Every Mile is a Miracle

[DopeyBadger]

Should my tempos not feel easier?!

#secrets!

 

[GollyGadget]

Pacing is hard. Supposedly it gets easier but I haven't found the secret potion yet.

 

[jennamfeo]

I told myself I was going to work on nailing my scheduled paces this week and today was a successful one!
5 miles @ EA 12:23 + Strides
Splits: 12:27, 12:12, 12:21, 12:17, 11:25 (Strides)

Looks like I am capable. Haha. Let's see how the Tempo run goes on Thursday...

 

[jennamfeo]

January Totals:
Miles Ran - 111.67
Total Time - 20:44:07
Average Pace - 11:21/mi
Miles Swam - 3.4
Weight Change - down 8.4lbs

January Goals:
- Embrace rest days - CHECK
- Eat more fruits & veggies - CHECK (super check, I even started eating broccoli!)
- Drink 90oz of water a day - Nope, drinking water is hard when I have access to coffee all day long...
- Swim 4x this month - CHECK
- Do one 30 sec plank an hour every day while at work - LOL, nope.
- Walk the dogs once a week - Almost check, we skipped last week.

January was a pretty great month. I hit a mileage PR and I lost 8lbs! I changed my diet at the start of the new year. I am not a person who can "diet", I don't cut things out, but I am definitely not a healthy eater. I focused my meals around healthier options and in turn was cutting calories. I only drank alcohol Friday - Sunday and on those days if I ate a whole pizza, so be it. Life's too short to not eat a whole pizza once in a while.
But I am mostly proud of the fact that I have stuck to my @DopeyBadger training plan for this long. I feel like knowing someone is out there who actually cares about how well I do on this plan really helps keep me motivated. Usually I would just build a plan for myself and never really cared if I skipped a day because the only person I am letting down is myself and I'm used to that.

 

[DopeyBadger]

And that consistency is going to pay off! Keep up the great work!

 

[jennamfeo]

On to bigger and better months.... Hello February <3
It's my birthday month and my birthday is at the very end of the month (26th) so cue me being suuuuper annoying all month!
Also, let the official countdown begin to my first "A" Goal race & PR attempt. If you recall, this race has a hugeeee hill for about 5 miles and then it's all downhill. I started working on some hill training and this weekend I am even going to the hill the race is on and see how bad it really is.

23 days until the Red Rock Canyon Half Marathon!

February Goals:
- Hit my paces
- Keep eating more fruits & veggies
- Drink 64oz of water a day
- Swim 4x
- Walk the dogs once a week
- Strength train 2x a week
- Half Marathon PR (ideally, 2:20)

Please note that while I am beyond excited that I lost 8.4 lbs last month, that losing weight isn't my main focus, but more like a byproduct of the hard work I am putting in. I do have a goal weight in mind, but I am not trying to focus on that specifically.

Anyway, here is a picture of one of my dogs, Kahlua, and her walking buddy Bay.

 

[KSellers88]

On to bigger and better months.... Hello February <3
It's my birthday month and my birthday is at the very end of the month (26th) so cue me being suuuuper annoying all month!
Also, let the official countdown begin to my first "A" Goal race & PR attempt. If you recall, this race has a hugeeee hill for about 5 miles and then it's all downhill. I started working on some hill training and this weekend I am even going to the hill the race is on and see how bad it really is.

23 days until the Red Rock Canyon Half Marathon!

February Goals:
- Hit my paces
- Keep eating more fruits & veggies
- Drink 64oz of water a day
- Swim 4x
- Walk the dogs once a week
- Strength train 2x a week
- Half Marathon PR (ideally, 2:20)

Please note that while I am beyond excited that I lost 8.4 lbs last month, that losing weight isn't my main focus, but more like a byproduct of the hard work I am putting in. I do have a goal weight in mind, but I am not trying to focus on that specifically.

Anyway, here is a picture of one of my dogs, Kahlua, and her walking buddy Bay.
View attachment 299610

It is gorgeous there! Loving your goals! Keep crushing them!

 

[SarahDisney]

Sounds like an awesome January! Congrats on hitting so many of your goals (and sticking with the DB plan!)

- Drink 90oz of water a day - Nope, drinking water is hard when I have access to coffee all day long...

Same. I was hanging out/working at a place yesterday that had free coffee and I was so good and only drank my water, but it was tough. I like water, but I like coffee more ...

Yay birthday month! Looks like you've got some good goals for February ... I'm excited to see you crush them.
Now go drink some water

 

[jennamfeo]

Now go drink some water

 

[jennamfeo]

I just got my DD's Spring Little League schedule and there go any of the races I had my eye on from March - May. Luckily, the March race we are already signed up for falls on her Spring Break week so no conflict there. Whew. But I am a little sad about maybe not being able to race again until the fall.

 

[jennamfeo]

An easy way to slow down your pace is by having a terrible month (only 3 days in!) and chafing and having to walk and also crying.

 

[run.minnie.miles]

An easy way to slow down your pace is by having a terrible month (only 3 days in!) and chafing and having to walk and also crying.

Oh no!! Hope you have a better Sunday and your month turns around fast!

 

[jennamfeo]

DBP Week 9 Report 1/29 - 2/4
Planned:
Monday 1/29 - Run Streak 1 Miler
Tuesday 1/30 - W9DBP 5 Miles @ EA 12:23 + Strides
Wednesday 1/31 - Gym & Run Streak 1 Miler
Thursday 2/1 - W9DBP 1 mi @ WU 13:09 // 4 mi @ Tempo 10:01 // .50 mi @ CD 13:09
Friday 2/2 - Swim & Run Streak 1 Miler
Saturday 2/3 - W9DBP 7 Miles @ EB 11:34
Sunday 2/4 - W9DBP 8 Miles @ LR 11:11

Monday: Nope. Broke my Run Streak 4 days in. Whatever, I like rest days more.

Tuesday: Looks like I actually ~can~ hit my scheduled pace. It just took me 9 weeks to figure it out. LOL.
Plan - 5 Miles @ EA 12:23 + Strides
Actual - 5.01 Miles
Splits - 12:29, 12:13, 12:43, 12:10, 11:26 (Strides)

Wednesday: Another nope / rest day. But then at the end of the day I forced myself to do a quick 10 minute ab workout.

Thursday: Another day of hitting my pace. Tempo is actually harder for me to hit because my body wants to go faster than I am supposed to allow it. This one takes more mental power.
Plan - 1 mi @ WU 13:09 // 4 mi @ Tempo 10:01 // .50 mi @ CD 13:09
Actual - 1 mi @ 12:48 // 4 mi @ 9:54 // .60 mi @ 13:02
Splits for my Tempo - 9:56, 9:51, 9:51, 9:55 (BOOM.)

Friday: Super short swim during my lunch break.
Plan - 1200 yds: 100 SKPS, 200 F/B, 200 Pull, 200 Free, 200 F/B

Saturday: I'm just gotta start this off with my life is super terrible right now and I feel like everything is falling apart and I am running out of strength to keep pushing forward. It's hard, y'all. I slept in like A LOT this morning. I was supposed to wake up and run my 7 miles, then head up to Vegas with my family to visit my parents. I had a really bad night and that continued on to the morning and I couldn't even will myself to run. I eventually got pulled out of bed and forced to pack a bag so we could go to Vegas. I wore my running gear in hopes that I would just run when we got there and I at least followed through with that. It was a rough run. I decided to wear shorts with some body glide on my chub rub area and the body glide failed and I totally chafed. I walked a lot because of that. I cried a lot because of life. My phone died around mile 5. So I had two miserable, silent miles to finish. I did, but I was not happy.
Plan - 7 Miles @ EB 11:34
Actual - 6.98 @ 12:27
Splits - 11:00, 11:33, 10:56, 11:23, 15:26, 12:49, 13:34

Sunday: Despite my horrible run yesterday, I told myself I was going to stick to my plan for today which was wake up early, drive to the place where my dreaded Half Marathon is this month, and show that huge hill who is boss. My husband came along with me because he had never been there before and he wanted to do a little hiking. I woke up a little late, but we still went. I was kind of on a time crunch so I had to be mindful of that. I was feeling okay and really had no idea what to expect, but lemme tell you first hand: F THAT HILL. My legs may have still been fatigued from my evening run the day before. But they were like W T F are you doing? I walked before I even hit a mile. HAHAHA. Then I tired some pep talks and mantras and I got running again. It was a lot of running and walking happening. Some crying. I just don't think I had my mental game in place for this run. Life derailed me in a huge way and running helps keep me balanced but it just wasn't working this time. So my take away from this run is to hide from life for the next 19 days, get my head back where it needs to be at least for my runs, find some leg strengthening exercises that focus on the muscles used to power up hills, and just be happy to finish (no matter the time it takes) when race day comes. Also, because of my walk breaks and my time crunch, I only did 7 miles on this run, but I squeezed another mile in a bit later to hit my 8 miles for the day.
Plan - 8 Miles @ LR 11:11
Actual - 6.91 Miles @ 12:56
Splits - 12:30, 14:16, 11:45, 13:05, 15:23, 11:22, 12:06

Bonus added visual:


This is the course map for the half I am going. I marked in red how far I ran up before I turned around and ran back down. I *almost* made it to the highest point. And honestly the hills are pretty rolling. There were some flatter places that you could catch a break at, but you feel that incline pretty immediately. WOOF.
But the views are gorgeous:


Anyway, better luck this week, right? When I have to plan my runs while away on a mini vacation to Sonoma. Ha.

Upcoming Training:
Monday 2/5 - Rest day!
Tuesday 2/6 - 5 miles @ EA + Strides
Wednesday 2/7 - Swim? Maybe?
Thursday 2/8 - .50 mi @ WU / 5 mi @ Tempo / .50 mi @ CD
Friday 2/9 - Rest day!
Saturday 2/10 - 8 mi @ EB
Sunday 2/11 - 12 mi @ LR

 

[run.minnie.miles]

That scenery is stunning! And you a total champ for signing up to willingly run those hills... you will rock it!!

Sorry that life can be hard... I hope things turn around!

 

[DopeyBadger]

You're such an amazing runner! You did so well conquering that hill. That elevation is no joke and would seriously take me down. So major props! Just remember all of the effort/blind training. With a hill like that you have to ignore the pacing. The important part is the effort of the long run (or HM Tempo on race day) must be the same. Don't push it up the hill to maintain any set pace. Rather remind yourself what it should feel like and go that pace instead. It's likely to be much slower, but that's ok. You can and will do great! Super proud of you testing that out.

Hoping life turns around for you!

 

[KSellers88]

Why is everyone calling that a hill??? That thing is a MOUNTAIN. Major props!

 

[SarahDisney]

Sorry to hear that life is rough right now. I hope things start to look up soon.

Great job surviving that hill - it may not have been a perfect run, but you're a rockstar for even attempting that!

 

[JulieODC]

Wow - what a gorgeous area to run in! It’s fun to see pictures of places so different from what my area looks like.

I’m sorry to hear that life has been tough - hang in there and let running be your outlet

I think your PR is within reach, by the way. You’ve put in some serious work and have been so dedicated - impressive!

 

[TCB in FLA]

Just found your journal and have enjoyed reading about your journey! Such creative running outfits! Your hard work is really paying off.
Running is great therapy, so I hope you are able to get some endorphins going as you cope with things. Your DIS running friends are here for you!

 

[jennamfeo]

That scenery is stunning! And you a total champ for signing up to willingly run those hills... you will rock it!!

Sorry that life can be hard... I hope things turn around!

Why is everyone calling that a hill??? That thing is a MOUNTAIN. Major props!

Sorry to hear that life is rough right now. I hope things start to look up soon.

Great job surviving that hill - it may not have been a perfect run, but you're a rockstar for even attempting that!

Wow - what a gorgeous area to run in! It’s fun to see pictures of places so different from what my area looks like.

I’m sorry to hear that life has been tough - hang in there and let running be your outlet

I think your PR is within reach, by the way. You’ve put in some serious work and have been so dedicated - impressive!

Just found your journal and have enjoyed reading about your journey! Such creative running outfits! Your hard work is really paying off.
Running is great therapy, so I hope you are able to get some endorphins going as you cope with things. Your DIS running friends are here for you!

You all are so kind. This definitely made my morning better. Thank you all. <3

@KSellers88 You're totally right. It's a mountain that I keep calling a hill to make me feel better. Haha. It's only steep for 5.5 miles then I can coast back down. If I make it that far. LOL.

You're such an amazing runner! You did so well conquering that hill. That elevation is no joke and would seriously take me down. So major props! Just remember all of the effort/blind training. With a hill like that you have to ignore the pacing. The important part is the effort of the long run (or HM Tempo on race day) must be the same. Don't push it up the hill to maintain any set pace. Rather remind yourself what it should feel like and go that pace instead. It's likely to be much slower, but that's ok. You can and will do great! Super proud of you testing that out.

Hoping life turns around for you!

Thanks Billy. I know that pacing is out of the window for this race. I really just want to be able to keep running the whole time. I don't care if it is slow. I just want to feel like I gave it all I got. I just didn't have much to give when I went up there Sunday. I still have some good workouts to put in this week and next week. I'm nervous but I'm excited.