Sarah Runs

[SarahPT]

Hi all!

I love keeping journals, so I thought I would start one on here. I haven't been around here as much recently due to the death of my lap top, haha. I still have my PC, but it's in the gym and it tends to be very cold in here.

I'll probably just update this weekly. A little background on me: I started running competitively at age 7. That was the year I joined track and ran my first 5k road race. I continued to compete until age 15, at which time I got lazy as teenagers soemtimes do. Too bad that happened, because I was quite good. I won boxes and boxes of awards.

In my early 20's I started wroking out again. I wanted to get in shape. I started lifting a little and jogging a little, but I didn't go at it full force. After a couple years I decided to compete in figure. My lifting was quite intense and I use running as my cardio mainly. To be honest, I loath weight lifting. I dread it. I firmly believe it's a vital part of any fitness routine though, so I will always lift.

After competing in figure for a while I knew it wasn't where I wanted to be. I wanted to run. Running was what I was good at. In 2006 I ran my first half marathon. I ran another in 2007. I didn't train super seriously. I just wanted to get my feet wet. I know I am at home with running, and it's where I'll stay. To train seriously for races I have had to cut my lifting back. I'll never cu tit out altogether, but a body can only train so much. It scared me to cut it back because I was afraid of losing that hard earned muscle. I still lift once a week and I really make it count. At this point I can't lift more than that because I run 5 days a week and I need my rest day.

Currently I am training for 2 half marathons, one on Feb 24 and one on March 30.

Here is a review of my training since Jan 1st, copied from another website.

1/1
Weight training

1/2
VERY active rest day. I shoveled snow for 4 hours.

1/3
Yeah, no outdoor run today. It was 5 degrees with a windchill of 10 below. I am rugged but with those temps i would need something to cover my face, which I don't have. So I was stuck on the treadmill!

Distance: 6 miles
Type: Long Intervals
Course: treadmill
Intensity: hard
Weather: 54 degrees in gym

1/2 mile warm up, followed by 3 1.5 mile intervals of a hard run. .25 mile recovery jogs in between. Then 1/2 mile cooldown. That was a tough one. I had nasty tummy pains too.

1/4

GRRRRRR! When I got up today it was zero degrees. I had my morning free for running and my afternoon booked with clients. So, no 15 mile run AGAIN today. It warmed up this afternoon and it's supposed to stay warm for at least the next week, so I should be all set now.

So, instead I ran on the damn treadmill again.

Distance: 7 miles
Type: Steady state and fast strides
Course: treadmill
Intensity: Moderate-hard
Weather: 54 degrees in gym

1/5
Distance: 15 miles
Type: Steady state
Course: Hilly, snow covered
Intensity: Easy
Weather: 28 degrees, sunny, breezy

I started out the day with a good 800 calorie breakfast. Hit the road about 10:00. Did 5 miles out and back to my house. Miles 5-8 were a stamina component where i picked up the pace. I wasn't able to pick it up nearly as much as I would have liked because I was running on packed snow, which is much more difficult. At 10 miles I stopped at my house for a bathroom break, then finished with a 5 mile loop. The rest of the run, other than those 3 miles, was an easy jog. I actually felt really good until the last mile and a half. At that point I had nasty cramps, hunger pangs, and I was exhausted. I had a nice bath and treated myself to a turkey italian from the store and I feel great now.

1/6

Distance: 4 miles
Type: Steady state
Course: Hilly, snow covered
Intensity: Easy-moderate
Weather: 36 degrees, cloudy

Took it pretty easy today. I put my Yak Trax on and ran with them. I had not tried that yet. They work really really well! They didn't bother me and I ran right over ice without slipping!! That is going to be helpful!

1/7
Distance: 7 miles
Type: Intervals
Course: Hilly, partly snow covered
Intensity: Hard
Weather: 38 degrees, cloudy, humid

I started with a half mile warm up. Then I alternated 2-3 minutes fast pace with 2 minutes recovery jog. Half mile cool down at the end. Most of the intervals were 3 minutes. I did this one last week ont he treadmill and it was easier than I thought. Doing the same thing today on the hilly course was BRUTAL!!!!


For nutrition I eat anywhere from 2200 cals to 3000 cals a day based on activity. Diet is high carbs, moderate protein and fat. I aim for at least 100 grams protein a day. Longer run days carbs are around 350.

[Boss Man]

Good to see your hard effort working out for you. one thing I've always liked about you, is even though you are someone with a paid for service, you still give back ot others in other ways, and I like the fact that you're a really good rolemodel for others to look upto and learn from, regardless of what kind of background they've had.

I hope this journal gives you the added impetus you need to succeed, and I wish you luck as ever, trying to make your goals happen.

You're a great part of this site, and certainly I will be interested to see how all this pans out for you .

I supposed the main thing is, keep up the hard work, keep believing in yourself, and don't doubt your own talents, and capability. I know from your competitive days, the hunger to do well, and desire to succeed, and the mental strength, will no doubt be great attributes that will help see you through, and you've obviously got the Heart for it, and deserve to succeed, given the time, effort and love you give to yourself.

WELL DONE, on the past few days, I and keep going .

[SarahPT]

Thanks so much Bossman!

My morning is slow enough to do some updating here.

1/8
Rest day. What a great day. It was soooooo warm and sunny. I just enjoyed it.

1/9
Weights! Went fine except that I completely forgot to do anything for chest. The workout seemed a bit short. OOOPS!

1/10
Distance: 16 miles
Type: Steady state with a few intervals thrown in
Course: Hilly, CLEAR ROADS!!
Intensity: Easy
Weather: 40 degrees, sunny, windy

Since there has been so much melting I was able to run on all either tar or mud roads, no snow or ice. Such a nice change! I started out with 10 miles out and back. 3 miles of that (5-8) I did intervals of 1 minute moderately fast and 1 minute slow jog. The rest of the run as at an easy pace. At 10 miles I was back at my house for a quick bathroom stop, then a 5 mile loop, then the last mile on my road.
I started my day with an 850 calorie breakfast. The weather was just right for a long run. I only had tummy pains during mile 9. It was kind of bad then, but it was fine after I stopped at my house. I got pretty fatigued in the last few miles, but I had a burst at the end. IUsed my foam roller later in the day, which felt so good.

1/11
Distance: 6 miles
Type: Fatigue fighter
Course: Treadmill
Intensity: Hard
Weather: 58 degrees in gym

The run looked like so:
.25 warm up
.25 fast run
200 meter recovery
1/2 mile hard run
200 meter recovery
1.5 mile steady moderate/slightly fast run
.25 recovery
.25 fast run
200 meter recovery
1/2 mile hard run
200 meter recovery
1.5 mile moderate/slightly fast run
1/2 mile cool down

1/12
Distance: 7 miles
Type: "thirds" with strides at the end
Course: Hilly, partly clear/partly icy
Intensity: Moderate
Weather: 40 degrees and sunny

The thirds means the first 2 miles were nice and easy, second two were a little faster, and then next 2 were a hard run. Last mile I did 6 fast strides with slow jog recoveries. I thought the roads were going to be clearer than they were. Parts of the run were very icy.

Total for 2008: 64 miles

Wrap up for this week:
Ran: 40 miles
Lifted: x1
No other exercise

1/13
Distance: 4 miles
Type: steady state
Course: Hilly, ice covered
Intensity: easy
Weather: 36 degrees, sunny

Nice and easy run. I was having a tummy ache, so I'm glad it was easy run day. Man, if I hadn't been wearing my Yak Trax I would have had to walk in some places. Where it was shady the road was just glare ice.

A little later int he day hubby and I went snowshoeing for about 45 minutes.

[SarahPT]

Update time here...

1/14
Distance: 6.5 miles
Type: Speed work
Course: Treadmill
Intensity: Moderate-hard
Weather: 58 degrees in gym

Snowstorm outside today, so no outside run. I did a half mile warm up, followed by 28 200 meter speed intervals. These were not sprints, but a fast run. Recoveries were mostly 100 meters, but a few 200 meters thrown in when I felt I needed it. I ended with a .25 cool down. Next time I do this one I'll up the speed just a bit because I wasn't compeltely exhausted after.

1/15
Since I have a lighter running week this week (only 35 miles) I decided to go harder and longer on weights. Holy poop do I feel it today! I am so stiff, especially legs. I really maxed out on the squats yesterday. Didn't think I was coming back up at all on the last one.

1/16--Rest

1/17


Distance: 12 miles
Type: Steady state
Course: Hilly, very snow covered
Intensity: Easy-moderate
Weather: 27 degrees, cloudy

Total for 2008: 86.5 miles

The roads sucked so bad! Totally snow and ice covered. It was such hard going. That really makes it feel much harder than it should be. But, I had no tummy cramps until the last half mile!

1/18
It was snow/sleet/raining out so I had to use the treadmill.

Distance: 6.5 miles
Type: Speed work
Course: Treadmill
Intensity: Hard
Weather: 60 degrees in gym

I wasn't sure I would be able to finish this one, but I did!!

1/2 mile warm
1/4 mile speed
.1 recover
1/2 mile speed
.1 recover
1/4 mile speed
1/4 mile recover
1/4 mile speed
.1 recover
1/2 mile speed
.1 recover
1/4 mile speed
1/4 mile recover
1/4 mile speed
.1 recover
1/2 mile speed
.1 recover
1/4 mile speed
1/4 mile recover
1/4 mile speed
.1 recover
1/2 mile speed
.1 recover
1/4 mile speed
1/2 mile cool down

Really tough is all I can say. I hate the long speed componenets with the short recoveries, but I have to challenge myself and not go easy

Weekly wrap up:
This was a lighter week on running.

Ran: 36 miles
Lifted: x1, more intense than normal
Other: snowshoed 45 minutes, shoveled snow 1/2 hour

Total miles for 2008 so far: 93

1/19

I hit 100 miles today. 100 miles in 19 days, holy crap.

Distance: 7 miles
Type: "thirds" with fast strides at the end
Course: Hilly, slush covered roads
Intensity: Moderate-hard
Weather: 30 degrees and clear

It was a bad run kind of. I did the same run last Saturday and my time was a bit slower today. But, last week when I did this run the roads were clear and they were HORRIBLE today. Running through slush is like running through sand. SUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCKS!!!! So really I didn't do any worse.
First 2 miles easy jog. Second two a little faster, next two a little faster, which was a hard run. In the last mile I did 6 sets of fast strides.

I'm a machine!!

1/20
Distance: 4 miles
Type: Steady State
Course: Hilly, ice covered roads
Intensity: Moderate-hard
Weather: 17 degrees, windy and clear

The roads were the worst yet this year today. Even with Yak Trax on it was slippery. I did a half mile warm up, then 3 miles at a fast pace, then 1/2 mile cool down.
No more easy runs on Sundays. It will still be a shorter run, but intensity is going up. With mileage and intensity going up I'm going to have to hold back a bit on leg training. I'm going to cut back to just 2 sets each of squats, deads and calf press. There's is only so much my legs can do, though I have a hard time believing that. Fortunately my legs don't lose their muscle mass as easy as my upper body. I know I can still hit my upper body hard.

1/21

Distance: 7.5 miles
Type: Fatigue fighter
Course: Treadmill
Intensity: hard
Weather: 56 degrees in gym

That is the longest I have ever run on a treadmill. No time to get bored with this type of run though.
.5 warm up...(oh and I fell of the treadmill during my warm up. Never done that before.
.25 fast run
.1 recovery
.75 slightly slower than the .25
.15 recovery
2 mile slightly slower than the .75
.25 recovery
25 fast run
.1 recovery
.75 slightly slower than the .25
.15 recovery
2 mile slightly slower than the .75
.25 cool down

That was definitely a challenge.

1/22
One more month being in my 20's.
Weight training day. I cut back on legs like I said I would. After weights my training partner and I went snowshoeing. We went 2 miles, about 40 minutes. It was real nice. There were deer on the trail that didn't seem too interested in getting out of the way.

1/23
Rest!

1/24
One month until the Hyannis half marathon!
Distance: 17 miles
Type: Steady state
Course: Hilly, about half snow covered, half clear
Intensity: Mostly easy pace with 3 miles of faster pace thrown in
Weather: 18 degrees, light snow flurries

Oh so very tired..... The run was good but wow, 17 miles is far. I did 10 miles in an out and back, which landed me back at my house to fill up on gatorade and use the bathroom. Then a 5 mile loop. Toward then end of the loop I was getting exhausted. That landed me abck at the house to fill up on gatorade again. Then 2 miles on a flat stretch of road. I kept a pretty easy pace except miles 5-8 when I maintained a slightly faster pace to improve stamina.

Total miles for 2008: 128.5

[Boss Man]

Keep up the hard work Sarah, you're doing great .

[SarahPT]

Thank you!!

1/25

Distance: 7 miles
Type: Thirds, strides at the end
Course: Treadmill
Intensity: Moderate
Weather: 58 degrees in the gym

I took it a little easier because I had a bit of fatigue leftover from yesterday's run. I only did 4 fast strides at the end instead of 6. First 2 miles easy, second 2 just a bit faster, last 2 at a decent pace.

I had to use the tread because I couldn't get started on my run until it was nearing sunset. It will be so nice when it's light out long enough for me to run late in the day.

1/26

Distance: 7 miles
Type: Steady state
Course: Hilly, partly snow covered
Intensity: Moderate-hard
Weather: 22 degrees and sunny

I started with a half mile warm up, then worked on holding a steady hard pace for 6 miles. The hills and road conditions made it hard to maintain as fast as I wanted, but I pushed as best I could. Finished with a half mile cool down. Energy seemed a little low today, but I didn't sleep that well last night.

Weekly wrap up:

Ran: 42.5 miles
Lifted: x1
Other: snowshoed 40 minutes

1/27

Distance: 4 miles
Type: Steady state
Course: Hilly, partly snow covered
Intensity: Moderate-hard
Weather: 26 degrees and sunny

1/2 mile warm up, 3 miles fairly fast, 1/2 mile cool down. While I went slower than I wanted yesterday today I went faster than I wanted. Oops. At least I got some energy back. I ran on a dirt road righ tnear my hosue, which is probably the only road around still covere din a layer of snow. But it has no traffic. I would rather deal with the snow than traffic.

1/28
Distance: 6.5 miles
Type: Speed work
Course: Treadmill
Intensity: Moderate-hard
Weather: 58 degrees in the gym

The run went like this:
1/2 mile warm up

then twice through this cycle:
200 meter speed
1/4 mile recovery
6x200 meter speed with 100 meter recoveries
1/4 mile recovery
3/4 mile speed
1/4 mile recovery

Then repeat

3/4 mile cool down

The 200's didn't feel too bad, but the 3/4 mile speed intervals were brutal!!

1/29
Rest

1/30
Weights for 45 minutes

1/31

Distance: 13 miles
Type: Steady state
Course: Hilly roads. mostly clear!
Intensity: Moderate
Weather: 22 degrees and sunny

Yesterday's rain washed almost all the snow and ice away. You know how much easier it is to run on bare ground than on snow and ice?! So this was my "long" run for this week, though it wasn't that long. One more real long run (next week) before the upcoming race. I didn't feel I needed to take it too easy since it wasn't that long, but didn't want to go all out either. I actually finished in less time than my last half marathon, haha. Not nearly a best though. I had a surprising amount of energy in my last mile.

Januray 2008: Ran 159 miles

2/1
Distance: 7.5 miles
Type: Thirds, strides at the end
Course: Treadmill...snowing like heck outside
Intensity: Moderate
Weather: 57 degrees in the gym

I did not feel that well. I felt shaky and weird. Maybe I really hadn't eaten enough all day. I stopped part way through the run and put a DVD in my computer so I would have something to focus on. FIrst 2 miles I did easy, second 2 a little faster, next two a little faster. Then over the last mile and a half I did 6 fast strides with slow jog recoveries.

7.5 is too far on a treadmill!!!!

2/2
Distance: 8 miles
Type: Steady state
Course: Treadmill
Intensity: Moderate
Weather: 57 degrees in the gym

1 mile warm up, 6 miles at a fairly hard pace, 1 mile cool down. Man it sucked!!!! But it sucked less than how mad I would be at myself if I had skipped it.

Weekly wrap up:

Ran: 39 miles
Lifted: x1
No other exercise

2/3
Grrrrrr...everything outside is like a skating rink. No way can I run out there. Tomorrow maybe. It will be warm and sunny.

Distance: 4 miles
Type: Steady state
Course: Treadmill
Intensity: Moderate
Weather: 57 degrees in the gym

Half mile warm up, 3 miles hard, 1/2 mile cool down. Good thing it was only 4 miles. I'm so sick of that treadmill.

2/4/07

Distance: 7 miles
Type: Steady state with fast strides
Course: Hilly, ice covered
Intensity: Easy-Moderate
Weather: 34 and sunny

I had to go slower than I intended because it was still slippery. I did 6 sets of fast strides at the end, and that part of the road was actually clear!! More freezing rain the next 2 days. That doesn't bode well for my 18 mile run on Thursday.

2/5
Weights for 45 minutes. After today I'm going to lay off legs until after the next race.

[SarahPT]

Getting very close to my next race. Ahhhhhh!

2/6
Rest day

2/7
2/7
Distance: 6.5 miles
Type: fatigue fighter
Course: Treadmill
Intensity: Hard
Weather: 57 degrees in the gym

I cut one mile off of it because I never would have had time to be ready for my first client. I was just out of the shower when she got here as it was. Run looked like:

.5 warm up
.25 fast run
.1 rec
.75 slightly slower run
.15 rec
2 mile slightly slower
.25 rec
.25 fast run
.1 rec
.5 fast run
.15 rec
1.5 mile moderate run

Then I had to get right off.

2/8
Distance: 8 miles
Type: Steady state
Course: Treadmill
Intensity: Moderate-Hard
Weather: 57 degrees in the gym

3/4 mile warm up, then 7 miles at a moderate-fast pace for that distance, then .25 cool down. I put a movie in to distract myself, which worked. I actually felt like I had a ton of energy.

Mileage for 2008: 200 miles

2/9

The toughest run of my life, I think.

Distance: 18 miles
Type: Steady state
Course: Hilly, completely snow covered, extremely difficult
Intensity: Easy
Weather: 20's, cloudy

This was really my last chance to get that last long run in. Race is 2 weeks from tomorrow. It was actually my first 18 miler, ever. The entire run was on snow, some ice. No bare ground AT ALL. It was slippery and just so much harder to run through a few inches of snow than normal bare ground. I was smart and wore my Yak Trax so I didn't slip. You know how friggin hard it is to run uphill in snow when you're already really tired?! Ugh. So I did 10 miles out and back, stopped at the house to refill my gatorade. Then a 5 mile loop, then the last 3 miles were on my road, which is actually FLAT. I did feel like I was going to die the last 3 miles. It was just so tiring to keep going through that snow that I was so worn out. I was also obsessing about food in the last 3, well, 5 miles.

I didn't time myslef because I knew it would take me a long time in those conditions and I didn't want to look at a shitty time on my watch. So, that's the last long run before this race. Then, I'll have one long run in between this rac and the next, which I'll probably do 18 miles for as well. Let's hope for better conditions.

Weekly wrap up:
Ran: 43.5 miles
Lifted: x1
Other, snowshoed 1/2 hour, shoveled snow 2.5 hours

2/10

Distance: 4 miles
Type: Steady state
Course: Treadmill
Intensity: Moderate
Weather: Snowing like hell out...about 57 degrees in the gym

.5 warm up, 3 miles at a good clip, .5 cool down. Didn't really feel that hard.

2/11

I almost FORGOT to run today. WTF is wrong with me?

Distance: 6 miles
Type: Speed work
Course: Treadmill
Intensity: Hard
Weather: 55 degrees in the gym...just the way I like it

Felt pretty good. Actually had energy to spare.
.5 warm up
7 200's at 5k pace with 100 meter recoveries
3/4 mile at 5k pace
1/4 mile recovery
Repeat
.75 mile cool down

2/12
Upper body weight training. Kicked some butt.

2/13
Rest day!!

[Boss Man]

I'm glad I don't live where you do, in piles of snow. Shovels and I have this mutual understanding, I don't use one unless absolutely necessary, and most Shovels understand that, and don't make it personal

[SarahPT]

Hahaha. We have gotten more snow this year than we have in probably 50 years!

Sorry for the lack of update. I did run in my race last weekend. I wasn't sure it would happen because I got a nasty dog bite the weekend before. Had to go straight to the ER. I only ended up missing one run because of it.

Here is my report:

Hyannis Half Marathon

After a big breakfast of pancakes I walked the mile and a half from the motel to the start. It was so cold I didn't think I was going to be able to take off my jacked before the start. I found check in. I gave my name and was told I already checked in. Uh, no. They insisted that someone musted have checked me in. I assured them I there was no one there who would have done that. I had to wait a while and they figured it out, gave me another number and chip. So someone out there stoile my identity! Jerk.

I then had to wait in line half an hour for the bathroom. After that there was 10 minutes til start so no warm up. It warmed up enough so I felt safe ditching my jacket.There were at least 3000 people I think? Race started out uphill. Actually, it ended uphill too. How does that work?! I did a lot better this time at taking it easy in the first few miles and not burning myself out. No gatorade until mile 5.5, and actually there weren't many stops at all. I grabbed some on the go 3 times and did not stop at all otherwise. My pace was smooth and I actually felt really good until the last 4 miles. Started getting really rough then. Tummy pain started with just 2 miles left. It was sooo bad, but not bad enough to have to stop. That is an improvement over the past.

There was no shortage of hills, but none were super steep. The course went right along the beach and was insanely beautiful. I finished in2:14:30, which is 4 minutes faster than my previous half, and my fastest half race time, but not my fastest half distance. I did 2:08:28 on my own. I'm still pretty happy with it.

My husband got pics but I can't even find the camera.

I took a whole week off. Man did that feel good! Started back up with running Sunday and with weights yesterday. I'm pumped for my next race.

[Christopheel]

Great to hear !

And for the snow ... same here lol, not in the past 50 years, but compare to the last year err, much more !

[Boss Man]

Sorry for the lack of update.

Why? You have your own life to lead, so don't apologise to us.

Congrats on the time by the way. Good job .

[SarahPT]

Thanks guys!

Things have been very busy for me. I trained hard all March and was ready for my race on Sunday...only to miss it because my alarm never went off!! Grrr! Frustrating. I'm on a little bit of a break now, just running 3x a week and upping my lifting to 3x a week. I start back to training harder on April 21st. At that point running will go back up to 5x a week.

Next race is a 15k in May. I've actually never done a 15k since they aren't very common.

[Boss Man]

The alarm scrwed your race prep up, what a bummer.

As for the 15k, I don't think I've ever heard of one before. It's definitely not a half Marathon distance, as it's about 9.5 miles.

[SarahPT]

This past Sunday was the start of my 20 week out program for my next half marathon. So I'm starting back to running 5 days a week. Mileage will be on the low end for the first couple weeks, so I'll be able to keep lifting 3x a week, then I'll start cutting back.

I've been able to get out on the track for some speed work which feels great. Friday I have my first long run in a while. Just 13 miles though.

Lifting has been going very well. I have consistenly been able to increase weights lifted on everything, so I'm gaining back some strength and a little bit of muscle mass. Of course that will end soon as my mileage goes back up.

All in all I'm feeling great!

[Boss Man]

Good to hear. Pity though you can't find a way to retain more mass whislt endurance training.

Obviously I'm not referring to "certain things", but maybe a change of Protein powder, or more Protein the diet, or something like HMB, to give the body more potential protein usage, which could be catabolically sparing, and reduce Catabolism from endurance stuff.

Must be difficult trying to maintain a balance, between endurance and mass.