50 Total Miles (since starting training)!!!

So tonight I reached 50 total miles logged since joining DailyMile and beginning the training for the half marathon!  I have logged 14 miles this week (a record since starting) and am feeling great!  Today was supposed to be a "rest" day but since I rested so much last week I figured it would be okay to not take it.  I've been watching a lot of "Biggest Loser" lately and it is so inspiring.  I want to lose weight too (an undisclosed amount...don't want too much pressure!) but obviously not as much as those contestants.  But if they can lose hundreds of pounds, why can't I drop the ones that are bugging me?  So I figure with the running and eating more fruits/vegetables, that will help a lot.  I'm also considering taking some boxing classes at LA Boxing, although I need to look into things such as pricing.  Anyway, instead of taking a rest day, I walked for 5 miles, varying the incline.  It felt great and I didn't strain myself.  I walked in my EasyTones (which I love) and watched Biggest Loser on my iPhone.  All in all?  Great way to end the day!  

Back after a One Week Hiatus (so embarrassing and sorry to my followers...)

Well everyone, I am BACK...officially back.  No more slacking off (hopefully)...it's time to get serious about this training.  Last week I was terrible.  I did ONE lousy run!  (3.5 miles).  To be fair...last week was VERY busy for me.  I ran on Tuesday but then Wednesday I had a day packed from 10am to 10pm and Thursday night I had poker night with the girls...I am NOT skipping that just to do a run (okay I probably could have run between school and poker night... but what did I do instead?  Baked this).  Then I had girls poker night and obviously that lasted into the night and was super fun.  Then I had to go home and pack to go to VEGAS for the weekend with my boyfriend who booked us a trip for my Christmas present, and also to celebrate our one year anniversary (we didn't get to celebrate it in Oct. because we had classes).  Anywayyy, we stayed at Caesar's Palace and had a blast!  I took a million pictures of both our stay in Vegas and the trip to the Grand Canyon.  Unfortunately, to go to the gym at Caesar's costs $25 a day (OMG!) so I decided to skip that and just get back to my running when I got back.  I felt okay about that because we had to run to catch our flight to Vegas and also had to run to make sure we didn't miss our bus to the Grand Canyon, so all in all, we did a little running ;-)

In front of the Venetian after seeing Jersey Boys!

Anyway, tonight I ran 3.5 miles at a pretty slow pace but honestly I was feeling really sluggish and unfortunately I have put on a couple pounds from our amazing vacay (I don't care...that burger was totally worth it).  I've really got to start losing some weight if I want to improve my speed (or at least that's what I keep telling myself).  okay okay I will stop beating myself up and will continue the training as if nothing has happened...  Here is what is on tap for this week:

Mon: Stretch & Strengthen

Tues: 3.5 m run

Wed: 2 m run or cross

Thurs: 3.5 m run + strength

Fri: Rest

Sat: 40 min cross

Sun: 5 m run

Week 3

A summary of week 3:

Pretty similar to last week. I left out the strengthening again this week.... my knee is sore still but only when laying down and sitting mostly. I hope to add strength training this week. I did some stretching but more in the form of yoga which still makes it hard with my knee. I did part of the cross training but not all of it. My schedule has been tough with school starting back and juggling both my jobs but hopefully things will work out better.

I did however keep up with the running part - I feel like that is the most important. I got the running done without increase in time really but they were good solid runs and my mental state was a lot more positive than it usually is on long runs! On to week 4!

Update!

So It's mid-week for week 3 of training.

First week - not so good.
Second Week - Pretty ok.
Third Week - although not awesome, I'm feeling really good.

Sunday was the long run and I ran four miles on the American Tobacco Trail. It was cold but it went really well. My hubs really pushed me to go faster. He does this thing where he runs two steps ahead and it keeps me pretty motivated. My knee was feeling awesome after this run also! We did a little yoga after which was a lot harder on my knee than the running.

For this week I started out with a little more yoga. There was no strength training - oops. Last night I did my 3.5 run. I did it on the treadmill because it's so chilly outside and super icy/snowy. Man did I forget how it was to run on a treadmill! I was bored out of my mind! Back in the day I could run and run and run on one, but since I've been running outside it's not nearly the same.

Little bummed today because I didn't do any cross or run 2 miles. I planned to but classes started up. I think if I can keep my spirits off and give my self some slack if I don't complete a training day I should be fine. I hope to at the least keep up with the runs... but I want to do most of the training as possible!

Hooray for a great start to our half :)

Week 2 Complete!

Well, finished up Week 2 of the Half Marathon Training Program!  Have to be honest and say that this week did not go as smoothly as the first, but I got it done!  Today (Sunday) is the designated day for the "long run" that will continue to increase by one mile each week until the end.  Today's run was 4 miles (just like last week).  I ran it in just over a 10 min. mile average pace because I was doing the run/walk drill again (run 1 mile, walk 1 min.) to avoid further injuring my knee.  I warmed up my legs by doing 20 minutes on the bike (a little over 4 miles).  The run went pretty well...the music videos help keep me going...both in that they prevent me from getting bored and because they get me motivated.  

 Watch this and tell me this video doesn't get you all inspired to kick @$$ at the gym!  I watched it 3 times during my run today... LOVE Shakira!

I came home after my run and made a delicious "Hawaiian Breeze" Protein Shake.  Here are the ingredients:

1 scoop of EAS Vanilla Protein Powder

1 small banana

1/2 cup frozen or fresh pineapple

1/4 cup unsweetened organic orange juice

1/2 cup of Silk Soy Milk or Low-Fat Organic Milk 

It was so smooth and tasted amazing!  I felt like I should be hanging out by the pool drinking it.  It completely refreshed me after a hard run and I will definitely be making it again!  I also posted another protein shake recipe on my other blog with my friends "Cooking to Graduation."  That protein shake recipe was for a Blueberry Banana Protein Shake and is also one of my favorites!

And here is the schedule for next week (WEEK THREE)!

Mon: Stretch & Strengthen

Tues: 3.5 m run

Wed: 2 m run or cross

Thurs: 3.5 m run + strength

Fri: Rest

Sat: 40 min cross

Sun: 5 m run

Final update:  I made the "Skinny Girl" Kir Royale that I posted a few days ago and can totally vouch for it!!! It was absolutely delicious! I've also started putting frozen raspberries in my iced tea to kind of jazz it up a bit (although I use fresh raspberries for the Kir Royale--see image at right).  


I have started making iced tea with my new tea pot that I got for Christmas from my precious sister!  I brew the tea hot and then put it into a pitcher in the fridge.  It's ready to drink in about an hour (otherwise it may melt the ice and it probably would taste watered down).  This was a perfect gift for me because I love tea, as many of you may have already seen on our cooking blog. A couple of months ago, I wrote a blog post about teas and why you should consider substituting tea for coffee.  I drink a lot of tea and suggest you all do as well!  If you are addicted to sodas, you may want to consider substituting iced tea (unsweet) instead and sweetening it yourself.  It tastes great and is much healthier for you than soda, just ask my awesome sister who quit drinking soda over Christmas break...so proud! :)  


Thanks to all my followers for keeping me accountable during this training... I have to work extra hard because I know I have to report back to all of you, so thanks!!

What to do when you have a bad day...

Ugh today was awful...I woke up with a migraine and horrible back/neck pain.  I think I'm stressed because of the bar exam application (which I mailed yesterday...yay!) and my body also probably isn't used to all the stress I'm putting on it training for this half.  So today I followed the cardinal rule of training: Listen to your body! I listened to my body and got a massage...then walked for a bit. Training said I should run 2 miles today, and while that definitely didn't happen, I walked for about 35 minutes, and completed 1.46 miles.  It was a really relaxed pace but honestly I don't think I could have done more with how I was feeling...I hadn't left the couch all day except to grab lunch and get a massage and so getting up to go to the gym was the last thing on my mind.  Matt convinced me that if I at least got my body moving and blood circulating it would help me feel better... so I threw on my Reebok Easytones (my fabulous walking shoes that I will have to blog about another time), and got off the couch.  It was pretty miserable at first but I do feel a little better having moved around. 

I watched a little "Without a Trace" on the TV at the gym and read Health Magazine during the commercials... pretty relaxing honestly, I don't know if I should even be blogging about this as a workout.  I did find this really yummy recipe in Health which is a good substitute for a Kir Royale (my new favorite drink that I recently discovered over Christmas break!).  This is the "Skinny Girl" version created by Bethenny Frankel who I ADORE.  I took a picture of it because I didn't want to type it all out while on the treadmill.  So without further ado:  

As far as my training goes, yesterday was a better day... I ran 3 miles at a comfortable pace of about 6mph.  Tomorrow we are scheduled to do another 3 miles so I'm glad I took today as pretty much a rest day.  

"When I'm training for a marathon, I soak in a hot tub every day, and get a weekly massage." --Anne Marie Lauck, two-time Olympian 

Good, she does it too...I don't feel so bad for taking a personal day :)

More Music and Running Tips

I love DailyMile.  I have made so many new running friends and have been able to have better contact with some older friends!  One of my DailyMile friends (Jo) suggested I check into this website that she stumbled across which outlines good music.  I looked through it and it is definitely worth passing along.  Not to say that I am really good at picking out music but a lot of the songs on here are already on the playlist I gave you!!  There are plenty of other songs on here though...some of which I have never heard of but will definitely check out.  There are also one other song I listen to when I strength train that I didn't mention in the last post.  I also downloaded "The Final Zepp" by Charlie Clouser from the Saw3d soundtrack.  Yes it is a bit creepy, however, if you can get past that, it is the most intense music ever and really makes you want to push all the way to the last rep! 


Music suggestions from Fitness Magazine:
http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/workout/music/popular-playlists/100-best-workout-songs/?sssdmh=dm17.499590&esrc=nwfitdailytip010411&email=1132199595


Also, my good friend Molly sent me this article this morning and I thought I would share it.  It is 101 Running tips.  Helps with motivation and such.  I will periodically post some of them on the blog if you don't feel like looking through them but here is one to hold you over: "I believe in using races as motivators. It's hard to keep on an exercise program if you don't have a significant goal in sight." --Bob Greene, personal trainer of Oprah Winfrey
Running Tips:
http://www.womenshealthmag.com/fitness/running-tips-beginners-guide