I gotta be honest, I've kind of felt like an imposter when I title posts with "Marathon Training" because running less than 20 miles a week really doesn't feel like marathon training. But fortunately, my 9 mile run this morning made me feel a little bit more like a real runner again.
I wasn't expecting much, since I ate a big dinner of taquitos, chile relleno casserole, apple pie, and ice cream (it was a holiday get-together with my husbands family), but I felt surprisingly good this morning! I popped out of bed at 7:30, ate a banana, and hit the road. I'm still living in the Dark Ages (with just a watch and mapmyrun.com...no Garmin) so I had mapped out route that included a few hills (for fun!) and was pretty much exactly 9 miles.
I didn't really check my watch during the run, but was overjoyed to wind up back at my front door in 1:14:11 (8:15 pace!) That's my marathon goal pace, and it felt really good. I knew I was pushing a little, but never felt like I was running a pace I couldn't maintain for a few hours.
So here's how the week ended up:
Tuesday - 4 miles
Thursday - 4 miles
Saturday - 3 miles
Sunday - 9 miles (8:15 pace)
Total: 20 miles
I also did my 8 minutes of core work every day except one, when my abs were so sore I could only hold the plank for like 20 seconds.
This week I'm planning on some speed work at the track. Oooh boy!
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Work the Core
I have SEVERELY neglected my abs the past few months. Moving from hostel to hostel every few nights, frequently with no floor space in the room, made it pretty hard to get my core work in.
But, now we're back to reality. New apartment, new jobs, new marathon to train for, and a middle that's gotten a little soft. So here's what I'm going to do about it. This is inspired by the "Whittle Your Middle" challenge that Angela posted over at Oh She Glows.
Every day for the next 30 days, I'm going to do AT LEAST 8 minutes of core work. Today it looked a little something like this:
1 minute front plank (on elbows)
1 minute bent-leg crunches
1 minute Russian twists
1 minute bicycles
1 minute left side plank (on elbow)
1 minute right side plank (on elbow)
1 minute leg lifts
1 minute back extensions
Fun stuff! I'm a little scared of how sore I'm going to be tomorrow, though!
But, now we're back to reality. New apartment, new jobs, new marathon to train for, and a middle that's gotten a little soft. So here's what I'm going to do about it. This is inspired by the "Whittle Your Middle" challenge that Angela posted over at Oh She Glows.
Every day for the next 30 days, I'm going to do AT LEAST 8 minutes of core work. Today it looked a little something like this:
1 minute front plank (on elbows)
1 minute bent-leg crunches
1 minute Russian twists
1 minute bicycles
1 minute left side plank (on elbow)
1 minute right side plank (on elbow)
1 minute leg lifts
1 minute back extensions
Fun stuff! I'm a little scared of how sore I'm going to be tomorrow, though!
Monday, December 14, 2009
LA Marathon Training Week 1
Well, my sister in law is mighty persuasive... I'm now signed up for the LA Marathon in 14 weeks. YIKES.
My training was a little light this week, but I have two decent excuses - on Tuesday, we flew from Bangkok to Tokyo to Seattle to Portland, and then on Thursday we drove from Portland to San Luis Obispo and were in the car from 5:20 AM to 7:40 PM.
I ran 3 times...
Sunday - 5 miles (in Bangkok, temp = 86 F)
Tuesday (yes, after 18 hours of air travel) - 3.5 in 28:20 (8:05 pace) (in Portland, temp = 12 F)
Friday - 4 miles (in San Luis Obispo, temp = 56 F)
Tuesday's run left me coughing like CRAZY... my body was not prepared for that 74 degree drop in temperature!)
This Sunday I did an easy 7 miles in the rain. I'm definitely going to have to be careful about upping mileage slowly so I don't get injured. LA may not be a BQ race for me, but at least I have a few other chances this year (SF and Portland)!
My training was a little light this week, but I have two decent excuses - on Tuesday, we flew from Bangkok to Tokyo to Seattle to Portland, and then on Thursday we drove from Portland to San Luis Obispo and were in the car from 5:20 AM to 7:40 PM.
I ran 3 times...
Sunday - 5 miles (in Bangkok, temp = 86 F)
Tuesday (yes, after 18 hours of air travel) - 3.5 in 28:20 (8:05 pace) (in Portland, temp = 12 F)
Friday - 4 miles (in San Luis Obispo, temp = 56 F)
Tuesday's run left me coughing like CRAZY... my body was not prepared for that 74 degree drop in temperature!)
This Sunday I did an easy 7 miles in the rain. I'm definitely going to have to be careful about upping mileage slowly so I don't get injured. LA may not be a BQ race for me, but at least I have a few other chances this year (SF and Portland)!
Sunday, December 6, 2009
I think I can...
I was playing around in Google Calendar tonight, casually dropping a tempo run onto one date, a long run onto another, really not considering anything crazy. But then I realized, it's not for 104 more days and that's plenty of time.
I'm going to see how the next few weeks go before I register. After all, we're moving in with the in-laws, looking for jobs, and looking for a place to live, and that may not be conducive to marathon training. But I have always wanted to do the LA Marathon! The great news is, if it looks like it's a no-go, the OC marathon is a few weeks later. Either way, I think a Spring marathon is definitely going to happen!
I'm going to see how the next few weeks go before I register. After all, we're moving in with the in-laws, looking for jobs, and looking for a place to live, and that may not be conducive to marathon training. But I have always wanted to do the LA Marathon! The great news is, if it looks like it's a no-go, the OC marathon is a few weeks later. Either way, I think a Spring marathon is definitely going to happen!
Thursday, December 3, 2009
A Fresh Start
The last few months have had a whole lot of eating, and not enough running. The food carts in Bangkok (and most of the rest of Southeast Asia) are completely irresistible to me, and while delicious, the fare isn't always the healthiest.
In just 5 days, we'll be on a plane home, and I'm already thinking about some goals for once I get there. I haven't stepped on a scale in at least 3 months, and I think I'm about where I was when we left Korea, but I have no idea (kind of scary, not going to lie).
I've also been looking into races for 2010, which I have dubbed "THE YEAR I BQ." Yikes, now I guess I'm going to have to actually do it. So far, I'm interested in the OC Marathon (May), the San Francisco Marathon (July), and the Portland Marathon (October). Whether my IT band will cooperate with these plans remains to be seen, but I'm cautiously optimistic.
It might be a little premature to think about 2010 goals and resolutions, but I think the earlier I can jump on the healthy-eating-consistent-training bandwagon, the better. So, I've got my dailyplate.com log started, my running shoes back into frequent rotation, and I'm beyond psyched to be home!
In just 5 days, we'll be on a plane home, and I'm already thinking about some goals for once I get there. I haven't stepped on a scale in at least 3 months, and I think I'm about where I was when we left Korea, but I have no idea (kind of scary, not going to lie).
I've also been looking into races for 2010, which I have dubbed "THE YEAR I BQ." Yikes, now I guess I'm going to have to actually do it. So far, I'm interested in the OC Marathon (May), the San Francisco Marathon (July), and the Portland Marathon (October). Whether my IT band will cooperate with these plans remains to be seen, but I'm cautiously optimistic.
It might be a little premature to think about 2010 goals and resolutions, but I think the earlier I can jump on the healthy-eating-consistent-training bandwagon, the better. So, I've got my dailyplate.com log started, my running shoes back into frequent rotation, and I'm beyond psyched to be home!
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Running in Bangkok
Hey I'm still alive! We left Korea on October 15th and have been traveling through Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand. I haven't been doing much running, but I'm back at it now and am just starting to put together my racing schedule for 2010...so this blog won't be dead anymore!
I have a feeling Bangkok doesn't make it onto many peoples Favorite Running Cities list. It's hot, it's humid, the traffic is nuts, the sidewalks are uneven, and the air could be a whole lot cleaner. But Bangkok is my favorite city in the world, and actually can be a decent place to run, if you know where to go.
Lumpini Park!
At 5:45 AM this place is PACKED with runners, walkers, and people doing aerobics and tai chi and yoga.
It's a calm oasis in the middle of the city, and even though the running path is only 2.5 kilometers, you can put together a pretty decent workout. Plus I love that every 100 m is marked!
There's also some interesting wildlife... this guy is about 4 feet long!
I think my favorite thing about running in Lumpini Park is that it feels like a party. There's always loud music going for the aerobics classes, and there are tons of people socializing as well as working out.
I love the aerobics classes right by the main gate. I've never participated, but they look like tons of fun!
We fly home to the US in 6 days, and from now until then I plan on running in the park every morning!
How to get there: Take the MRT to Si Lom or the BTS to Sala Daeng. The park is bordered by Rama IV Road and Ratchadamri Road
I have a feeling Bangkok doesn't make it onto many peoples Favorite Running Cities list. It's hot, it's humid, the traffic is nuts, the sidewalks are uneven, and the air could be a whole lot cleaner. But Bangkok is my favorite city in the world, and actually can be a decent place to run, if you know where to go.
Lumpini Park!
At 5:45 AM this place is PACKED with runners, walkers, and people doing aerobics and tai chi and yoga.
It's a calm oasis in the middle of the city, and even though the running path is only 2.5 kilometers, you can put together a pretty decent workout. Plus I love that every 100 m is marked!There's also some interesting wildlife... this guy is about 4 feet long!
I think my favorite thing about running in Lumpini Park is that it feels like a party. There's always loud music going for the aerobics classes, and there are tons of people socializing as well as working out.
I love the aerobics classes right by the main gate. I've never participated, but they look like tons of fun!
We fly home to the US in 6 days, and from now until then I plan on running in the park every morning!
How to get there: Take the MRT to Si Lom or the BTS to Sala Daeng. The park is bordered by Rama IV Road and Ratchadamri Road
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Unpleasantness
There are so many things that can make a run unpleasant. Shorts that ride up, shoes that are too tight, excessive humidity and/or air pollution, deep puddles, heavy traffic, too many stoplights, dogs off-leash, goose poop...
I think we've all experienced many of these things at least a few times over the course of our running lives. But I now have a new item for the list, and this one ranks near the top of the unpleasant scale.
Ginkgo berries.
In biology, when we learned about dioecious plants (species with separate male and female plants), the Ginkgo tree was a popular example. The textbook always said basically "you'll never see a female ginkgo tree planted in the city, because the fruit have an unpleasant odor." What it should have said was "you'll move to Seoul, which is absolutely packed with female Ginkgo trees, and they'll make your runs exceedingly unpleasant for a span of at least 3 weeks" or something to that effect.
It's ginkgo fruit season, kids! That means that not only are the sidewalks littered with little orange fruits that get smashed up and ground into the bottom of your shoes, but the stench they release could take paint off walls, burn the hair in your nostrils, and wake the dead. I'm exaggerating only a little. Any direction I run from my house, I'm bound to run into ginkgo fruit world and the smell that comes with it. It's kind of like vomit mixed with vinegar, and a little hint of rotting flesh thrown in, just to maximize unpleasantness.
The good news is, the season will be ending soon, just as the weather cools off and the humidity goes away. I just hope that the unpleasant things we have to run through make us stronger in the end.
I think we've all experienced many of these things at least a few times over the course of our running lives. But I now have a new item for the list, and this one ranks near the top of the unpleasant scale.
Ginkgo berries.
In biology, when we learned about dioecious plants (species with separate male and female plants), the Ginkgo tree was a popular example. The textbook always said basically "you'll never see a female ginkgo tree planted in the city, because the fruit have an unpleasant odor." What it should have said was "you'll move to Seoul, which is absolutely packed with female Ginkgo trees, and they'll make your runs exceedingly unpleasant for a span of at least 3 weeks" or something to that effect.
It's ginkgo fruit season, kids! That means that not only are the sidewalks littered with little orange fruits that get smashed up and ground into the bottom of your shoes, but the stench they release could take paint off walls, burn the hair in your nostrils, and wake the dead. I'm exaggerating only a little. Any direction I run from my house, I'm bound to run into ginkgo fruit world and the smell that comes with it. It's kind of like vomit mixed with vinegar, and a little hint of rotting flesh thrown in, just to maximize unpleasantness.
The good news is, the season will be ending soon, just as the weather cools off and the humidity goes away. I just hope that the unpleasant things we have to run through make us stronger in the end.
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