 min

For the first time since Nov 8 I went swimming!!! That was two days ago and I'm still sore in my arms. HA!!!! Also, I didn't realize how much the ab muscles are used in swimming. :-)

Sat - Run, 7 miles in SNOW on trails in the woods, 1 hr 49 min

In some places the snow was at least 8 inches deep!!!! Almost everyone else we saw on the trails in the park were either wearing snowshoes or cross country skiis. We were in our trail running shoes! Oh - and that time is correct - our average pace was 15:38 per mile! Ha! Thank goodness for my Grunt Girls friends who got me through this.
Oh, I am also okay with counting this "7 Miler" as my scheduled 8 mile run for the week!

Sun - Off, much needed rest

Cuts, workouts and weight

Finally made it to my family doc on Tuesday. Thankfully, he said the spot/cut on my leg that the dermatologist made a mess out of - isn't too bad. Or well, at least it's not infected and will eventually heal. He recommended I wait a few more days before swimming though. So, maybe next week I will try out the pool and see how many laps I can swim.
If you want a laugh, I'll let you know when this funny show will occurr.

As for the spot on my back that needs done again to get the rest of bad skin, well, I called a doctor (plastic surgeon) that I know and trust - and he's going to check it out and probably do the removal for me. (instead of my dermatologist - who I never want to let cut into me again.) He's going to look at it in two weeks and then the plan is to have it done in May - just AFTER the Cleveland Marathon.
I figured if I have to take 2 weeks off from swimming, biking and running, that was the time to do it. Then, I just have to get back to a schedule quickly before the Deer Creek Oly tri in early June. Ugh.

Training hasn't been too bad this week...
Mon - Bike on trainer, 60 min, 14.6 mi
Tue - Run on treadmill, 3.5 miles, 38 min
Wed - Bike on trainer, 65 min, 17.1 mi and Lifting Bi, Tri, Chest & Shoulders
Thur - Run OUTSIDE in the snow, 3.1 miles, 35:30
Fri - Bike on trainer, 60 min, 14.7 mi

New cycyling shoes have helping my motivation. Plus they fit so much better than my old ones. Same brand and style, but a size bigger. (and cuter)
For my first outside run since early December, some new running mittens really helped! These are neat; there's two 'pockets' inside. The back is fleece, the front is mesh - which is cooler after you warm up! They are Asics Ecoline.
Hopefully tomorrow I will run between 6 and 7 miles. The forecast shows it will be about EIGHT degrees. So, it's either the treadmill or track at the Nat. Yuck. I will try to make the best of it!

OH - I figured out my cramping problem! See, I've been cramping up while running and not knowing why. ?? WELL, while making lunch for my 5 yr old it occurred to me that the low sodium diet I've been on (while supporting my husband) is tooooooo low for me! I was making VERY high sodium and Ramen Noodles and realized I needed a bit! Sure enough - there was NO cramping during my afternoon run that day.

As for my weight...
Overall, I'm pretty pleased. This is January, and I'm at the LOW end of my typical SUMMER weight. :-) Just about 7 lbs to go and I'll be at my ultimate goal. It would be so neat to race at 110! I think it'd be so much better for my joints!
Plus, it'd be nice to look good in the little bathing suit I bought myself. :-)

More set-backs

Sun - Bike on Trainer, 1 hour, 13.3 miles
Mon - Lift: Chest, Bicep, Tricep, & Shoulders and Hip exercises
*Since the return to running, my knees have been hurting, that's why I put the hip exercises back in there. I think my form isn't so great from sitting around for too long.*
Tue - Run on Treadmill, 3.5 miles, 37:12
Wed - Bike on Trainer, 1 hour, 14.1 miles
Thur - Run on indoor track at Nat, 3 miles, 29:54
Fri - Bike on Trainer, 50 min, 10.5 miles
Sat - Run on Treadmill, 5 miles, 57:20

My return to running and cycling is slow. I tire easily, and I seem to get cramps easily.

I want to get back in the pool, but I'm worried about a cut on my leg.

See, part of time off from working out was due to moles being removed by the dermatologist. I had stitches in my right thigh and lower back for 2 weeks. My thigh spot has not healed correctly. Stitches have been out for a week and it still bleeds and hurts a little. I tried to get to a doc yesterday, but of course everyone was closed for the weekend - and probably tomorrow, too, for the holiday.

When I signed up for the full Cleve Mary, I thought all was fine. Turns out the mole on my back isn't good and needs worked on again. Two more weeks of stitches and no working out. Plus, who knows about my leg, until I see a doctor on Tues at least.

My return to work-out land

First of all, I'm now officially registered to run my VERY FIRST MARATHON! Yes - 26.2 miles of running! On May 15 I'll be running the Cleveland Marathon. :-)

Now, the training needs to begin - from the very beginning. See, I took off from working out for a few weeks. Four to be exact. On December 5th I ran my furthest ever, 15.5 miles, and then I took some time off. Some by choice / some because I had to, but I'm okay.

Fast-forward to Jan 3. I began with some walking. At first it was slow, but then I got it up to 3.6 mph on the treadmill.
Mon - 1.6 miles
Tue - 2 miles
Wed - 3.4 miles
Thur - 3.56 miles

Then on Friday I was set free.
Run 1 mile (12 min.) and Bike 6 miles (30 min.)
No record times here, but it sure felt good to sweat again.

Today: 3 miles of running on the treadmill. Before getting off, I got the speed up to 6 mph. So, for at least one minute I was going at a 10 min per mile pace. :-)

Here is what I'm now working towards:

AND One of these:

No more blank calendar

Having nothing on the race calendar for 2011 was difficult. Problem solved. I'm now signed up for two races and laying everything out for the training. Much better.

First up - my longest running race ever - a 25k. It's called Forget the PR and it's held on trails in Mohican, Ohio on Sunday April 17, 2011. I hear it's hilly. So hilly, that we might be using our hands to help us up a hill - called "Big Ass Hill" on the map the race director made. Ha. Oh, and after I signed up I realized that even though this is called a 25k, which should be 15.5 miles, it's actually 17.11 miles! Should be fun though. I'm running this with several of the Grunt Girls and we're staying in a cabin in Mohican the night before the race.

Here is a beautiful covered bridge that we'll get to run through:

My plan is that this 25k (17.11 miles) should lead me nicely into my first marathon.

I haven't signed up yet, but hopefully later this month I will commit to the Cleveland Marathon on Sunday May 15. :-)

During the summer I will probably do 3 Olympic distance triathons again - Deer Creek, Caesar Creek, and the Greater Cleveland Triathon which leads me to the next race I signed up to do...

The Cedar Point Rev3 HALF (70.3) - again! I want to beat my time from last year and try to get under 6 1/2 hours! This race is Sunday September 11, 2011.

I'm very happy to have a plan!

Monthly update

It's been almost a month since I've written anything here, so I thought I'd write a boring update. Not much new is happening. I haven't had any races, and I'm not signed up for any. Boy, that seems strange...

Since I'm not training for anything specific, I've been back in the weight room about twice a week. Feels good.

Every Saturday I'm taking an Adult Sports Performance Class with some of my fellow Grunt Girls at Akron General. Over the past year or so I thought I was becoming pretty athletic, then I started these workouts. Found out I've got a lot of work to do! I'm sore for about 48 hrs after each class. :)

I've been doing a lot of trail running recently. I'm pretty new to this. The only trail running I had done before this year was about 8 runs with the CVNP Fall Trail series in '08 and '09. Finally bought some real trail shoes this week.

My bike hasn't been outside in quite awhile, but I did spend some time on it on the trainer twice now this month.

Made it to the pool to swim once this month. I was quite surprised that it went really well. Swam about twice as far as I had planned. I guess it can be fun not having a plan to follow sometimes.

Over the next few weeks I plan to up my running mileage even more. (weekly long runs of 9 miles, 11 miles and then 13 miles) I'm going to continue lifting, and going to the Adult Training class. Hopefully I can talk myself into some more pool and bike time.

Someone woke up my legs! (5k race report)

Not sure how it happened, but I've now set a new PR for ALL running distances this year. It's been 5 years of running 5k and further distance races, and suddenly, my body is cooperating. I'm sooooo happy about this. It makes me want to see how much better I can do next year. I'd love for this trend to continue.

Today I ran the Run-A-MUC 5k at Mount Union. My first goal, a PR (under 25:42), but the even bigger goal, to break 25 minutes. Did it!!!! Finished in 24:56. I have been trying to do this since the spring of 2007!

Today's Garmin Stats:
Mile 1 - 7:54
Mile 2 - 8:11
Mile 3 - 8:22
Mile .7 - :28

Average Heart Rate - 181, Max Heart Rate - 187

Yes, the Garmin only shows 3.07 miles. That bums me a little. I know Garmins, can be a little off, so that is my hope. I just wish it was over distance instead of under. I hate to say I got under 25 min, BUT it might have been a bit short. :-( No matter what, I know I ran my fastest ever!

I think I was about the 10th woman overall in the race today. I started out way too fast in the first 1/2 mile, and so I got to see each of the 9 other women pass me in the second half of that mile. :) It was nice to know where I was overall though.

At the awards I found out I placed 2nd in my age group, 30 to 39. ( I have no idea how many of us there were though?!? )

My college roommate from when we were students at Mount Union also ran the 5k today. Here we are headed to the starting line, looking REALLY happy:

She did GREAT today AND she beat her goal for the day by over 2 minutes!

Waiting for the gun:

The start of the race:

Rounding the track for the last 200 meters. I am right under the clock showing my current time:


Finish line:


After the 5k was a kid's race. One lap around the track:

In this picture above you'll see both of my sons (Lane 6 - red shirt/grey pants and grey shirt/blue pants.) My older son loved it (mostly because he finished 3rd.) My little guy was crying for the last 10 yards though. :-( He thought he was in last. Plus, he wanted to finish WITH big brother. I felt so bad that he couldn't just have FUN! :-(
Also in the kid's race were my friend's sons, Lane 5 and Lane 7. :)

Happy son at finish:

Sad son:

Maybe a little speed

The 5k that I'm running on Saturday is going to be my first of the year (and probably last, since it's already October.) With the success I've thankfully had in running this year, I've been hoping for a 5k PR this weekend. (Which means beating my time of 25:42 set in Dayton way back in May of '07.) Okay, secretly, I REALLY want to break 25 minutes. I'd be thrilled with 24:59.

Well, that is until these last few weeks where my cardio workouts have really dropped. (I took 7 days off from swimming, biking AND running after the Akron Half Mary / Rev3 Half!) I did some lifting in there, but NO cardio. After that, I've only been doing mostly 1 hr or less cardio workouts.

Plus, I haven't been watching what I eat. My meals haven't been as healthy as normal, AND I've been doing a lot of snacking / desserts. Which means the number has been going UP on the scale.

So, for the last week I've been accepting the fact that I'm just going to have to run for FUN on Saturday. No pressure.

Then, I went to the Nat today for my last "speed" workout before this race. I was hoping to run a couple a miles at least close to 8 min. miles. While warming up, I even decided 8:30 min. miles would be a good goal for today.

One mile warm up - 10:06

Pit stop, and walk a lap, then -

Mile 2 - 7:40

Walk a few laps, then -

Mile 3 - 7:35

NO WAY!!!! I just ran TWO miles faster than I ever have before!!! Back in March I ran my first ever sub 8 min mile in 7:48 - Blogged about that here: http://kimzepp.blogspot.com/2010/03/748.html

I'm still in a bit of shock. I didn't know I could do this. I have to admit, I had help. There was a guy running almost that exact pace. I was running just a few feet infront of him. Hearing his footsteps behind me really kept me moving. I chatted with him between miles, and he said he'd run again with me on my second attempt. How cool.

What this means, is that now I really have to go for it on Saturday. I really need to give it my all on this 5k. A pace of 8:03 would get me the 24:59 I want. I think I should be able to do it. The miles I ran today were inside (no wind) and on a track (flat.) The course for Saturday isn't too hilly, but could be a bit windy. So far the weather forecast looks decent. Probably around 50 degrees and mostly cloudy.

The pressure is on...

New look

Since I have now completed my first half iron, I decided it was time for a new look on the blog. As you can see, I'm still pretty proud of completing the Half Rev. (That's where all the pics are from.) :-)

I keep thinking about my new goals. I have to set them; that's how I motivate myself.

There are a few goals on my mind, some more realistic than others.

2011

• Complete a marathon - I was thinking Cleveland, but was talked into Cincinnati. However, I might be out of the state the day of the Flying Pig, so now I'm back with Rock and Roll.
• Cut out more of the junk food - This is a MUST!
• Drop 5 - 10 lbs. - See above
• Complete Rev3 Half Cedar Point, FASTER (aim to cut off about 30 minutes)

OR

• Complete Rev3 FULL IRON - all 140.6 (Hmmm, might be dreaming here....)

Next up: Run a MUC 5k, Saturday October 23, 2010.