Week 10 Recap

Photo credit: uncluttered white spaces

Week 10 of 12 on the road to the Windward Half Marathon:

Training Log

Sunday: Stretch and Strength - Relaxing rest day.

Monday: 5 mile run -  Pretty consistent run.  Always make the same time.  Must be Monday...

Tuesday: Speed work - 45 minute Tempo Run - Ran on the treadmill and ran 3.5 miles in the 45 minutes.  Tried to run "comfortably hard."

Wednesday: 3 mile run and strength - Not able to work this run in. Home schedule too demanding.  Had to put it off.

Thursday: Rest day - Was expecting to run to make up for yesterday's blow-out, but alas, the day was too crazy.  Sometime it happens...

Friday:  5 mile pace - Another routine 5 miler on my familiar route.  Need to change it up next time!

Saturday:  11 mile run - This was a hard day.  Probably because of my missed days.  I made it through even though I totally wanted to quit after only 6 miles.  Thankfully my pride carried me long enough for my GU and second wind to kick in.  Slow time, but at least I finished it!

The best thing about this week:   Wow.  Eleven miles in one day and a total of 24.5 miles for the week!  The miles are starting to add up.  I feel really good about that.

The biggest challenge of this week:   The biggest challenge for this week has definitely been time.  When I started this training program, my summer schedule made it work.  Now that I'm back to homeschooling three kids, getting two kids to work, and added doctor appointments this week, I must stay that I wish I could just get this race over with.  I really am enjoying my running, but the added race training is getting hard to fit in to real life.


Another week down and only two to go until race day!

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
Galatians 6:9

Week 9 Recap

Photo Credit:  Gregor Murray

Week 9 of 12 on the road to the Windward Half Marathon:

Training Log

Sunday: Stretch and Strength - Relaxing rest day.

Monday: 5 mile run -  Beautiful and quiet morning in Kailua.  Summer is over so all the kids are in school.  Had to run early before the first day of our homeschooling year.

Tuesday: Speed work - 9 x 400 at 5K pace - Decided that this was the time to push the speed.  Ran a mile at 10 minute pace, then ran 1/2 mile at 10 minute pace then ran two 1/4 miles at 10 minute pace.  Did the last 1/4 mile in under 10 minute pace.  Felt great to push myself, but definitely paid for it later.

Wednesday: 3 mile run and strength - Just like last week, I switched Wednesday's 3 mile run with a rest day.  Schedule was too crazy.

Thursday: Rest day - Got back to running the Mokulele Drive hill.  It always amazes me how I can run 10 miles on Saturday, but this 3 mile run with a huge hill makes me feel like a chain smoker!  My lungs just burn on that hill!  Humbling.

Friday:  Rest day - Since the schedule has me running a "15-K Race" on Saturday, they allowed for an extra rest day today.  I gladly took it.  The first week of school here at home made for an adjustment to the schedule.  Can I really do this?!

Saturday:  15-K Race - I didn't have an official race to participate in, so I just ran the 9.3 mile track I  ran a couple of weeks ago.  This was a really hard run.  I guess with too much rest, and too little sleep the night before I struggled from mile 5 on.  Thankfully, I had 2 GU packs with me to help me make it back to the car.

The best thing about this week:   Was glad to have the extra rest day in the schedule this week.

The biggest challenge of this week:   I've noticed that with the added miles, my running gear is more important than ever.  I can't wear socks that are too small or my feet will start to hurt.  I also have had a couple of "wardrobe malfunctions" that didn't occur under 6 miles.  (Without going into gory detail, lets just say that chafing can be an issue.)  Even the length of my toenails is critical to happy feet!  Glad to have the opportunity to fix them now, and not be surprised during the race.

Three weeks to go!  Officially signed up for the race.  No turning back now!

Week 8 Recap

Week 8 of 12 on the road to the Windward Half Marathon:

Training Log

Sunday: Stretch and Strength - Sick.  Stayed in bed most of the day.

Monday: 4.5 mile run -  Thankfully, I felt better so I dragged myself out of bed and ran anyway.  Took my time and got it done.

Tuesday: Speed work - 40 minute Tempo Run - Ran on the treadmill.  Covered 3.5 miles in the 40 minutes.

Wednesday: 3 mile run and strength - I actually switched Wednesday's 3 mile run with a rest day.  Still trying to get over this bug.

Thursday: Rest day - Since I was still recovering from my cold, I didn't run the hill (any excuse will do). Ran in Kailua.

Friday:  5 mile run -  Felt pretty much up to par.  Enjoyed this 5 miles in Kailua even though it was hard to get back into the distance after being sick this week.  I tried not to think about how I was going to double those miles in just 24 hours.

Saturday:  10 miles -  I added another loop to my 9 mile run from last Saturday.  I found that my hydration and nutrition are factors on a run of this length.  I carry a frozen bottle of sweet tea that melts as I run.  With my allergy to artificial color, I can't drink sports drinks.  Sweet tea gives me a sugar boost and has flavor!   I also used a GU gel to boost me on the second hour.  Finished 10 miles in 2 hours.  I haven't said too much about my times.  I guess my pride has kept me from sharing my goals, but I was very happy with this time. 

The best thing about this week:   I started feeling sick right after my long run last Saturday.  Thankfully, I had Sunday to suffer through most of it and was able to carry on with my schedule with only a minor adjustment.  Being sick is no fun but I was glad that I didn't miss any running days.

The biggest challenge of this week:  I couldn't tell if I was sore from being sick, or from the higher miles.  Had to push through.


Just one month until the race.  I feel good about running the distance.  Now I need to focus on SPEED!   Here we go!

Week 7 Recap

Kalama Beach Park - my favorite place to start!

Week 7 of 12 on the road to the Windward Half Marathon:

Training Log

Sunday: Stretch and Strength - Rest and relaxation!

Monday: 4.5 mile run -  Even though this run was 1/2 mile longer than previous Monday runs, they are starting to feel like short runs.  Wow, what's happening to me?  I like.

 

Tuesday: Speed work - 8 x 400 at 5K pace - Okay, today is the day it happened.  I blew it off!  Too many family obligations.  First time in more than 6 weeks.  I felt really bad, but then I got over it.

Wednesday: 3 mile run and strength - (Mokulele Drive hill - my nemesis!)  This hill is just like taking medicine, not pleasant, but good for you.  I dutifully completed the hill in decent time.  Still walking, but not as much.

Thursday: Rest day - Have I mentioned that I love rest day?

Friday:  4 mile run -  Family schedule was pressing so I cut this run a bit short.  Only ran 3.7 miles.  Better than nothing, right?  (See lesson #1 below....)

Saturday:  9 miles -  Running 9 miles in a small town, you have to get creative.  I ran from Kalama Beach Park to the first half of the  Windward Half Marathon route, then tagged on a bit at the end to make the miles.  It was hard but felt really good - eventually.  (See lesson #2 below...)

The best thing about this week:   Being able to run 9 miles is such a confidence boost.  I'm already feeling the benefits of training for a longer race. 

The biggest challenge of this week:  This week, it was family obligations that not only took away from training time, but also took mental energy.  I must keep in mind that all this running is a stress relief that helps balance my life.  It helps me be a better me.

A couple more lessons learned in week 7: 

#1 - I've made a mental shift about training.  I find myself thinking that the run I do today will help the run I need to do tomorrow.  If I skimp on my miles today, it will make tomorrows run even harder.  So doing the hard work today will pay off tomorrow if I don't let myself get lazy.  Isn't that what I try to teach my kids about their school training?  Do the work of memorizing your multiplication tables now so math is a lot easier for the rest of your life... 

#2 -   During the long runs, I know that the last couple of miles are the most important.  It's there that I'm not only working my muscles, but I'm also training my mind.  When I start to feel that twinge of discomfort, do I press on or just keep going until it works itself out?  That's the mental toughness that a long race will require.  I see that as the mileage goes up, so must my mental resolve to keep pressing on.  That's kinda like life too, I guess.

Thanks for sticking with me through this.  We're on the down-hill slide now.  Only 5 weeks until race day! 

Lessons Learned So Far...

There are six weeks left in my training plan for the Windward Half Marathon, so I'm half way there!  When I look back at where I started, I feel really good about where I am today.   Training for this race has not only strengthened me physically, but I've learn a few life lessons along the way, too.

#1 - Don't base your progress on how you feel on any one day.  Some days I've felt strong and the very next day, I've felt like I was starting over.  It's been important for me to keep a long view of my progress.  That's why a training log is so valuable.  I may feel really weak one day, but if I look back, I can see that I'm still improving.

The same is true in life.  Personal growth is a slow process.  Even though I haven't achieved what I want to, in looking back I can see how far I've come toward my goals.  Nothing worth while happens over night.  Even on my weak days, I know that I'm still working toward my goal.   I'll get there if I just don't give up.

#2 - Accountability is a great motivator.   When I train on my own, it's all too easy to blow off a run.  That hasn't been the case with this go round.  Just knowing that I will have to report for all the world to see (not that many are looking) has helped me get out of bed more days than I'd like to count.  Out of six weeks of training so far, I've only missed one workout.  I never would have believed it.  I guess I've finally figured out how to make my pride work in my favor.

We were made to live in community.  Peer pressure has been made out to be a bad thing.  But when we encourage each other to do things that improve our life, peer pressure can be great.  Proverbs 27:17 says, "As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend."  Mutual accountability can spur us on to reach goals we couldn't do alone.

#3 - You really can eat an elephant one bite at a time.  It's been a few years since I ran 13.1 miles.  The most I've done is about 5 miles, so a half marathon race seemed like a lot of work.  But the payoff for running that distance was so rewarding, I just had to try it again.  But how do you start something like that?  Finding Hal Higdon's training plan really was key.  It took me from running 9 miles a week to running 9 miles on a Saturday morning in just 6 weeks.

I have a lot of other dreams in my life.  How will I ever achieve them?  It's overwhelming to think of accomplishing them from where I am now.  But if I can break down the goal into many steps, that goal seems a lot more attainable.

There are endless life lessons in running.  There are also many spiritual lessons.  If my ultimate spiritual goal is to know God and to make Him known, there may not be an obvious halfway point.  Some days the end of the race feels far away, some days it feels way too close.  I have so much more to learn.  But by sticking with the training plan, knowing that I'm going to have to 'fess up to my progress, and not basing my progress on how I feel today, I know I can make it ~ to the 13.1 finish line and the finish line of the Kingdom.

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.  Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. 

But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind 

and straining toward what is ahead, 

I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 3:12-14

A Story that Takes Away All My Excuses

If you haven't heard the story of the father and son team of Dick and Rick Hoyt, you need to hear it.  I had the privilege of watching them race in the Ironman in Kona a few years ago.  Grab a hankie and be amazed.

There is no greater love 

than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.

John 15:13