Half-Marathon Schedule and a thought..

Week	Mon	Tues	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat	Sun	Total
1	3- Arms	x train	3	3 Hills	Rest	4	Rest	13
2	4x400 IW	Strength	4	3 Hills	Rest	5	Rest	14
3	3-Arms	x train	4	3 Hills	Rest	6	Rest	16
4	5x400 IW	Strength	5	3 Hills	Rest	8	Rest	18.5
5	3-Arms	x train	5	3 Hills	Rest	10	Rest	21
6	6x400 IW	Strength	5	4 Hills	Rest	11	Rest	23
7	4-Arms	x train	6	4 Hills	Rest	12	Rest	26
8	7x400 IW	Strength	5	4 Hills	Rest	9	Rest	21.5
9	3-Arms	x train	4	3	Rest	8	Rest	18
10	3	Strength	3	Walk 2	Rest	13.1	Rest	21.1

 

IW: Interval workout: one lap hard running, one cool down lap, repeat.

x train: Kinect Your shape fitness evolved, Biggest Loser, Jillian Michaels 30 day shred, elliptical, Zumba, Spin class

Strength train: Kinect Your Shape fitness evolved strength workouts, Rec center weight machines.

Hills: run/walk in Wakefield or Wynngate subdivision or treadmill.

Saturday runs: downtown or River park off of concord road

 

I'm still debating whether or not to retire this blog. I feel like not many people read it and my other blog has the word "Run" in the title, so I have been writing about running also. Please comment if you want me to keep this one up or if you think one blog is enough to keep up with. Checkout http://teachrunlove.blogspot.com for my update on this week's progress. I'm on week 2 for my training schedule. 

Training update and a review

Hey Ya'll! Sorry I've been absent lately..my time has been taken up by my newer (updated) blog Teach.Run.Love. Anyways onto the training recap...

2 weeks ago was a flop..kinda just did Zumba and Kinect fitness games.

Last week was more productive I feel:
Monday: Arms and shoulders work out with a Self magazine pull out.
Tuesday: Zumba
Wednesday: Rest
Thursday: 5x400 Interval run that ended up being 3 miles total with a warm up and cool down
Friday: Rest
Saturday: 6 miles with friend Heather.
Sunday: rest

I need to do more on those rest days...maybe light walking, a kinect work out or something!

Onto the review: Gu gels and Power Bar energy gel blasts

First off, Gu gels. Heather and I tried out several before the Women's half this past September. We tried them on our last long run of 11 miles. We each had a different flavor and shared them. She had the chocolate outrage and I had vanilla bean.

The chocolate was much better than the Vanilla, in my opinion. The Chocolate Outrage tasted like chocolate syrup. The vanilla had a weird consistency. When taking these, I had to have a swig of water immediately. The Women's Half were providing gu at the 8 mile marker. On their site, they listed the Gu flavors they were going to be passing out and I was excited that the Chocolate Outrage was going to be handed out. Unfortunately, they were wrong and I took the vanilla anyways. I didn't even finish it because my hand held water bottle was empty and there wasn't a water stop close by. I will be trying some different flavors this time around but will probably be taking my own Gu gel in my iftiness belt for future half marathons that I do to make sure I have a flavor I like.

I've also tried Power bar Energy Gel Chews.

I've tried the Strawberry Banana and the Raspberry. I like the Raspberry better, but they are both good! They give you a little boost and between Heather and I, we took the whole pack, which is about 12 or so chews. They remind me of gushers fruit chews for grown ups!

Week 2 of New Training!

Last week was so crazy because of the snow. Which means lots of treadmill runs=ok for the first few miles..then totally boring!

Sunday Jan 9th-I did an hour Zumba class with my friend Amy! We had a blast!
Monday- Snow day and did 45 minutes of Kinect games (dance central and your shape fitness evolved-arms and shoulders) for Cross training.
Tuesday- Snow day and I played kinect games again..didn't want to trek it down to the fitness room of our townhouse neighborhood.
Wednesday- Snow day- suppose to be a rest day but I needed to do my 4x400 Interval training, so I went down to the workout room and ran all the the times I needed to! I was so tired afterwards but it was such a great workout!
Thursday- was suppose to do 3 miles but did 45 minutes of Your Shape Fitness Evolved cardio kickboxing, nice and easy routine, some gym games, and zen (don't like the zen...so silly)
Friday-Rest day...went back to school and then babysat for the cutest little boy again! Love playing with an almost 18 month old!
Saturday- Friend Heather came down to our house and we went to the Saturn Plant trail to do our 6 miles...we did one lap and much of it was still covered with ice, so we came back here to the treadmills....they were terrible!! I think one of them isn't calibrated or just really old, so they were awful and we decided to only do 2 miles on them and then we finished 3 miles outside in my neighborhood. It was a terrible run.



Stayed tuned for some upcoming reviews on some products that I own and love and book reviews!

Week 1 of new training

I started out fresh this week on my half-marathon training plan.
Monday- 35minutes cross training with The Biggest Loser Kinect game. It was a wonderful workout. Made me sweat a lot and it was fun!
Tuesday- Ran outside around our neighborhood for a 30 minute tempo run which ended up being more of a run/walk. I ended up going a little less than 2 miles.
Wednesday- REST (aka report card night where I watched 3 movies and did report cards for my sweet little first graders, I had to give them report cards Thursday)
Thursday- 45 minute spin class at the Longview Rec center! I LOVED IT! I am definitely going to get back into spin class. The only downfall to the class that night was the music was up a little too loud and I couldn't hear the instructor very well and since we spin in a dark room with a black light on, it was kind of hard to see her too. Next time should be better!
Friday- Rest. We hung out with friends and played games.
Saturday- Heather and I went to Concord Road park trails and did 5 miles in 1 hour and 24 minutes in 28 degree weather and snowing. It was really really cold but I'm glad we accomplished it. Next time, we will be treadmilling it if it is snowing and that cold! :)
Sunday- not sure yet, probably do some cross training with one of my kinect games. All depends on when we get home from church/afternoon plans and such.

It was a great week so far and I hope to do a review soon!

Welcoming a new year!

Hello, 2011! You are going to be the best year yet!

I want to first start off by sharing some fitness goals and personal goals!

Fitness goals:
1. Lose 15-20 pounds and tone up/ eat healthier.
2. Complete 4 races this year (2 of which being half marathons)
3. Cross and strength train along with my half marathon training plan.
4. Be able to run more of my walk/run method!

Personal goals:
1. Be the best Christian , wife, and teacher I can be (staying positive, daily devotionals, devotions with Derek daily, getting more involved with our church)
2.Read more books this year. 7 minimum.
3. Keep saving money into our emergency fund and house fund.
4.Cook more healthier home cooked meals.
5. Blog more on this blog and my picture/life in general blog.


Here's to you, 2011! Let the games begin!

Inverval Workout

Tonight was my first experience doing an interval workout. Training schedule says to do a 4x400 with a 400 walk in between the hard run 400. A total of 2 miles. Since I don't have anyone to do a track workout with and since I'm not sure where the closest high school is to my house, I did it on the treadmill. I did it in 29:30! It was a challenge toward the end but I did not give up and I pushed through!


Derek got me an early Christmas present and it is another way I can cross train!!! Check out his review of the Kinect here.

Woo Hoo!!!!!!!!!!!!! I absolutely love it! It is so much fun and such a good workout!

I also made a trip to the Nike outlet and Reebok outlet this past Saturday and that post of all the goodies I bought will be coming soon!!!! Be on the look out!

A fresh new start

I started a new half marathon training plan this week. I am not running another half until late April but I want to improve my time and be able to run more of it, so I want to go through this 12 week training program twice before the Country Music Half.

Week	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
1	CT	30 min tempo	Rest	3 mi	Rest	5 mi	2 mi EZ
2	CT	4 x 400 IW	Rest	3 mi	Rest	6 mi	2.5 mi EZ
3	CT	35 min tempo	2 mi	3 mi	Rest	7 mi	2 mi EZ
4	CT	5 x 400 IW	Rest	4 mi race pace	Rest	7 mi	3 mi EZ
5	CT	35 min tempo	3 mi	3 mi race pace	Rest	8 mi	3 mi EZ
6	CT	6 x 400 IW	3 mi	4 mi race pace	2 miles EZ	Rest	10K race
7	CT	40 min tempo	Rest	4 mi race pace	Rest	9 mi	3 mi EZ
8	CT	6 x 400 IW	3 mi	3 mi race pace	Rest	10 mi	3 mi EZ
9	CT	45 min tempo	3 mi	4 mi race pace	Rest	11 mi	Rest
10	CT	7 x 400 IW	4 mi	3 mi race pace	Rest	12 mi	3 mi EZ
11	CT	45 min tempo	Rest	3 mi race pace	Rest	5 mi	2.5 mi EZ
12	Rest	4 mi	30 minutes 10K pace	2 mi	Rest	20 minutes	Race Day!

Crossing-training (CT): Cross-training activities allow you to give your joints and running muscles a break, while still working on your cardio. When the schedule calls for CT, do a cardio activity other than running (biking, swimming, elliptical trainer) at moderate effort for 45 to 60 minutes.
Tempo Run: Tempo runs help you develop your anaerobic threshold, which is critical for faster racing. For a 40-minute tempo run, for example, start your run with 5 to 10 minutes of easy running, then continue with 15 to 20 minutes of running at about a 10K pace. Finish with 5 to 10 minutes of cooling down. If you're not sure what your 10K pace is, run at a pace that feels "comfortably hard."
Interval workouts (IW): After a warm-up, run 400 meters (one lap around most tracks) hard, then recover by jogging or walking 400 meters. For example, 3 x 400 would be three hard 400s, with a 400 m recovery in between.
Rest: Rest is critical to your recovery and injury prevention efforts, so don't ignore rest days. Your muscles actually build and repair themselves during your rest days. If you run every day without taking days off, you won't see much improvement. Fridays are a good day for rest, as you'll have run on Thursday and will have your longest run of the week on Saturday.
Saturday long runs: After you warm up, run at a comfortable pace for the designated mileage. Make sure you cool down and stretch after your run. If most of your runs are on the road, and you're not sure how far you run, you can figure out the mileage by using resources such as MapMyRun.com. Or, you can always drive your route in your car ahead of time and measure the mileage using your car odometer.
Sundays: This is an active recovery day. Your run should be at an easy (EZ), comfortable pace, which helps loosen up your muscles.

Credit to http://running.about.com/od/halfmarathonprograms/a/interhalf.htm

For cross training days, I plan to switch it up doing Jillian Michaels 30 day Shred, Spinning Class, Zumba, and strength straining. If you have any other good ideas for cross training, I'd love to hear suggestions.

Also, I need to purchase cold weather running gear. Specifically under armor leggings, a a few shirts/fleece, gloves.

That's all for now...I'm going to be better at this!