RIP Bug...

Yuck, it finally happened....

A bug flew into my eye while running! I should also preface this post by saying that I am horribly scared of any creepy, crawly creature, expecially bugs and spiders.

Well, I should say that actually 3 perished while on my run, but the first was definately the worst. I dont know how this hasnt happened to me before, but I sure paid for it on this run!

While running 6.2 around a local park, I was cruising along at a good sub-9/mile pace when something hit my eye. I quickly stopped and started blinking, but I could see it was HUGE. Since I hate bugs and are terrified of them, I frantically started clawing at my eye to get the thing out. Literally about 3 minutes later I felt it and tried to get it out with my finger (so gross!) but only a small portion of the bug came out! Without getting too graphic and grossing myself out more, pieces of the bug kept coming out of my eye during the rest of my run.

If you cannot tell already, sadly, the bug did not make it.

I guess there are just not too many bugs to fly in my face in the city. And that I am extremely thankful for!

Sorry for the gross post. Happy (bug free) running!

Thank You :)

After having an exceptionally crappy day, I found this waiting for me in my mailbox:

An AWESOME gift pack from Julie over at Minnesota Mileage!

The goodie pack included:

• A lovely note :)
• 2 Powerbar Energy Gels in Strawberry Banana
• Pack of Jelly Belly Sports Beans in Fruit Punch
• A Starbucks gift card

So amazing! I am new to the bloggy world, and this is the first thing that was sent to me. If you all are not familiar with Julie, she is a super-speedy bloggy runner who has completed many 5k, 10k and half marathons, but she is now training for her first full marathon! She not only sent this awesome gift pack, but has supported me since the beginning of my blog. Thanks Julie :) 

Not only are the gifts amazing, but the Powerbar Gel is a flavor that I have not tried yet, and I have never had Sports Beans (which I found out my other Step-Sis is working the Sports Beans booth at one of my upcoming races!) Product reviews to come!

Perfect for my 10 miler this week and a new product review!

This is my excited face, haha. I'm a huge dork....

On a running side note, I went for a quick 4 miler and realized that I didnt start my Garmin! Boo! I run with my iPhone and took a call a few minutes into the run.....but I never stopped running. I ended up running my 4 mile loop (with hills) at a 10:00 pace and without stopping and talking the entire time! I might have sounded funny on the phone, but she knew I was running, so I think it was fine. I could have gone faster, but I probably would have run into something or someone while talking and with my headphones in. I also probably had quite a few funny looks in my direction (I probably looked like I was chatting with myself, haha). Oh well, I got the run and the call in!

Happy running and thanks again Julie! :)

Back Blogging

Yet again, I was a bad blogger yesterday :( Yet, thanks to the wonders of Blogger, I can post this yet put a different time and date on it (sneaky, sneaky!)

 

Anyways, I went for a lovely 8 miler today (well, yesterday, but you get the hint!) I did a 4 mile loop twice that included several hills. It has been my regular loop now for the past 2 weeks, and it can be pretty challenging to get a sub-9 mile pace for the entirety of the run. I realized that the Seattle Rock N Roll Half is coming up in a few weeks, and I need to start running my longer training runs!

I ended up running an additional hill, but finishing 8 miles at a 9:15 pace. Not bad, and definitely an improvement over the last few longer runs, but not at my goal yet!! grr.....

It was also an extremely dark and stromy day again in Seattle, with periods of sunshine. My kind of run (but not tanning/summer weather!)

This picture doesnt do it justice!!

Why cant it just be sunny like this all the time??

B-E-A-utiful!

Alright, well I am a cheese-ball. Hope you all are enjoying summer weather somewhere and getting your longer runs in :) and not back-blogging like me!

Running on Builders Bars!

After reading the article I posted yesterday about the guy who runs on bananas, I keep thinking about the runs I have accomplished lately and trying to figure out which runs were more successful than others and why. I have come to the conclusion that he might be able to run only on bananas, but I could probably run only on Builders Bars!

On all of the runs that I have done lately (hill runs or just regular runs around the neighborhood) my speed and energy level seems to go with how much protein I have had that day. Usually this means if I had a Builder's Bar earlier that day or not. Even just yesterday I ran 6 miles and was completely dragging. I not only ran one of my slowest paces in months (9:45/mile) but I had no protein in my system. Today I had a Builders Bar and ran 5 miles at a 8:55/pace including hills. That is a huge difference!!

I don't think I would go as far as eating ONLY Builders Bars (I would need coffee, GU and Hefeweizen in the mix too!), but one a few hours before a long run seems to give me better results. More on my review of Builder's Bars here.

Is there anything that you HAVE to eat before a long run or race?

Happy running :)

Halfway to the goal!

While entering my miles into my RunningAHEAD log, I noticed that I have logged over 500+ miles this year! Plus, as you know, it's only MAY! Woo hoo! I am officially over halfway to my goal of 1,000 miles in 2010! So exciting!

Aside from that, I have been keeping up my miles during this busy week. My last few workouts are below:

Monday: ran 4 in 35:00
Wednesday: ran 8 in 1:12:00
Thursday: ran 7.5 in 1:10:00

For those of you keeping track, the average pace on the Thursday run was 8:37/mile! That is a lot faster than my normal 9:00/mile pace. I'm not sure what is going on, but I'll take it! I read somewhere that to notice a difference in running you just have to keep at it and your time will slowly slowly get better. It seems that it is taking about 4-5 months of consistent training to lose half a minute per mile on my pace. Has anyone else noticed this too? I might just be slower than others :)

Hope everyone is having a good week! Happy running!

Whoa Grandma!

While looking at the news this morning, my eyes noticed the words "run" and "marathon" which usually isn't front page news on MSN. The article's headline was "Grandma runs 27 marathons in 27 days." I thought it might be a joke, but it was true!

Meet Rosie Swale Pope, a 67 year old grandmother who just ran 27 marathons in 27 days! The article here describes her month or consecutive marathons across the UK, and how she originally planned on running 26, but decided to do another marathon as her "victory lap." Wow.

"I think the main thing is to show people that they should reach out to do what they want to do.

"Maybe you can't always get there but you should always reach out.

"Although I am actually 63 doing something like this makes me feel as though I am really 36."

After googling Rosie, I came across her website. Apparently she also took 5 years off and literally ran around the world! Here is a picture of her route:

Not only that, but she started her run at the age of 57! Now I'm thinking about getting her book. She is truly an inspiration. Who inspired you today??

Marathon Inspiriation

Okay a little late to post on this, but how exciting was Boston Monday? This was the first year I really paid any attention to Boston, and I found it really entertaining! I was rooting for Ryan Hall (Go USA, haha) to win, but he still had an awesome race. How amazing is it that the winner's time? Robert Cheruiyot's marathon time of 2:05 was faster than my Whidbey Half time of 2:06? Dang!!

I also came across an awesome post from Runblogger who posted a video documenting the 2005 Chicago Marathon. I know, I know, its not the Boston Marathon, but once I clicked on it I watched the entire thing... all hour and forty-two minutes of it. It is really fantastic and inspiring. If you are too lazy to click on the link below, here is a brief review from their website:

Spirit of the Marathon is the first film to capture the story, drama and ultimate essence of the legendary 26.2 mile running event.

Filmed globally in North America, Europe, Africa and Asia, the movie brings together a diverse cast of amateur athletes and marathon luminaries.

As six unique stories unfold, each runner prepares for and ultimately faces the challenge of the Chicago Marathon. More than a sports movie, Spirit of the Marathon is an inspirational journey of perseverance and personal triumph; a spectacle that will be embraced by runners and non-runners alike.

I liked it so much Im re-posting it here:



Seriously thinking about running a marathon after watching that. Did it inspire you??

I'm still feeling crummy, and might take the day off from running. Then again, Ill probably feel lazy a few hours from now and end up running a few on the dreadmill. We'll see....happy running!

Prep run and Expo

The past few days have been crazy. Due to some unforseen events, I only ran once on Friday, even though I was DYING to try my new Garmin out earlier. Sometimes its just not in the cards....

Somehow it was 60 degrees when I went out on my run. Little Bro joined me for the run out in West Seattle. I was eager to use the Garmin, and he was excited for me to take another funny picture of him (see picture above).

After quickly locating satellites, we were off. I was surprised at how lightweight the Garmin was, and I didnt mind running with it on my wrist. After a few hundred feet I looked at the stats and was surprised to see that the mileage was calculating almost every second! The pace was also constantly changing, so I am guessing that its accurate to every few seconds. I had no idea that it had that capability!! My mind was blown!

The run went well, and I finished in 54:30 for 6 miles (9:05 pace). I have had too much going on to actually plug the Garmin into my computer and load the new program, so my time splits will have to wait until after the race on Sunday. Now only if I can go that fast at the Mercer....

On the run I also tried Luna Moon Energy Chews in Pomegranate. I was feeling low on energy, so I actually had a few chews on the car ride over before running (since I wasnt running that far, there was no need for energy later). The chews tasted great, although a bit more salty than normal gummy candy. I liked the consistency too (not too soft, but pretty sticky). Im not exactly sure how much energy I actually got from the chews, but I might have them as a snack in the future!

Today I went to the Mercer Half Expo, but unfortunately I didn't run into any of you bloggers! The expo was decent enough and well organized, but I was expecting more booths or freebies to try. The Seattle Half Expo had discount running shoes and more brands represented (then again it was a MUCH larger race). I guess I will have to wait until after the run for the freebies.

I do love the tech shirt for this race though! After driving through Mercer Island, I am hoping that the race isnt too tough...it did look fairly hilly! Here are the goals for tomorrow's race:

• Standard goal: 
• To not stop during the race
• To beat my Seattle Half time (2:16:59)
•  Realistic goal:
• To run in 10:00 miles (2:10:00)
•  Super-secret goal:
• To run in 1:59:59

I don't know how likely my super-secret goal is since that is close to what I have been running on, but I run on flat ground. Hills are a whole different race! As long as I PR and stay uninjured Ill be happy! I cant wait to meet some of you tomorrow.....Good luck! 

YES YES YES YES!!

First, thanks for all the birthday wishes yesterday!!

I officially have the best boyfriend in the world. Last night I opened my birthday present and saw this:

A Garmin Forerunner 305! Yipppeeey! I am so excited! I know we discuss running a lot, but I guess he must have known that I have been wanting one. Probably had something to do with my complaining whining annoyance of mapping/pegging my course after each run to find my average pace. Guess I wont need to do that any longer! I can run free!

Review will come in the next week or so, but I cant WAIT to get out there and try this! Yes, its a little large on your wrist, but its extremely light. Also, the larger display will be easy to read while running.

I am so excited, I even brought it with me to work just to look at :) Thanks JJ for being an awesome boyfriend and supporting me in running!! I cant wait to try it during the Mercer Half this weekend!

Also, my Body Glide arrived yesterday as well. I can already hear the snickering happening so, yes, I bought myself lube for my birthday. I am REALLY hoping this stuff works and doesn't stain clothing. From what I've read it does work, and if not, I can always go back to using my tape:

Too bad I'm supposed to be resting this week before the half, all I want to do is try the new gear!!

Happy running and let me know if you have any tips or tricks for Garmin Forerunners! Hopefully I can figure it out before this weekend...

Birthday Run

So today is my birthday :) I decided to take the day off and relax. I went for a 9.4 mile run in 1 hour 29 minutes (9:29/miles!) The plan was to go at a slow and steady pace, but I somehow managed a decent time. The weather is perfect for a birthday run....61 degrees and sunny!

I couldn't believe how warm it was! Knowing the weather was nice, I wore my new Nike Hero Mesh Shorts that my little bro got me for my bday. I usually run in capris or something covering my legs since I am not a fan of the Nike Tempo shorts that everyone else seems to love. The difference is the cut and that the Nike Hero's are made of mesh. I love them!!

I wore these over a pair of leggings for the St Pats Dash yesterday, and just the running shorts today on my run. Not only do they fit me perfectly, but the shorts DON'T RIDE UP!! The mesh seems to move with me and doesn't crawl up my waist or legs. Not only that, but they are super comfortable and have other really cute colors. I might have to buy another pair in orange or purple tomorrow! (Nordstrom carries them in the stores, but I didn't see them online). Thanks little bro! :) I finally have a pair of shorts that work for me!

Also during the run I tried one of the GU Espresso Love gels that my mom bought me:

Ive mentioned before that I tried the Vanilla and Chocolate flavors years ago, but not this one. I have heard rave reviews but Im still skeptical on a coffee flavored gel mid-run. I took the gel at mile 6 today and it was DELICIOUS! Not only was the consistency much better than the Powerbar Gels or Clif Gels, but it was the perfect not-too-runny and not-too-thick. The flavor was also great! By mile 9 I was feeling great and didn't have an upset stomach!

Pros:

• Great flavor
• Perfect consistency
• Good amount (1.1 oz, which is smaller than the other gels)
• Didnt make me thirsty or full 
• NOT SALTY!!

Cons: 

• No litter leash

Let me tell you right now, I will NOT be buying the Powerbar Gel or Clif Gels from now on, unless there is a dire emergency. This product (IMO) was far superior to the competition. On taste alone it exceeded my expectations! I could even use this as a snack (I have quite the sweet tooth). Yes, that is how much I liked these!!

 Cant you tell I'm excited??

Hope the reviews helped. I am so excited that I received 2 AWESOME products from the fam on my birthday! Now I'm off to finish my favorite mocha and read my book. Then off to dinner at my favorite Tom Douglas Restaurant, Ettas. Get the salmon dish....you can thank me later. (For all you PNW'ers, take advantage of the 3 for $30 deals all month!)

Happy Running :)

All fell into place....

Well, finally everything went right and fell into place for my long run this weekend. Ill recap and review:

On Friday I wanted to get my mileage up for the week since I was too busy to put a few miles in. I decided to go on an easy 6 mile run at roughly a 9:30/mile pace. It felt great! I actually had to stop myself from continuing on, which is an awesome feeling. Since I was planning a 12 miler the next day, I made sure to eat a Builder's Bar (Peanut Butter) and a salad for dinner to supplement my protein. Somehow I think I run better if I don't carbo load, or at least not through pasta or grains. Protein and veggies work me (or at least at half marathon mileage, Ive never gone for more than that).

 Sunny Seattle! 

Image from here

On Saturday I woke up to an AMAZING sunny 60 degree day in Seattle. Is it summer yet?? I had another Builder Bar and waited about 2 hours before setting out on my long run. I felt fine for the first 3 miles and was really excited when I didn't want to die at mile 3. At this point I considered the run a success already! At this point I saw 2 interesting things: a Cadillac that was raised higher than a pickup truck and painted bright red and yellow, and a guy on a Segway. These things absolutely crack me up. I tried to get a picture but it was horribly blurry. If any of you have seen Arrested Development, you'll know what I mean!

Other interesting things was a group of guys yelling out the window of their SUV videotaping everyone (still not sure why) and half of a starfish that I almost stepped on THREE TIMES during my run (I passed one part of the run multiple times, and I'll spare you the visual...)

 Just passing mile 6 I was still feeling strong, but I decided to try out the Clif Shots Gel in Razz. I cant stand the idea of running with a fuel belt (or fanny pack type thing around my waist) so I held the gel in my hot little hands while running. Aside from the temperature, here is my review:

Pros:

• Handy "litter leash" keeps the top part of the package together so you don't rip it off and leave the top on the ground. The litter leash has a perforated part that easily allows you to fold the top part back so you can get at the gel on the run.
• Different flavor, but not too bad. Didn't especially taste like raspberry
• It didn't make me gag while taking it
• Consistency was okay, and easy to slurp while mid-run

Con:

• Salty!

Overall, the gel wasn't that bad. The litter leash was a handy feature and kept the packaging together until I ran past a garbage can. Consistency was fine, but it was pretty salty for a berry flavor. Maybe I'm not used to the energy gel, but it was really salty! Not unbearable, and I was able to continue running without feeling sick. I think Ill try another flavor, but I wouldn't write off Clif Gel altogether.

Miles 6-9 were strong and consistent. I had no problem keeping up my 10:00/mile pace, but I didn't feel like I could make my legs move faster. I was hoping to pick it up a bit, but it just wasn't in the cards. I have a feeling my 6 miler from the night before made my pace slower. The good thing was that I kept moving and didn't feel sick from the energy gel! I didn't feel like I had a "burst" of energy, but it did keep me going without feeling depleted.

At mile 9 I took my PowerBar Gel Vanilla:

Pros:

• Decent vanilla, but not too bad.
• It didn't make me gag while taking it
• Consistency was thinner than the Clif Razz, and still easy to slurp while mid-run

Con:

• Also salty!
• There was no litter leash on this product, so when you rip the top off, you are left with two pieces of packaging to carry while running. Annoying if you don't want to litter (and I didn't!)

This gel really wasn't too bad. I didn't necessarily NEED to take a second one, but I thought I would try it anyways. The vanilla was a bit thinner than the Razz, but it was still easy to take while running. Even though I haven't had GU in years, I remember it having a better vanilla flavor than PowerBar Gel. I still would buy this product again though! I can see why the recommend drinking a few gulps of water after taking the gel though, they are salty!!

The last 3.4 miles were not so bad, but I still felt that I could not pick up the pace. I have to note that I wasn't dragging and I didn't feel sick from the 2 gels. After I finished the run I was able to walk a bit, stretch and not feel like I needed to lay down and pass out. Later that night my legs felt pretty good, and I was not nearly as sore as the Seattle Half (lets just say I couldn't walk normally for DAYS!) 

All in all, it was really successful! I will probably follow this regimen for the Mercer Half in 2 weeks (aside from the 6 miler the night before). I cant decide if I will run with the gel during that race, or just take the flavors that are available during the run at water-stops. I will probably take a gel around mile 7 and 10 in the real race, not mile 6 and 9 as I did for this run. I'm pretty excited that this run finally was successful and my longest non-race run to date!!! :)

Happy running :)

TGIF!

Wow, what a busy week. Not much to blog about because was only able to run 2 nights this week :( Anxious to get a few miles in, I ran an easy 6 miles. I was pretty exhausted from the week leading up to the run, but the run ended up energizing me. I felt like I could have done a few more! Since my 12 miler is scheduled for tomorrow,  I decided to end my run at 6 (9:30/pace).

Since I had a pretty tough 11 miler last weekend, I wanted to prepare and make sure that I could have the best run tomorrow. Since egg whites were not the best to start off my run last time, I went to the store to get something I knew would keep me full, but without that "full" feeling:

 

I made a quick run to Safeway and luckily the Clif Peanut Butter Builder's Bars were on sale. I have tried MANY protein bars, and this one is my favorite (Cookies & Cream is also yummy, Vanilla Almond is quite sweet and I wouldn't recommend it before a run). Not only is the texture pretty good for a protein bar (the PB one has a nougaty texture covering the rice crispy part, covered in chocolate) but the 20 grams of protein actually keeps you full. At 270 calories and all of that protein, its pretty tasty. Also, I usually forget I'm eating a protein bar when I'm eating it! Nutrition facts found here (PS - it also does not have the hydrogenated oils that some other bars have. The fat is only from the peanut butter and natural oils!)

I'm planning on having half to a full Builder's bar at least an hour before my long run, then try a energy gel (Powerbar or Clif) during the run. Hopefully this will give me the energy I need to have a nice LONG run, and not sucking air and wanting to crawl after 3 miles. I have a feeling this run will be much more successful than the last one!

Details to come....its supposed to be 65 degrees tomorrow in Seattle! Perfect for a run :)

Month Review: February 2010

Wow, such a busy past few days! I planned on taking 2 days off from running after my 11 miler, but work has been busy and it turned into 3 days. I did have extra time to create a new layout for my blog! I know it doesn't look like much, but I actually changed the CODE and made my own! I am self-taught and basically figured it out line by line and slowly changing each background, font, sidebar, banner, footer, etc. I have to say, I'm pretty proud of my work, and its completely original :) You wont find this template on blogger anywhere else!! Okay, Ill stop now because its that time again.....month review!

February 2010:

       Total Miles: 95.4
       Running Time: 15:01:03
       Average Pace: 9:44/mile
       Yearly Total: 180.7 miles

       Yearly Time Total: 28:44:05
       Blog Posts in Feb: 17

Seriously, where did February go? February has been a great running month for me, I surpassed my monthly running goal (83.4 miles/month to reach over 1000 miles in 2010) and I am ahead for the year! I am really pleased with this and that I was able to add additional miles without getting injured (knock on wood!!). I also was able to slowly decrease my time per mile on the dreadmill. Now that I am running around 9:00 miles I am closer to my goal for the half marathon! Ill take anything I can get on the dreaded dreadmill...

Sarah 2, Dreadmill 0

The only negative part of February was my awful 11 miler last Saturday. Being completely drained and not having your body respond the way you want is really frusterating. I am glad that I have a 12 miler this weekened and a few more weeks before the Mercer Half to change my pre-long run nutrition and plan. The mileage was accomplished in a decent time, but I want to run and achieve my time goal for the long runs!

First goal in achieving success on long runs is to have some form of fuel on the long runs. I have heard of Shot Bloks and other chewable bites that you take mid-run, but honestly, I would probably choke if I tried to eat while running! Not a good thing. I have had GU in the past (not while running) so I think that can work on my stomach and not make me sick. Luckily, I noticed while at QFC that they carry energy gel products!!

QFC not only carries an excellent selection of protein bars and powder, but they also have energy gels and chewables. I decided to buy the following flavors and brands for my 11 miler this weekend:

 

 Clif Shot Energy Gel in Razz 

 

Powerbar Gel in Vanilla

Like the colorful background? Yeah, I was getting creative on my coffee break today at work :) Im really excited to run this weekend and have a successful long run. Hopefully having more of a base and being well hydrated before the run AND energy gels during the run will do the trick.

What is your favorite mid-run energy booster??

Im off to put a few in on the treadmill. Have a great night!

Font for layout found here

Some page elements found here

Weekend Recap

Whoa, where did the time go?! I had a fun, busy weekend and had no time to blog! Here is a long recap of the past few days/runs:

Workouts: 

2/18: 6 miles, 9:10/mile pace
2/19: 4 miles (dreadmill), 9:31/mile pace
2/20: 9.5 miles, 9:29/mile pace

This weeks total miles: 29 (wahoo!)

Thursday, Feb. 18th:

I wore extra layers for my 6 miler (including my new reversible Under Armour shirt, review to come!). I really didn't need the extra layers, as it was warmer than I expected (around 50 degrees). It was a clear and beautiful night. I ended up running the 6 miles in just over a 9:00 mile pace, and it didn't feel too fast. In fact, I felt like I could have gone a bit faster. I held back running additional miles as I didn't want to injure myself after the 9.5 miler last Monday. Great run though!

 I guess I like to do this same pose in every picture!

Friday, Feb. 19th:

Ahh, I feel like I'm starting to come down with a cold! Usually when I am working out on a normal schedule, I don't get sick. Hopefully this will not turn into anything and go away in a day or so. Head colds are just annoying **crosses fingers to make it go away!**

I ran a quick 4 miles at lunch on my treadmill. The first 2 miles went great at a 8:56/mile pace. Then, right after the 2 mile mark I felt dizzy and had to slow down to 10:00/mile pace. I figured this was okay to go slower, but then I was hit with a HORRIBLE sidearm! I don't think I have had one in the past year and a half! I didn't eat anything in the previous few hours leading up to the run, so I had no idea what was going on! I actually had to stop the treadmill and wait it out for a few minutes. Typically, I never EVER stop, so this was really not normal. I was able to continue at a 10:00/mile pace but it wasn't a good run. Ill blame it on the head cold! At least I got a run in....

Saturday, Feb. 20th:

Another beautiful day! I still wasn't feeling well, but I put my running shoes on and headed out for another 9.5 mile run through the city. It was so sunny and nice that I really didn't notice that I didn't have much energy and a raging head cold/headache. I somehow made a 9:31/mile pace for the entire run, which was better than I expected.

 

 Sunny skyline

 

 View from the Seattle Waterfront

There was also a great view of Mt. Rainier and the Olympics today. Us Washingtonians say that the "mountain is out" when it is visible from the city. Unfortunately, my iPhone doesn't really take great pictures of things in the distance, or I would post it here. 

On a side note, I went with some friends to the Ride the Ducks tour around Seattle. If you are not familiar with the Ducks, it is a land and water tour of Seattle in a vehicle that drives right into the water and floats around!  I always thought it was pretty cheesy, but it was more fun than I expected. Its a great tour to see the sights and for people who are not from the area/I could check out new routes to run on.

On the Duck in Lake Union, with our "quackers"

Sunday, Feb. 21st:

I took the day off today since I had a long run yesterday and already went past my weekly mileage goal (I hit 29 miles this week, yeah!!) I still am not feeling well, but I wanted to get out in the sun - so I took Chloe out for a walk in the park:

 

Chloe in her dog-bone fleece

 I really need a tan...

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Many the Miles

I had an ephiphany today: I was a horrible beginning runner last year! Yes, I put in the miles and had dedication and decent results, but without the training plan (see last post) and a place to keep logging my miles, I was doomed for something bad to happen or not progress over time. I need to keep counting my miles ASAP!

What is the best way to do this? After speaking to a few runners and looking online, I found that people either use a website to log their miles, or count them in a home journal or excel sheet. After backlogging as many runs as I could remember from last year that I happened to write down, I have a feeling that using an online site would be best for me. Now the question is, which one?

Here are a few options that I have seen:

DailyMile is a website which you can easily enter your workouts. You can choose between running, swimming, biking, fitness or any other workout you choose. There are options for route, distance, time, how difficult the workout was, and how you felt while doing it. There are advanced dropdown menus where you can add further statistics such as if it was a race (placement, gender,etc) weather, temperature, etc. The website also easily counts your miles per week, month, year and since you started. This can sync with Nike + and some other systems, but not Garmin.

Screencap of DailyMile found here

The interface is VERY easy to use and intuitive. Plus, it has bright colors and looks pretty. I hate to say it, but it reminds me of Facebook! It has a status like appearance for your past runs, but at least it is easy to use. Not sure on the technical abilities of all the functions though.

RunningAhead is a similar wesbite that has all of the information above, but a less appealing interface. While you can still add your type of workout, route, distance, time, difficulty etc, it has the race calculations, weather and other metrics on each form up front, which looks more crowded. This website has TONS of calculations and you can easily view your workouts on a month view, which is nice to calculate your weekly totals. It also records your PRs in races, and has extra charts to view your progress. The only downside is that it is not as easy to use as DailyMile, but I believe in time it will become easier to navigate. Downside right now is that it doesnt have an option for a cross training workout or elliptical. You have to choose "run, bike or swim." Granted I dont consider it in my mileage, but it is a workout I keep track of. However, it is compatible with Garmin products.

RunningAhead screencap found here

Out of the two websites (I signed up for both to check them out) I believe I will stick with Running Ahead. It might not look as pretty, but I plan on owning and using a Garmin Forerunner in the future, and I would like a website that will load my workout for me. Also, it has a handy feature that shows my mileage on my blog (look to the right!)

What do you all use? Is there something better out there that I am missing? I would love some input!

Also, Jill found an excellent Half Marathon Training Guide. It has multiple training schedules depending on your experience as a runner/how many miles you run per week. Thanks Jill :)

Have a great weekend! Im off to go run a few miles.....

www.runningahead.com/

www.dailymile.com

OFFICIAL training schedule

I was looking at a few articles on Active.com and Runnersworld.com and I realized that I didn't have a training plan for the Mercer Half on March 21st. Even though we are still about 8 weeks out, and I can easily run 6 miles without trying, I still need to have a schedule.

I don't know how I did it, but I didn't have a training plan while running for the Seattle Half in November. I talked to people and knew to slowly ramp up my miles per week, but I didn't even write my daily runs in a log. I started in July and was running roughly 5 times per week averaging 3-5 miles per run. By September, I ran my first 10k race (Iron Girl 10k) and began building my miles after that. One week I decided to go from running 6 miles as my longest distance to a 7.5 mile run, then a 9 mile run a few days later. Needless to say, I was injured my piriformis muscle quickly, and was out for 5 weeks prior to the race. Even though I was able to finish the Seattle Half, it was incredibly frustrating and stressful leading up to the race. I cant even imagine how I could have improved my time if I had actually run MORE THAN 3 TIMES IN THE 5 WEEKS LEADING UP TO THE RACE. I'm not even kidding....I knew running was mental, but there is so much more to this. But this will have to be another post...back to the training! :)

I viewed a few of the training schedules, and most consisted of a longer run on the weekends, tempo or interval speed training one day, and a few shorter runs throughout the week. Also noted was the 2 days of REST per week, usually following the longer distance run. Since I do most of my running outside (except for the few occasions on the DREADmill) and I do not have a gym membership, I found that most of the training programs for beginning/intermediate runners included 4x400 interval speed training on the track, which would be difficult on the roads I run (although I could improvise by sprinting blocks in Downtown Seattle....hmmm, maybe not!) I then made up this basic schedule for the half:

  

 Super high-tech photo of my chart

  

And yes, I did put a logo on it for inspiration :)

I figure running between 20-30 miles per week is enough training for the half, right? Since I injured myself so easily by overusing the piriformis muscle, I figure that the mileage is only miles I run, and not time spent on the elliptical machine. By the way, running and elliptical are NOT the same, but at least it is some cardio.

Does anyone else have a plan for running a half, or do you just run?

After making my beautiful color coded chart, I ran 6 miles in the wind. I literally thought I might be blown off the sidewalk! Even though I was running into the wind, I somehow managed a 9:20 minute pace per mile. Not bad for not trying to run fast, I thought it would have been more like 11 minutes per mile! Woo hoo!