Half Marathon Training Week 2

Week 2 Day 1-Tuesday
On Tuesday I did a 12 minute fit test. You run 12 minutes as fast as you can. I ran 1.24 miles in 12 minutes. According to this 12 minute run calculator I scored a 38 which is an average rating. That sounds about right. I am an average runner. And I am fine with that.  The point of this test was for my app to see if it needed to tweak my training schedule. It is also good to mix things up and run fast from time to time.

Week 2 Day 2-Thursday
Thursday was a 1.6 mile 'easy run', meaning I should run at a slow pace. I ran it is 20 minutes averaging 12:23 min/mile.  It was a good run. I could have run longer. Maybe next time I have a short run planned and feel like I can run longer I will.

Week 2 Day 3-Saturday
Saturdays are my long run days. This run was supposed to be 5.3 miles. I was camping with my family at a nature preserve and planned to run along one of the trails. We went on a family hike on Friday and I used up a lot of my phone battery using Endomondo to track our hike.

On Saturday morning I woke up after a hard nights sleep but excited to run. My phone only had like 30% battery left. I just hoped that it would last through the run. We were given a map of the trails but I looked at it completely wrong and ended up running completely different trails than I first thought.

It was a beautiful morning with beautiful views. The trails were narrow. There was a mixture of wooded areas and open fields.  The bugs weren't out yet and the sun was hidden behind the clouds. It was perfect running weather. I saw several rabbits on my run. They were so cute!

I love running on trails. Running on trails is so fun. Every stretch of the trail is different. I ran around some rocky areas which was a nice challenge. There were small hills to conquer which was a nice change from the flat surface I usually run.

There was really bad cell phone reception where I was so I couldn't get Pandora to work. At first I was bugged that I wouldn't be able to listen to music. But it was actually nice to be out in nature and not have any music in my head.

My phone died when I had .6 miles left to go. I know for sure that I ran 5 miles but I don't know if I ran the last .3 mile. It is more likely that I ran .1 mile more. Even if I didn't make the whole 5.3 it was a great run.

I wasted up some of my battery to get these pics on my run.

Half Marathon Training Week 1 Day 3

Today my training schedule said I would run a "long and easy 5.3 mile run". Long it was, easy it wasn't. The schedule meant easy pace wise, not easy terrain or weather, etc. It wasn't the easiest run. I started out too late in the morning. The sun was out and happily beating down on me when I headed out. I chose to leave the neighborhood and run along a not-so-busy road. There was a lot of loose gravel I had to watch out for. There were SCORPIONS. Yes, scorpions. And other manner of bugs (I need to remind myself this is Texas!).

I didn't think it would be too hot this morning, but the humidity really weighs you down. It felt hotter than it is. So the start to my run wasn't ideal, I will need to wake up earlier on Saturdays to get started on my long runs before the sun beams down on me.

I learned recently that you should go a minute slower than your ideal race pace during most of your long runs. My anticipated half marathon pace is 11:22 min/mile. So during these long runs my Endomondo app has me running an average 12;52 min/mile. With the hot sun shining in my face it was hard to be patient and run slower but when I got half way and turned away from the sun I was glad that I still had a lot of energy and wasn't labored in my run.

We live sort of out in the country, at least it feels like it. The views during my run were beautiful. There was the wide blue sky above me and beautiful fields around me. I got back into the neighborhood at the beginning of mile 5. When I only had .3 miles left I saw a stray dog where I was headed and had to change my route, but overall it was good.

It's easy to psych yourself out when running, to focus on what you can't do well.  I tried to stay positive on this run even with the sun shining in my eyes. I thought of uplifting quotes and about my goals. The only time I walked was when I was drinking water, which I drank about 16 ounces during this run. It was a good run and I feel like I can run more! Looking forward to the next long run.

Keep Going One Step At a Time

I know I said I was back and then I didn't post for a while. My family has been hit with some tough stuff in the last year. I admire people who just persevere through the tough stuff. Part of me wants to be more like that, the "get it done" attitude, do what needs to be done even if you don't feel up to it attitude. Another part of me wants to wallow in my sorrow and escape into the world of Netflix. It is a daily struggle with those two different sides of myself, and it's sad to say but most of the time my lazy emotional self wins.

This has been a good week for me. The kids have been really good. I have actually gotten dressed and made the bed and done things that make me feel happy and energetic. I just need to feel motivated to prep my healthy food rather than just go for whats readily available. And I need to get over this sugar addiction! But it is so hard! I am craving sugar all the time. If you know how I can get over it please help!

Have I mentioned that I am an emotional eater? Well I am. And even though I did well with my two week clean eating challenge I haven't quite been able to get into healthy eating habits. There have been a lot of emotional things going on in my life, and my old habits of eating when I am emotional have not escaped me yet.  I really want to be healthy, but I am lacking that motivation... I need to find my inspiration.

I have been exercising regularly and getting into a good running schedule.  I run 3 times a week. Since I have been running so regularly I decided to go premium on my Endomondo app to reap all of its benefits. I am really happy with the app. With premium I can make a training plan for myself based on my current level of fitness. I decided to sign up for a half marathon and make a half marathon training plan with the app.

With 15 weeks to train for this half marathon I feel really confident that I will be ready for it. A friend reminded me the other day that I said I didn't want to run another half marathon. And that was true at the time. I took a year and a half break from running, or really any exercise. I had my baby and now I am ready to get fit again and take care of my body. Out of all the exercises I have tried, I enjoy running most. So that is what I am going to do. Run.

On the days I don't run I want to cross train and I am thinking I want to do weight lifting exercises. I have always wanted to tone my arms but never did. I am looking for good arm workouts so if you know of any I am open to anything!

I am on Week 1 of my half marathon training. On Tuesday I ran 3.7 miles at a minute slower than my goal half marathon pace (that is what my training plan told me to do). On Thursday I ran 1.6 miles. Tomorrow will be a long run.  I am looking forward to the long run especially since I only ran 1.6 miles yesterday. Hopefully this crazy Texas weather will calm down and I won't be running in the rain.

I plan on regularly posting about my training, how it is going and how I feel about the runs, what I am eating while training, etc. I make no promises. Three kids (and Netflix) keeps me really busy these days lol. But I will try,

Kate