Blaine’s Weekly Review

Week 1 – Week One Complete


Week One is Complete!
And for my reward, I ate a great Sunday Brunch overlooking the ocean, followed by two stress-free rest days!

I know it was only supposed to be 1 rest day, but I ended up getting a toothache. Have you ever tried running with a toothache? Not good. But it’s not a cavity (I hope) – just pressure from a root canal I had done last year. Nonetheless, the throbbing pain every time you hit the pavement is not very pleasant.

It’s the same with in-ear head phones for me. When I get my heart rate up, the throbbing in my ears pushing into the earplugs… yetch – not for me. I have a nice pair of Sennheiser PMX80s – GREAT for big eared people, but I run mostly without music.

Okay, enough of the personal life – How was my first week? I must say it went pretty well!
The first 3 mile run was nice. The next day’s 4 mile run was a bit of a challenge at the beginning, but worked out okay. And then the next 3 mile run on Thursday ended up being a little fun because I tried following the route that ‘Marathon Man‘ takes. Oh-La-La! Very steep hills and I got lost on the side streets. Silly me, but I love adventure and even with all the huffing and puffy, I managed to pull it off.

Then came the long run on the weekend.
Because I did well during the week, I thought I had the Saturday run in the bag. Well it didn’t go as well as I’d hoped and it was a wake up call. But now that I can look back on my first complete week, I think it’s going to be a lot of fun… And I’m starting to really enjoy going out for my morning runs. This coming week is a 10k race, so that should be a lot fo fun, too.

Let’s see how I do next week!

 

Starting Week – The Unexpected 1/2 Marathon


So last week was kind of a crazy week.
I’m in the middle of my first week of Marathon training now and today is a rest day. I know I was supposed to write this entry at the end of the week but the weekend really was crazy!

Let me tell you why…

The week itself went like clockwork. I was able to get out on my running days and did 5k for each run. Again, I’m in no rush to push the miles, so an extra week to get my body all set up was a good idea. Especially because of what happened on the weekend!

Saturday morning I was up and ready. But today was different, I was going to go golfing (back-nine), have some Pho (Vietnamese soup), and then do a nice 5k walk to digest before my 5k run along the Newport Beach boardwalk.

Well everything worked out great. Until… I went to get my car keys and found that they were no longer in my race pouch! The only place they could have fallen out was at the 5k turn-around, since that was where I put my tunes on to start my run.

Oh No!!!

Nothing I could do, but to go back to the 5k turn-around and look for them. By now I was a little tired after walking on the golf course and completing 10k! But then the post-depression kicked in!
No luck in finding them, which meant calling the AAA (luckily I keep a spare key in the car or it could have been a real disaster).

Of course on the return trip, I just wasn’t ready for all this distance-stuff and my knees started to hurt – they hurt when I walk but not when I run… go figure.

But nonetheless, I ended up doing a ½ marathon that day! Ha! I did it! What a surprise!
Of course about two-thrids of it was walking, but I’m not going to tell any one if you don’t!

I must say though, I did have a number of great workouts at the beginning of the week and 5k/3-milers are starting to be a lot of fun. Oh, and to top things off on Sunday, when I went back for my 10k recovery walk. There they were! My lonely little car keys, sitting nicely on someone’s fence, just waiting for me to pick ‘em up. Thank you to whoever found them.

Thank you – thank you – thank you!
What a great way to end the week and get mentally psyched for my first week of Marathon Training.

Week 8 PT – It’s Getting Easier

So I’ve finished all my pre-training and I think the runs are actually getting easier.
Even my wife came out to run with me a few times!

 

The key focus of the this last week was to keep conditioning my skeletal system for when I start the marathon training. So it was kind of a simple maintenance week trying to get myself into a regular routine. Even when I was dead tired, I still managed to get out and do my runs (and even fall a sleep, I might add).

I’ve also started to loose more weight, but it’s hard to tell how much, because I think my body never really gains back all the water I loose from the runs. However, I do know that my body is now shifting to the next weight range for my level of activity. It is the runs, is it a change in diet, is it my post-running freshly squeezed juice recipes, or is it combination of all three? The reason is not that important. I’m not looking to loose weight, since my goal is to run a marathon, but it certainly is a nice by-product of the training!

Week 7 PT – I’m a Runner Now

Distance: 6.76km Time: 0:50 Pace: 7’24 kCal: 704 Heart: 130/157 RPE: 5 Type: 1x30min (2xLake)


Yahoo! Two months completed and pre-training is at an end!
With the 5k coaster run two weekend’s ago and then last week’s running,
I think I’m actually a runner now. That’s amazing!
How do I know?

Well, I actually like getting up in the morning and going for a run. I also feel good when I run and feel GREAT after my run. This morning I did 5.5k (two times around the lake) and tomorrow morning I’m looking forward to getting out and do it again.

It’s truely amazing – just to look back a few months ago and to see how I struggled with running just five minutes at a shot. Now five minutes goes by in a blink of an eye. I’m hoping that a month (or two) from now I’ll think the same thing on my long runs. After all, that 18 miler in my training looks pretty scary right now. But to think, just a few months ago, I was huffing and puffing just after two minutes. Now when running 3 miles at a shot, I can maintain a good pace and talk away… I’m looking forward to the next few months when I’ll be able to go even longer or faster!

The thing is that I’m ahead of my marathon training.
So the the next 2 weeks I’m going to run 6k runs (twice around the reservoir) 4-5 times a week.
Then come Mother’s day, I plan to run a 10k race.

I’ll keep you posted!

Week 6 PT – A new notch in my belt

Yeah.
Another week under my belt. And I might add that I’m using a new notch in my belt too; one that I hadn’t used for quite some time! I must admit though, that this last week was a bit of a challenge for me. Because I was out of town on business, it was a little difficult for me to get my runs in.

A new town, hotter, more humid, a 3 hour time change to boot, and the jet lag!
I’m glad there was a gym where I was staying so I could use the treadmill. That helped a lot. As for the motivation to keep up my routine, it’s still touch and go – I need to keeping working on this. But on a positive note, it still feels great after I get my run in. Just thinking of that feeling when I wake up is enough to get me out of bed early and go do it!

Week 5 PT – I did more than a week’s worth

Week 5 of pre-training is over and it actually went pretty good. It ended up being a little longer than one week though, since I went on vacation and had too much fun doing other things besides running. So as to not feel too guilty I still did my 4 runs for the week, only that the week ended up being 10 days (or was it really 12 days, or maybe 13?). Well, that’s okay. I still have a long way to go for this marathon and I plan on getting through it injury and stress free.

Now it’s time to add another 5 minutes to my runs in week 6 of my pre-training. After my vacation and Saint Patrick’s day, I’m looking forward to getting into it.

Week 4 PT – The Hardest Week was the Best!

Week 4 of pre-training is over and it actually went pretty good. I thought it would be a little tough since there were 2 sets of 20 min runs, but it actually worked out good. I must confess, that it ended up being an eight-day week due to weather and my knee causing some problems. But I’m looking to run healthy and don’t mind extending the week as long as I keep enjoying it and going out on a regular bases.

Running down by the beach does help a lot and then my wife decided to join me as well. The second day out she joined me again, but decided to run a little faster at her own pace. How much faster? Well… being half my weight and in much much better shape than me, she blew right past me!

Yeah – definitely. Last week was a success.
I think the most exciting thing about this last week was that my average heart rate went from 154 to around 148. That totally blew me away. Mind you, my RPE didn’t seem to improve.

Hmmm, that’s something I’ll have to look at in more detail. The other good news is that I definitely saw a drop in weight and waist size. I know I can loose weight much more drastically, but again, I’m not looking to lose weight or even to lose inches around my waistline. I know those things will come when my body is ready to say “Hey, time for the next shift”. I’m looking to increase my mileage and get ready for training without injury.

So after going through last weeks pre-training, the answer is Yeah – definitely. Last week was a success.

Week 3 PT – Stomach Flu

I’m just getting over the stomach flu and was out of commission for a few days (Thr/Fri). The good part is that one day was a recovery day. And boy, that was a recovery day! I stayed in bed wrapped up trying to keep warm. What really amazes me is how I did not eat all day and still have the same body weight 24 hours later!

So how was the week? Stomach flu aside, it was GREAT! I did my runs like clockwork and felt really good. The weather’s not been very good (cold rains) but that didn’t deter me from getting out. As a matter of fact, this week was definitely better than last week’s training. I was short one run, but tomorrow I’m looking forward to doing it… hopefully down on the boardwalk. I’ve been reading my Chi Running book and I’m excited to try out some new things that I’ve learned.

Week 2 PT – On the Treadmill

This week was an interesting one. Getting on the treadmill in the garage and plugging though the routines. Looking back on it now, everything seems so distant. All I can think about is how hard my second workout was. Running away, step-by-step, one foot in front of the other, down in a dark dreary garage with the crickets chirping in the background (yes – we have a bunch a crickets in the garage that I’ve been trying to get rid of for a while). But then being able to get out on the weekend to run around the reservoir made a complete difference.

It was a tough week for me, but mostly psychological/motivation-wise. Now I’m looking forward to running outside and at different locations. I think a change in scenery will definitely give me the extra uhmpf I need to continue through this plan.

Week 1 PT – The Tortoise and the Hare

So here I am, after my first complete week. Four 5-minute runs with 5 minutes walks in between (4x5s). It may not sound like much, but for a person coming from ground zero, it really is no small task. And the biggest thing is to be consistent. It took me 3 weeks just to get myself out and do this on a regular bases.

Then when I think about this last week, the cardio wasn’t really that hard, because after 3 sets the endorphins kick in and I feel as though I can go more. The hard part (other than trying to be consistent) is not doing more than what is on the training schedule. I have to keep telling myself Tortoise and Hare, Tortoise and Hare… do not to overdo things and chance a running or knee injury.

Let’s see if I can take it to next week. For now, I’m going to enjoy the Valentine’s weekend in San Diego.