I think the time has come for me to retire my Saucony Omni’s. The pain that I have been feeling behind my right knee has gotten better, but after doing some quick calculations I realized my shoes are ready to retire. I’ve logged about 320 miles on them and have had them since September.

I haven’t changed anything in my running, so I’m guessing, well, I hope this is what’s causing the pain. I’m going to try and get fitted for new ones tomorrow before my 9 miler on Sunday.

Speaking of running, how’s the training going?

I’ve actually skipped a run or two to rest my leg, but other than that, my training has gone pretty smoothly. My plan has actually changed a bit. I’ve reworked it using SmartCoach from Runnersworld.com, which is what I used for my half marathon. I really loved that plan and although the heat got the best of me on race day, I set a few PRs while training.

I hope to write some more posts soon, things have been extremely busy lately! But, I have a few ideas floating around in my head that I really want to blog about.

Until next time!

Congrats Amanda @ Vegacious!

Amanda said:

I would be honored to attend the Healthy Living Summit. As a somewhat new blogger, I would be able to network with other bloggers that care about the same things I do educate myself even more about healthy living – especially after battling 2 years of ovarian cancer. Healthy living now has a totally new meaning to me. Thanks!

Congrats again Amanda, I’m sure you will have an amazing time! I’ll be emailing you tomorrow.

Have a great night everyone.

I’ve been debating back and forth the past week about the Healthy Living Summit this year. So many things have changed since last year and I just can’t face spending so much money on one weekend.

I did the math and plane tickets for Todd and I, plus 3 nights at the hotel, plus other expenses, we’re easily looking at $1200 for a weekend. I think that money would be better spent on our new house or even a vacation this year.

Don’t get me wrong, I had a blast last year, and there’s always next year! I just wish plane tickets weren’t so darn expensive, haha.

So, you know what that means? I have a ticket for sale!

I figured I would let my readers and followers get first dibs on the ticket. Just leave a comment on why you want to go and I’ll randomly pick someone Thursday evening. Two entries if you tweet about it.

Of course, the ticket is $75, so if you’re picked I’ll be contacting you about payment via Paypal and letting Meghann know about the transfer. If nobody is interested, I’ll be emailing her so the next person on the waiting list can have it.

Good luck!

I originally signed up for the full Baltimore Marathon knowing that I could do it if I dedicated the time and trained well. Unfortunately, due to a few problems I developed posterior shin splints, and instead of training for a marathon, I was in physical therapy for six weeks.

Since then, I have run three more half marathons with no pain at all, except for a little twinge every now and then (and when it twinges, I immediately put some ice on it, just in case).

I have now been running for well over a year now and I feel it’s time for me to complete a marathon. With proper training of course! (And maybe a little madness.)

I’ve been working on this plan for almost a month, yes, a month! I looked at all the options and finally decided to go with the FIRST Marathon Training Plan. There really was no close second because I probably looked at a dozen marathon plans and all of them had you running 4-5 times a week.

Not this one! I really would prefer not to injure myself this summer, so I was very excited when this plan only has you running 3 days a week. One day is speedwork, one is tempo, and one is your long run.

I actually used a plan similar to this for my previous half marathon through the Runner’s World website and really liked it. Especially since with every run you have something to focus on doing.

So, in a nutshell, here’s how it looks:

Monday: Body Works + Abs class (like Body Pump, but we use dumbbells instead)
Tuesday: Speedwork (Oh joy!)
Wednesday: Spin Class or Rest Day (I find that it’s easier for me to run if I bike the day before to loosen the legs up. But, I have the option to rest if I need it)
Thursday: Tempo Run
Friday: Rest Day!!
Saturday: Long Run (aka the return of the compression socks!)
Sunday: Cross Train or Fitness DVD

I originally had it in a spreadsheet, but after looking at Meghann’s and how much simpler it looked as a calendar, I switched mine to one too.

Click here to view the detailed schedule.

I may also squeeze some yoga in there a few times if I feel my body needs it.

Not too bad of a schedule, right? PMP is my Planned Marathon Pace according to the FIRST program. Like I said before, I just want to finish, but it would be nice if the first number of my finish time is a 5 rather than 6.

And since I may be doing some running in our new neighborhood, I wanted to see what the elevation was like and quickly whipped up an 8 mile route. Check out the hills:

Yep, I will definitely be getting in some hill training!

If you looked at the schedule you noticed I’m also doing the Philly Rock N Roll Half Marathon in September. My friend who also did the Disney Half will be running it, and her friend will be running it too as her first Half!

And here’s something you didn’t know, not only is the marathon on Halloween, but it’s also my brother’s birthday! So I may try to come up with a creative costume (that won’t chafe!) to wear for the race.

Maybe it’s also a coincidence that I’ll be running 26.2 miles a few days after I turn 26 years and 2 months old? Weird.

Here’s to a happy weekend and pain free training!

I knew as soon as I walked outside, that unless the weather changed to cooler temps, there was no way I would PR this race. And that made me frustrated at the starting line.

My plan was to run 4 min., walk 1 min. and average at about 11:30min/mile. I’ve done it before multiple times so I knew it was the best strategy for me at this point. So, I lined up with the other people at the 11min/mile start.

Unfortunately, the first half mile I had to weave in and out because there were so many people walking! And not just one or two people, there were several groups of 4+ women walking side by side. I’m sorry, but if you’re going to walk, respect your fellow racers and head to the back of the starting line.

Before the race, looking hopeful!

Mile 1: Doing great so far! A little quicker than I should be right now but I’ve already conquered a few hills. This is going to be tough!

Mile 2: Still pacing okay, swerving around walkers and people who decide to stop right in front of me. Saw Todd and he took some silly photos of me.

Mile 3: Running through the city, the sun it starting to come out. Looks pretty but I know that sun equals unwanted heat! Pace starts to slow.

Mile 4: Oh hi little bridge! You aren’t so bad…Wait a minute, this means there’s a bigger bridge coming up.

Mile 5: @*@!^#&^! I hate bridges, especially when it’s almost a mile long and directly under the sun. I enjoyed the downhill part, but then I remembered we have to come back over this thing! This was also the turn around point for the 10K race. You have no idea how tempted I was to turn around at this point, but I knew I would be dissapointed if I gave up like that. So, I slogged (slow jogged) on…

Mile 6: Oh yay! Another giant uphill!

At this point we see the lead runner coming back down, she was doing great! Also, my pace was slowing down really quickly. My goal became to cross the finish line, no matter how long it took me!

Mile 7-9: In my opinion, the best miles of the race. These miles were a trail and it was flat, shaded, and breezy! The only bad part was a woman had collapsed and they had to bring a SUV onto the trail to move her. The trail was so narrow that the SUV blocked all but 2 feet of the trail so only a single line of people could get through. It doesn’t help that it was an out-and-back part of the course, so people were blocked each way. I probably waited 3-5 minutes before I could get through.

Mile 10: On mile 6, this part was all uphill, and now it was a downhill! I couldn’t get my legs working right though so I walked as fast as I could. Thinking about this now, I should have taken a minute or two to stretch, which is what I do on my training runs. But I was so out of it I thought that if I had stopped, I wouldn’t want to start walking/running again!

Mile 11: @*@!^#&^! Did I mention how much I hate bridges?

Mile 12: Oh, it’s the little mini bridge again! I don’t mind you, you are so much easier to cross!

Mile 12.5 – 13: Wait….we have to turn around and go back over the little bridge again?! Annapolis, you really need to rethink this course.

Mile 13.1: That last .1 I was so frustrated I just wanted to quit and sit down, even though I was so close to the finish. But once I looked up, I saw Todd waiting for me again near the road. He held my hand and walked with me to the finish line. I finally mustered up enough strength to run the last few hundred feet or so, so I might have a decent finish line photo.

It really does help to have a familiar face at the finish line. If it weren’t for Todd, I probably would have walked grumpily through the finish line, not running with my head held high and a smile on my face. Thank you Todd, you’re the best husband ever!

Overall, I wouldn’t run this race again, unless they changed the course. I loved running through town and the trail, but over 2 miles of bridges is a little much. Plus, some people say this half course is hilly, but not worse than Baltimore.

Let me tell you, I ran Frederick and Baltimore which are both considered to be very hilly, and they were nothing compared to this! I admit, I didn’t train as much on hills as I would have liked, but I don’t think if I had trained on hills more it would have helped.

A few things I learned after the race:

• I don’t run well in heat. Which is worrying me because of all the training I need to do during the summer for the marathon this fall. But, I can wake up earlier before it really starts to get hot.
• Camelbaks are a runners best friend during hot temps. I wore mine because to me, 3500 women running to the first water stop did not seem appealing to me. It was the best thing I could have done because I drank from it constantly and it was almost empty when I finished.
• I do not recommend Gold Toe sports socks for distances more than 8 miles. Two blisters on my feet speak for that.
• Don’t run a half marathon after May, preferably April. June is just a little too warm for this area.

I think the main reason I was so frustrated was because I’ve been training since February with more miles than the past three races, and this was my slowest one. Official time was 3:03:20, about two minutes slower than Disney.

But, there are three positives about the race:

• I finished, and got a pretty little necklace.
• My legs don’t hurt at all, mainly because I did so much walking.
• I jumped in the hotel pool when we got back. And yes, it felt amazing!

So, no race plans until September. I’m pretty much going to put running on hold for right now and work more on swimming and biking.

When I stepped outside at 5:30AM, it was already 70 degrees and the race didn’t start for another 3 hours. It was raining a little, but it stopped once I parked at the stadium and rode SEPTA to the starting line.

By the time I found my corral, I had about 2 hours to spare so I very happily sat down and enjoyed the weather before I actually had to run in it. It was cloudy for the most part, but as soon as the race started the sun came out.

Check out the line for the bathrooms!

Crowd before the race started.

I did really well the first 2 miles, and then it went downhill from there. It was so hot out and I made sure I was getting enough water but I knew that if I didn’t slow down and walk more, I probably wouldn’t make it to the finish line.

They had fire hydrants spraying water at almost every mile. I was so grateful for that!

Here’s the only picture I took during the race:

Miles 3 to 5 were a blur. I walked more, and since I knew I wouldn’t PR in this heat, I said screw it and just have fun the rest of the race. I enjoyed the views, listened to my music, and ran through every fire hydrant that was spraying water. I saw one woman collapse a little after mile 5. That worried me a little, I had never see someone collapse during a race before especially since we were only at the halfway mark.

A little before mile 6 I had to make use of the nearest bathroom, so I lost about 10 minutes there waiting in line.

Miles 6 to 8 were accompanied by wonderful breezes and more spectators.

Mile 9, I was extremely happy to have only one mile left because I was longing for my air-conditioned car! I also saw another woman collapse. It made me wonder how many others had pushed themselves too hard in this heat.

The last .5 mile I focused on one woman in front of me to “beat,” which I did and crossed the finish line a little over 2:15.

Considering the heat, walking, and waiting for 10 minutes in the porta potty line. I think I did pretty good!

I immediately grabbed a water. They were also handing out pretzels which tasted amazing to me. My stomach started growling right before the race started, not good!

I really liked the course. It was flat, downhill, and only a few very small hills. I will definitely consider doing this race again next year, especially if it’s 20 degrees cooler!

I also made a video.

Today also marks the one year since I ran my first half marathon, recap here.

I had three choices:

1) Suck it up and run in the bad weather. I’ve done it before, but I prefer to avoid it if I can.
2) Skip the run and hope that I do well for the race next weekend.
3) Spend some quality time with the treadmill.

I chose #3. After lying in bed all day watching movies and catching up on some blogs, I knew it was now or never. So I geared up and headed to the gym before I changed my mind.

Can I tell you happy I was with my decision? Sure, the treadmill can be boring. And staring at CNN on the television in front of you for over an hour can be painful at times. But, I was in my running zone the entire time, which was wonderful.

Not only was I listening to my favorite music for a good bit, but it was also fun to know that I had subconsciously dressed up like a leprechaun.

This was my second run in my new lime Recovery Socks. They work just as great as the pink ones!

Anyways, back to the treadmill. The ones at the gym cut-off at 99 minutes, and while I knew I had a pretty good chance of beating the cut-off time, I didn’t want to put pressure on myself. I had goal to finish under 1:50:00.

So, I split it up into two runs. I did five miles, then reset the machine, and did another four. I also stuck up a post-it note so I could focus on each mile at a time.

The times on the left were my goal times and the ones on the right is when I actually finished the mile. Great way to keep yourself motivated! I ran for 4 min. @ 5.5mph, then walked for 1 min. @ 4mph.

Using some math I calculated out the splits:

Mile 1: 11:26
Mile 2: 11:22
Mile 3: 11:25
Mile 4: 11:34
Mile 5: 11:21
Mile 6: 11:23
Mile 7: 11:21
Mile 8: 11:22
Mile 9: 11:18

Total:  1:42:32!

Not only did I beat my goal, but I ran 9 minutes faster than my last 9 miler two weeks ago! It was also my fastest “long run” during training so far!

I’m not sure where this “speediness” has come from, but I hope it’s here to stay for awhile.

This week my focus is speedwork on Thursday and trying not to think about the 10 mile race on Sunday. Eek!

I never thought I would be one of those people because my legs had not hurt while running since I finished up physical therapy last fall, but on a whim I ran in them for my first “long” run of 4 miles. Since then, I have made sure they were on my feet for every run after that! My legs not only felt great after the run, but felt great during the run as well. I’ve had no problems at all with my posterior shin splints and I have a feeling these socks have helped with that.

I ran once on the treadmill without them on for only 2 miles and my legs felt like bricks the entire time, I won’t be doing that again.

Although I hope to one day be able to run without wearing these, I am so happy I decided to try them out. I love them so much that I ordered another pair a few days ago, this time, in Lime! Although the price is high for a pair of socks ($34.95), they are cheaper than most compression socks I have seen and they work well with my larger than average calves.

They have lost some of their elasticity but I’ve ran over 75 miles with these socks on and they still work extremely well, and that’s not counting the hours I’ve worn them after a long run.

So thank you, Pink Recovery Socks for helping me run pain free!

Also, I may or may not be signing up to run a local half marathon two weeks after my one in Annapolis. I haven’t decided yet!

After three months of training to “finish,” I ran across the finish line of my first half marathon in a little over 2:43. You can see my full recap here. I was in pain, but also so proud of myself for setting a goal and reaching it.

After a few weeks off to recover, I slowly started to build my mileage up so I could start training for my next goal. A marathon. This is when the problems started.

After running my previous shoes literally to the ground, it was time for some new ones. I liked my previous ones and never had any problems with them, but felt that I may need a little more support to tackle 26.2. So, I went to a different running shoe store and got fitted. They put me in a high arch shoe and they felt fine. So I was happy and eager to get started with training.

A few weeks passed and I started to have a pain on the inside of my right calf. I thought maybe I pulled it, or just didn’t stretch enough. When I couldn’t run more than half a mile without being in extreme pain, I knew something was wrong.

I went to a physical therapist and after an hour of questions, flexing, and tests, he diagnosed me with Posterior Shin Splints.

Here’s a little information on them: “The muscles most affected in posterior shin splints are the Soleus and the Tibialis Posterior. In the leg, these muscles are firmly attached around the back of the knee. They run down the back and inner side (medial side) of the leg, and attach to the foot. If the foot is in a proper alignment to the leg, these muscles function efficiently and pain-free. However, when the foot is pronated (the foot rolls outward at the ankle and you walk more on the inner aspect of the foot), these muscles are forced to become twisted as they attach to their respective foot structures. The twisting of these muscles can cause tiny tears in the muscles, or the muscles become “pulled” and inflamed. This will produce pain.” Source

Unfortunately, with improper running shoes, unusually tight calves, and weak hips, something was bound to go wrong sometime! Because of the pain, I had to downgrade to the half marathon, and put the full on hold for awhile.

I exchanged my running shoes for a pair with a lower arch (Saucony Omni 8), and went to physical therapy for 90 minutes, 3x a week for 6 weeks. I am proud to say I have not had any pain since!

I have also started running in compression socks to prevent anything else from happening. My legs feel amazing after my run and I am extremely happy that I have had no other problems.

So, after running two more half marathons and training for another one with no problems, I started to think about completing a marathon this year. There were so many things I had to consider. Spring or Fall? Would I be able to train properly? Would I be able to train this year, or wait until next year? What marathon would I choose?

Finally, after figuring out some things, both good and bad, I reached a decision…

This summer and fall I will be training for the Marine Corps Marathon on October 31, 2010! I am excited and terrified at the same time!

Noting that I had a few free hours, I thought I’d take a class at the gym that I had been interested in but never really fit into my schedule before, Body Works plus Abs. Similar to a Body Pump class, it was an hour of strengthening arms, legs, and abs with weights. It was intense! I could definitely tell where my weak spots were after taking that class so I know what I need to work on.

Before I left the gym I looked at the class schedule and saw that they added a Zumba class to Friday afternoons, so I thought, why not? So I left to get some errands done. I washed my car, which hasn’t been washed since September, did some grocery shopping, and cleaned the house. My muscles were starting to ache a little bit but I wasn’t surprised, I worked hard that morning!

One of the reasons why I haven’t tried Zumba before is that it’s so popular at our gym, you need to be there at least 30 minutes before the start of class to make sure you get a spot! I just haven’t been able to get there in time before the class fills up. But, with an empty afternoon I had plenty of time.

I can now see why it’s popular, it’s so much fun! We did about 15 songs in an hour and I definitely got a great workout. The best thing was I didn’t even realize how fast the class went by! Whenever I do my cardio on a machine, I always glance down at the clock to see how much time I had left. While doing Zumba, I looked at the clock once to see that we only had five minutes left! Needless to say, I think I’ll be trying to find time now to fit this class into my schedule.

With all the exercise I had today I knew an amazing dinner was well deserved, and I was only craving one thing. Sushi!

That’s all I’ve been wanting for the past three days! So I was so happy to enjoy a nice night out with Todd and enjoy some delicious sushi. I had a seaweed salad, cucumber roll, avocado roll, and veggie roll. Overall, it was a very nice day off.

Now, time to get to bed so I can get up bright and early to complete my eight mile training run!