Week 3: January 21 - 27, 2013

Week 3: January 21-27, 2013 ( for the San Diego Half and Full Marathon)

3rd week of Mesocycle #1

Monday:  2 miles @ an easy, conversational pace.
ran with my husband today, as he was off work due to the holiday. WOW it is difficult running with someone you love. he is an experienced runner (he was the reason i joined the team to train for a marathon), and he has run 3 marathons over the last couple of years. He is a runner and a talker tho....
i can't run and talk!! 
(hopefully this will improve and we can have whole conversations on our runs!)

Tuesday: Freezing cold..... i chickened out and didn't go to training... weather was 16 degrees (thats -8 degrees C.)

Wednesday: 1.5 miles @ an easy, conversational pace
i ran very slowly, it is very cold and my legs were feeling numb.

Thursday: 1.5 miles total @ an easy, conversational pace
night run at central park. round the reservoir.
 1.5 mile = i ran in 16.11... temperature was 20 (thats -6 C)

Friday: 1.5 miles @ an easy, conversational pace including Cross Training. i pushed the cross training a bit further, doing 4 sets, with 12 reps of each, (shoulder dips, press ups, leg raises and plank). picking up the rest of the mile after the cross training was easier, however my shoulders did feel fatigued, and needed stretching out.

Saturday: 4 miles @ E pace. central park reservoir. very pretty in the snow, and not too busy, which meant that the gentle run was easy and the snow was not too smashed into the dirt. this mean it was not too slippy or too muddy. my pace was even, and fellow team mate and i worked together, keeping it even.
this was the first time i'd hit 4 miles, and i felt very pleased with myself.
i also saw a cute marriage proposal on the way around the reservoir.

Sunday: 0 miles, AHHH.... GLORIOUS REST!!

Total mileage for the weekend: 10.24 miles

Week 2: January 14 - 20 2013

Week 2: January 14-20, 2013

2nd week of Mesocycle #1

Monday: .5 @ an easy, conversational pace.YAY! i ran 1 mile without realizing it. i started running from my apartment and then back again, and when i mapped it afterwards it was double what i was supposed to do. i am beginning to push past that pain stage when i want to give up and quit.

Tuesday: 1 mile - speed and form time trial. central parki ran in 9.02 for my mile. this is to determine my fitness level, and what pace i should be training at. (i am currently regarded as NOVICE!)i find it quite thrilling to be in the park at night, twice round the 'dust bowl' in very low lighting made me quite delirious, and i panicked loosing my bearings! thankfully i was not abandoned by the trainers (and other runners who'd finished long before), i just lost the end in my delirium

Wednesday: 0 miles - stretching, stretching, stretching

Thursday: 1 miles @ an easy, conversational pace including cross training.
Cross-Training description:1) Run half of your mileage to the circuit zone: do the moves; runhalf of your mileage back to original starting point.2) Do as many as you can of each movement while keeping good form. Goto exhaustion each set. However many you can do the first time, aim todo that for each set, for each move.Each set should include: pushups, shoulder dips, leg raises, anddownward facing plank.3) i managed 3 sets, with 10-12 reps eachpicking up the running after the cross training was quite hard, and i felt very fatigued. my arms were sore, and 

Friday:  (oops no miles)

Saturday: 2  miles @ E pace at the reservoir in central park.


Sunday: 0 miles

Total mileage for the weekend: 7

new running shoes!!

 addidas 'adizero boston' shoe

these shoes are a dream. 

initially i went to <jack rabbit sport> to experience their 'shoe fitting process' where you run on a treadmill linked to cameras that analyze your form and running style. a young guy then tells you what shoe is best for your foot. i was not that impressed, as he didn't tell me much more than i already knew as a dancer, about my feet. i was also shocked to find out that you should wear running shoes a half size up.

i held back, and waited until i was at the running store <urban athletics> where our trainer is based. these were the second pair i tried on and they felt great. super light weight, great grip and springy! coach jim spent some time discussing options, and giving foot advice which made me feel confident this was the pair for me.

Week 1: January 7 - 13, 2013

Week 1: January 7 - 13, 2013 (for the San Diego Half and Full Marathon)
1st week of Mesocycle #1

Monday: Nerves, nerves, nerves.... 'what am i doing...'

i can barely make it round the block near our apartment, i feel pain everywhere; my chest feels it is going to explode, my legs feel like jelly, and my brain is telling me that i SHOULD NOT be doing this! what have i got myself into?

Tuesday: 1st <speed and form> session with coach jim and team 
<central park, e90th st>

3.5 miles total, 

- 10 mins warmup

- 6 x 300 meters @ repetition pace- jog back to start

- 10 mins cooldown

Due to my lack of experience and incapacity to number crunch, i am to use fellow team members pace for the 300m speed and form session. this was 300m @ 1min19sec.

i could not do this.

my times were as follows;

1:29; 1:26; 1:26; 1:30; 1:31; 1:38

there was a big group of us, as others who train through Urban Athletics run on a tuesday. this made me feel more motivated, and felt i could melt into the crowd a little more easily! It was quite a tough exercise for me, and on the jog return back to start, i really had to slow my pace to return my breathing to normal pace. running alongside the guggenheim is not a bad feeling tho!

Wednesday: 0 miles
 (thank goodness; i don't think i could have done anything even if i'd tried. my body is stiff, sore, and shaking)

i stretched as much as possible at work, and took some ibuprofen. no icing needed really.

Thursday: 1 hour yoga class @ yogatothepeople brooklyn. yoga to the people offers donation based power vinyasa classes. these community classes are offered to yogis of all levels, with no judgement, just yoga for everyone. i am a fan of this class as it is time to disappear and time to teach myself, working my body into a sweat and breathing through the pain (but the fact its one block from my work, and also donation based, are benefiting factors!) 

Friday: 1 miles @ an easy, conversational pace 'e pace' round the blocks near our apartment. My  arms are aching! i haven't done a yoga class for over a month, and my arms are sore from all the <downward facing dog>

Saturday: central park reservoir: with coach jim, and team

1.5 miles at 'e pace'

i felt great after 1 mile at the reservoir, pushing through the first 5-7 mins of chest pain to make coach jim tag on another .5 mile made me feel great. once i've got over the initial 'shock' when my body realises i'm 'running!!' and start a regular pace and breathing rhythm i feel quite comfortable. feeling some discomfort in my right knee, and hoping it's just from the cold, and nothing serious.

Sunday: 0 miles

total mileage for the week end: 6.5 miles

Pre-Training Anxiety

As part of Team Self Help Africa, we are getting a thorough training program with a professional running coach from the Upper East Side running store Urban Athletics. (Madison Ave. between 91st & 92nd st)

Coach Jim contacted us with some questions, to gain some information based on our prior experience.

I can answer ALL questions in one word: NONE!! 

Pre-training questions:

1) Have you ever run before?

2) If so, how many years? Have you run any half marathons or full marathons before?

3) If you are currently running, what is the longest run you have completed in the last 3 weeks?

4) How many days per week, if any, have you been running? 

5) If you know it, what has been your general pace per mile for these runs?