223 for May!

223 -- That's my mileage for the month of May!! I just put in a 20 miler after my 18 miler yesterday and I feel great. I won't lie, towards the end of the 20 today, my legs were tired. But NOT sore, which is what matters. I can run through tired, don't want to run through pain.

I'm also happy to report that after yesterdays run, with stomach problems AGAIN, today was great. Here's a run down of both runs.

18 miler:
Ate a few beans around mile 3. At mile 6 I ate peanut butter on bread (100 calories) and took a salt capsule. My stomach started feeling a little funny around 8 but the bathroom at mile 8.5 was closed for cleaning. GRRR. I ate a few more beans around mile 9 and figured I'd hit the port-o-pottie up at mile 12. On the way I ate a few graham crackers in hopes they would settle my stomach, but no such luck. I finally reached the bathroom after what felt like an eternity only to find an over flowing toilet, with no toilet paper. Apparently I'm not the only runner with stomach problems. Knowing I couldn't make it another 3 miles to the bathroom, I drove home a half hour, hit the bathroom and then headed back out for my last 6 miles. Before starting up again, I had 4oz of Ensure and another salt capsule. Over the last 6 miles I ate a few more graham crackers and finished off the pack of beans. My stomach wasn't happy all day.

20 miler:
I took a pop tart cut into 25 calorie portions for toady's run. I ate 2 pieces around mile 3 and some more around mile 10. Aside from the baggie ripping and me leaving a trail of pop tarts, these worked pretty well. And it was a treat to be able to eat a frosted pop tart. Yum!! The other stuff was pretty much the same...100 calorie peanut butter sandwich at mile 7 with a salt capsule and Ensure with a salt capsule at mile 14. I ate a few graham crackers the last 6 miles, too. The only difference between this run and my other runs was that I didn't eat any beans/bloks, etc. I also didn't have hot sauce for dinner last night. :-) I looooove my hot sauce. So I'm going to test this out next week and leave the beans/bloks out and see how I do. It's amazing how much nicer a run is when you don't feel like you are going to poop yourself!!

I finished off the week with a little over 60 miles! I can't believe it. I only went out to 45 miles while training for the marathon and I thought that was a lot. This mileage doesn't feel burdensome at all!! I'm loving it!!

I hope everyone is having a great weekend. I'm heading out with Pumpkin for some cocktails tonight. It's beautiful here, can't wait to get out and enjoy the weather!

Foto Friday - Home Sweet Home

Just some before and after pics of the new house. Still lots to do, like put pictures on the wall, get a new TV stand, etc, but we're getting there.

Living Room/Dining Room BEFORE


Living Room/Dining Room AFTER


Kitchen BEFORE


Kitchen AFTER



Family Room BEFORE


Family Room AFTER


Powder Room BEFORE


Powder Room AFTER

Less Than 8 Weeks

There are less than 8 weeks to go until the Ultra! Part of me feels confident and part of me is "What the f*%# am I about to do?" I am so lucky I stumbled upon Coach Jack because when I registered for this, I was going at it alone. I had no idea what I was getting myself into. At least I know now that Coach is going to have me as prepared as I can be. It's also great to be training with other Lone Rangers (Coach is one of them) and know I'll have company on race day. I'm really going to start buckling down and watching my overall nutrition and health over the next month and a half. I want to go into this feeling great and in prime health. So yes, that might mean no more champagne. *tears*

As far as miles, I'm nearing my maximum weekly mileage and still feeling great. I really thought running every day after work would be difficult but it's working out just fine. Mentally and physically I'm doing great. I went through some burn out training for Philly marathon, but so far I haven't experienced anything like that. The only thing that is a little stressful is trying to figure out my weekend plans so I still have a little bit of a life (and more importantly, that Andy still has a life). The back to back long runs (and the upcoming 30-33 milers) really effect my weekend so I'm trying to plan things around them. Believe it or not, I'm actually looking forward to the 30 mile runs. So curious to see how I feel after 6 hours of running! YIKES!!

Here's my schedule for this week:
Mon - 4 mi (5:1) -- easy run to recover from the back to back 18s
Tues - 6 mi
Wed - 7 mi (5:1)
Thurs - 5 mi
Fri - 18 mi (5:1)
Sat - 20 mi (5:1)
Sun - Off

Beaming!

I wasn't going to post today but I'm beaming after my second 18 mile run for the weekend. I was originally suppose to do 18 and 13, but added 5 miles on today. I feel GREAT!!! My legs were definitely tired around mile 15 and transitioning back to running after the walk breaks was getting harder and harder as the miles ticked away, but I actually finished with 18.3 miles for today. I came home, took an ice bath, laid down for a few and now I'm up and ready to go! These back to back 18 milers really boosted my confidence. Training for Philly, an 18 mile run would have me relaxing and off from running the next day. Not during Ultra training, though!!

Nutrition testing went better today, too. I took 2-100 calorie portions of peanut butter on bread and ate one of those at mile 6 with a salt capsule. At mile 12 I had a few sips of Ensure and another salt capsule. Along the way, in between those pit stops, I ate some beans and my last 2 Gu chomps. At one point I did feel full and sloshy inside, but that passed. I think salt capsules helped with that. I also noticed that my feet and hands didn't swell like they normally do and my arms and fingers didn't go stiff on me. My arms and fingers usually feel so stiff during a long run, even when I shake them out every few miles.

So all in all...GREAT weekend runs, with the exception of the explosive stomach yesterday!!! I am now officially going to start my weekend! And you all know what that means...mmmm, champagne!!

One long run down, one more to go...

Had an early wake up call this morning for my 18 mile run. We were meeting at 6am to start, so I set the alarm for 4:30am. With only 8 weeks to go, I really need to get serious about figuring out what foods I'm going to eat and be able to tolerate during the Ultra. My goal is to consume around 200 calories an hour so I have to practice this over the next few weeks to figure out what works for me. So, today was about experimentation. I did learn one thing...I don't think I can handle fig newtons while running.

We were meeting at a beautiful park which has a 6 mile loop around a lake. Before I left, I ate my standard bowl of plain oatmeal with honey and I felt great when we started. At around mile 4, I ate 2 Gu Chomps. Have you guys tried these? They are easier to chew than a Clif blok and I thought they tasted pretty good (tried the strawberry). Typical nutrition facts...90 calories per 4 pieces with 50mg sodium, 40mg potassium and 23g carbohydrate.

At mile 6 when we were back at the car, I refilled my water bottle and ate a fig newton. Also grabbed one for the go and ate that about mile 7 or so. I repeated this on the next loop but also added a salt capsule into the mix. Since I only drink water when I run, Coach Jack wants me to try these since I'm not getting any electolytes. On my last loop my stomach started feeling funny and by mile 16, I was feeling lousy. Getting the chills on and off and really uncomfortable. With less than a 1/4 mile to go, I had to stop and take a walk break to try to calm my stomach. I was able to finish up with a run to the car and was glad I didn't have any further to go! After the run I drank one of these EAS Myoplex shakes Nicole sent me to review. I tried the chocolate and really liked it!! I'm not a fan of protein shakes, etc because they always taste gritty or something to me, but not this one. You're suppose to drink it within 30 minutes of working out to help refuel and rebuild lean muscle. The shakes are low in fat, 2.5g, with 210 calories, 25g carbohydrate, 25g protein and 23 vitamins and minerals.

I thought my stomach was calm enough so I headed home without hitting the bathroom at the park. Yea, well I totally underestimated how close I live to the park. The ride home was TERRIBLE. I thought I was going to die!!! I came screaming into the driveway, broke the door down trying to get in and sprinted to the bathroom. But thankfully, I made it!!! It would have been ugly if I didn't...

I'm suppose to run 12 miles tomorrow but after talking with Coach Jack today, I might do another 18. Back to back 18's!!! Woo hoo!! We talked about my stomach upset and Coach thinks I need to try more liquid nutrition while I run. So tomorrow, I'm going to try some sips of Ensure and maybe try little bites of a peanut butter sandwich for later in the run. I will be sticking with the salt capsules, too.

After the long run tomorrow, I'm going to treat myself to some fun. We're heading to a cook out at a friends house. Hopefully the weather will be as nice as today. Hope everyone is having a great long weekend!

Sense of Relief

Let me start off by saying this blog will NOT turn into a pity party for me and my issues. But I felt the urge to follow up once more to my last two posts in the hopes it might help one of you who said you suffer from similar problems. I had my appointment today with the therapist and I don't know how they do it, or what they do, but I left there with such a sense of relief. I was a nervous wreck walking in there not knowing if I'd be able to talk about everything and walked out feeling like there's a light at the end of the tunnel. The appointment was emotional, draining and eye opening. Some things were said that I liked and some that I didn't like. But I was brutally honest with her and laid all my last secrets out on the table. It's funny, I haven't been to her in months but the sense of trust was still there. Overall, I feel we made some progress today. I'll be going back to her regularly for a little while and that in itself is very reassuring. This will be a battle I face forever, but I'm determined to fix some things and learn how to cope. So for all you out there, please consider talking to someone. You won't lose a thing by trying and it can make the biggest difference.

You all know how mortified I was to publish that original post, right? Well she asked what my shame level was on a scale of 1-5 at the end of the appointment. I told her that 3 days ago, it was an 9. Walking in to see her, a 6. Leaving the appointment, a 3. Right now, I'm feeling even better...

Andy is cooking dinner for me tonight while I'm out for my run. I can't wait to spend a quiet night at home with him and feel relaxed for the first time all week.

Thanks

I was completely floored by the comments I received to my post the other day. Honestly, that was the hardest thing for me to write about. While I was out for a run that night, I decided to take the post down when I got home. But once I saw all the comments, I couldn't do it. I'm sad for those who said they have similar problems, some too scared to talk about it or get help. We don't have to live like this but I definitely agree taking the first step to get help is the hardest. I have my appointment tomorrow and to be honest, I'm really nervous I'm not going to have the guts to bring this up. For some reason, I can't bring myself to talk about it out loud. Maybe I'll just bring my post and let her read it. Anyway, thanks to everyone for their kind and supportive words. I can't believe how supportive complete strangers can be and I really appreciate each and every one of your comments.

Now back to what this blog is suppose to be about...running has been going well this week. I have 54 miles on tap for the week with back to back long runs again. I ran 7 miles on Monday with the 5:1 run/walk ratio and when I was done, I didn't even feel like I had run. It's so nice to be getting the miles in without killing myself and feeling so beat up. I honestly feel great! I didn't feel nearly this good while training for Philly and I was running less miles. The rest of my runs this week, with the exception of the long runs, are just normal runs. Here's my schedule for the week:

Mon - 7 (5:1)
Tues - 5
Wed - 6
Thurs - 5
Fri - Off
Sat - 19 (5:1)
Sun - 12 (5:1)

28 in 24!!

After my fabulous 18 miler on Friday, I ran a bunch of errands with Andy and got us ready for our little weekend getaway. But before we could hit the road on Saturday, I had to get my second long run done. I headed out around 5:30am and went to a local park which has a one mile gravel path. Going round and round for 10 miles didn't sound ideal, but Coach Jack told me it would help build the mental toughness I'm going to need for the Ultra in July. For the Ultra, I'll be running a 8.4 mile loop...6 times. Since I'm all about mental toughness, I got started. I was pretty sore/stiff the first half mile but after that I loosened up and felt great. After 5 miles I turned around and ran the loop in the other direction to change things up. Surprisingly, the repeated loops didn't bother me at all and I had a great run. There definitely is something to this 5:1 run/walk ratio. At the end of the run I felt incredible and could have done more. BUT having run 28 miles in under 24 hours, I was ready for some fun!!

After the run I showered up and we hit the road to head to Rehoboth Beach for an overnight with some friends. The weather was perfect and it was just great to see the beach! I love being back on the east coast because in just a short drive you can have your feet in the sand!! We tooled around the local shops, stopping in a few places for a beer and then headed out to dinner at Dogfish Head Brewery. We were up early this morning for a little walk in the quiet town and then we headed home. Today is my first rest day in 12 days and I'm about to go take my second nap for the day. Need to take full advantage of this! Here are a few pics from the night.

Me and KT

Frat Boy, KT, me and Andy

(of course, I'm drinking champagne!)

A sunburned, bald, Pimp Daddy

FABULOUS 18 miler!

Since I'm pressed for time tomorrow I decided to up my miles today from 15 to 18. That leaves me with 10 to do tomorrow morning, which will be much more manageable. I headed out around 6:30am this morning and it was already nice and humid out. For the Ultra training, my back to back long runs are ran at a 5:1 run/walk ratio. Every 5 minutes, I walk for one minute and use that minute to eat and drink. Today I ate Clif shot bloks with caffeine at mile 7 and these really hit the spot. I try to stay away from the caffeine, but thought I'd be ok eating only 3 bloks. Around mile 12 I was feeling hungry so I tried a honey stinger for the first time. Have you guys tried these?? I was pleasantly surprised. It went down much easier than a gel or gu and tasted MUCH better. One pouch has 120 calories, 50mg sodium, 85mg potassium and 29g carbohydrate. Having issues with gels in the past, I was a little worried to try this but it sat in my stomach just fine. I'll be using these again.

I also wore Wright Socks today. Another nice find!! Wright Socks sent me a pair to try out and I was more than happy to do so. While I've always been a huge fan of Balaga socks, these Wright Socks might be my new fav. My blood blister which has been bothering me since Broad street actually didn't bother me today. There must be something to these double layer socks!! From the packaging, "the air space between the layers acts as an insulator from cold and heat - resulting in a friction free, cool, dry environment." The socks are also "blister free - GUARANTEED." Can't beat that!!

So overall, I just had a great run!! It was a beautiful, peaceful morning and the best part of it all, at the end, I could have kept going...

Challenges

Why do I always need some sort of challenge for myself? This morning I found myself looking at detox diets, cleansing, etc. This on top of reading about eating raw lately. I came to the conclusion that neither of those options were for me so I started trying to think of some other challenge I could do. Apparently training for an Ultra isn't enough. I was thinking of eliminating processed foods, but I don't really eat any to begin with. Then I thought about counting calories, counting Weight Watchers points, etc. Then it hit me...why are all the challenges food related? Why can't I let go of this obsessiveness? So, I decided that I'm going to try to turn this around and make a little challenge for next week that isn't food related. Instead, I'm going to study for at least a half hour every day no matter what. I intend to do more when I have time, but at the very least, I'll get a solid half hour in. I've been struggling to get back on track with the studying since we moved, so hopefully this is the kick in the azz I need.

I had a big jump in mileage this week and will be running 49 miles. This is actually more than I ran when training for the Philly marathon. So far the week has been going well and I'm feeling good. I'll see my first rest day after 12 consecutive days of running on Sunday, which couldn't come at a better time. We're heading to the Dogfish Head Brewery this weekend for some warm weather and cocktails so I'll be able to have some fun on Saturday knowing I'm not running the following morning.

The back to back long runs have started. Last week I had a 16 followed by a 7, which wasn't bad at all. Here's my schedule for this week:

Mon - 6
Tues - 4
Wed - 7
Thurs - 4
Fri - 15
Sat - 13
Sun - off

Rudi's Organic Bakery Review

Rudi's Organic Bakery recently sent me some goodies to try out. They sent organic spelt English muffins, 7 Grain with flax bread and two types of wraps.

I'm going to start with the English muffins because these were my favorite! I don't know the last time I had an English muffin, honestly. I love them but scared of the carbs, I tend to stay away from things like that. Well, I couldn't stay away from these puppies! Each muffin has 120 calories, 1.5g fat, 5g of protein and no artificial ingredients or preservatives. I loved the taste the spelt provided in the muffins and the texture was so soft and fresh. And a little tidbit of information, spelt has higher levels of protein and fiber than wheat and the gluten in spelt can often be easier to digest by those sensitive to wheat.

Next up, the 7 grain with flax bread. I didn't get to have too much of this as Andy dove right in and used it up. He did save me 2 slices, which I toasted and enjoyed with natural peanut butter. Each slice has 100 calories, 2g fat, 4g fiber and 4g protein. You could actually see the pieces of different grains in the bread. I liked the nutty taste and texture of this bread and it really filled me up.

I also tried multi grain and 7 grain with flax wraps. While the wraps were good, they were a little big and a tad dry for me. Each variety provides 5g of protein per wrap, though, which I thought was pretty good. I ate these with my salads for lunch in place of my La Tortilla factory wraps and I have to say, Rudi's wraps held me over much longer.

Overall, all the products were good and I enjoyed them. However, I think you can find equally good products in your local grocery store. Since I've had similar tasting products that were just as good, I'm giving Rudi's 5 biscuits.

Mother's Day

Whew! We survived hosting Mother's Day at our new house. To tell you a little secret, I could get used to this. I LOVED having everyone over and I was sad to see everyone leave. Not much to say, but here are some pictures...

My mom playing hide-n-seek with my nephews. Come on, you gotta love her! (p.s. this pic was NOT taken at my house...I don't hang dead animals on my walls)

One of many housewarming presents from my parents. I've been DYING for a good food processor!!

Another gift from my mom...ahhh, this feels GREAT!

My dad and his girlfriend. Lainey LOVES him.

My sister Jeanette and her beautiful family!!

My mom and her girls!!

Ahhh, the weekend

Geesh, where did the week go?? Thankfully, it was a fast week and I'm ready for the weekend. I'll be hosting Mother's Day at my house this Sunday and I'm really looking forward to it. It's been since, well, forever, since I was able to host a family get together. Now that we have the new house, my sisters were kind enough to nominate me to be the hostess. Aren't sisters great?

I've been running every day since Tuesday and will keep on going through this Sunday. Yesterday I wasn't exactly enthusiastic about getting out there for my 7 miler after work, but I did it. During the run I thought to myself how crazy it was that I wasn't in the mood to run and there I was at mile 5 already. When I got back, I couldn't believe I was gone for an hour. Time really flies when I'm running.

I had 3 miles on the schedule for today so I decided to get up and run this morning. That wayI could have my evening free to run errands. It wasn't the best 3 miler but I got through it and now I'm looking forward to my 16 mile run tomorrow with Coach Jack. I REALLY look forward to the long weekend runs. What has become of me? I look forward to staying in on a Friday night and then running 16 miles the following morning. No, I'm not a loser...

First Ultra Training Run

I just got back from my first Ultra training run. It was really different. Since it's not realistic to run all 50 miles on race day, training involves run/walk intervals. Today I ran 6 miles and every 5 minutes, I walked 1 minute very fast. Pretty much as fast as I could walk without breaking into a run. The first walk session was really weird. My shins hurt and I felt like I was walking like a robot. Once I started running again, it felt so much better. But each walk session got more comfortable and I have to say, I felt great after the run. I thought it would be a long 6 miles but it actually went so fast. On top of the walking, I was suppose to average a 9:45 pace, including the walking. It's still hard to keep a slower pace but I'm doing what I'm told and hoping I see the benefits of training in my fat burning zone!!

My 16 miler on Saturday will be run the same way with the 5:1 run:walk ratio. I'm really curious to see how I feel after that one.

Ok, that's all...have a good night!

Broad Street Race Report

Yesterday I ran the Broad Street 10 miler. This is the biggest (over 26,000 runners this year) and fastest 10 mile race in the country. With the exception of a few gradual inclines, the race is primarily flat and downhill and is a really fun race going through the city of Philadelphia.

I got a great night sleep but woke up to pouring rain. Thankfully, it was in the upper 50's so it wasn't too cold out. I ate some plain oatmeal, got dressed and headed out to meet my carpool buddies. I bought a disposable rain coat at an Expo a while back and never wore it so I pulled that out and it worked great.

By the time we arrived at the start, the rain had stopped. It started drizzling really lighting right when the gun went off but it wasn't bad at all. At least we didn't have to stand around in the rain before the race started. I was in the first corral and what usually is a disaster trying to get around other runners and settle into your pace was not an issue this year. This was the first year they used the corral system and it worked out really well from where I was seeded. I heard it was really crowded towards the back corrals, though. I really wanted to concentrate on running a controlled race and not pooping out by going out too fast. I settled into my pace right off the bat and felt great. The first 3 miles of the race flew by and mentally, I was doing great. At mile 5 I ate some beans hoping they would give me a little kick for the end. Everything was going great but at mile 7 I hit a bad spot. Mentally I was struggling. My body was feeling fine and could keep going, but my head was playing games with me. I just thought I wasn't going to be able to do it. Which is so weird because I run longer than this every weekend. I don't know why I psyche myself out like this. But I kept telling myself I just had to make it to mile 8. At that point, I'd have one mile to go before I could kick in what I had left and finish strong. When mile 9 came along, I was feeling much better. I held back until about a 3/4 of a mile to go, then I sprinted to the finish. I finished with a time of 1:18: 11, which is EXACTLY one minute faster than last year. According to my garmin, (which isn't working right...the mode button won't work!), I averaged a 7:47. I am really happy with the PR but I feel like I had more in me. I still have a lot to learn regarding how much I can push myself, etc. I feel pretty good this morning, with the exception of a little headache from my celebrating yesterday. My knees are a little stiff, and I have a nice blood blister, but the rest of me feels fine.

I woke up to an email from Coach Jack this morning. Ultra training starts tomorrow!! My weekly mileage will really start increasing from here and in a few weeks I'll be averaging over 50 miles per week. Here's my schedule for this week, 41 miles:

Mon - off
Tues - 6 mi
Wed - 3 mi
Thurs - 7 mi
Fri - 3 mi
Sat - 16 mi
Sun - 6 mi

Woo hoo

I PR'd at Broad Street!! Enjoying brunch and champagne right now and I feel great! Ready to run another 10! Race report coming soon.

Starting NOW

I'm quitting it with the snacking. Throughout the move and now that we're in the new house, I've gotten so lax about eating at night. I'm starting my own little May challenge, if anyone wants to join me. Since I know I can't go to bed hungry with the running I'm doing and going to be doing, for the month of May I'm going to get into the habit of measuring out a single serving. No more eating peanut butter out of the jar, or dry cereal out of the box. If I'm going to sit down with a snack at night, I'm going to take ONE serving. If I'm still hungry before I go to bed, then I'll reevaluate what I'm eating during the day versus how much I'm running and make adjustments.

I've been weighing myself lately and I'm 3 lbs above where I was for marathon training. I'd ideally like to get back there and then lose 3 more lbs. We'll see if measuring out snacks helps. I have a feeling it might. I know this is my trouble spot.

Sorry for the rant, but I had to get this out there so I hold myself to it.