Working the Plan

My plan seems to be working out nicely. I ran 5, 5, and 6 miles this week. I'm calling it my intuitive plan. I'll be increasing my long run as I feel ready instead of plowing ahead according to a prescribed plan. I feel like after yesterday's 6 miler that I can pretty easily increase it to 7 miles next Friday. Not sure how it will go after that. I'll just have to wait and see what my body is telling me. I'm starting to see more miles in the 9:35 to 9:45 range. Could it be that before long I'll consistently see miles under 10:00? I sure hope so! I'll just keep plugging away. : )

It was fun to run on Christmas Day. It felt like I had something for just me rather than every bit of my efforts focused on pleasing everyone else. I hope to make it an annual event. Our dinner went very well. We had my Mom and my oldest daughter and her fiance over. Everything tasted good. I still managed to have just one plate of food and one dessert. I liked the more simplified celebration of few gifts we had much better. I suppose even if Christmas isn't a religious observance for myself, I can look at it as a boost to get through the Winter. That was what Yule was about after all. But it's not over yet! Having my Dad over for Christmas on New Year's Day and my Mom's birthday is next week. lol

So next week's plan is to run M, W, F. The mileage will be 5, 5, and 7 as long as my body is willing! I really like having plenty of time to prepare for the half this time!

Maybe Treadmills Aren't So Bad...

First of all I ate sensibly at the family party over the weekend. Yay! I had one plate of food and one dessert. : ) I've really been examining how I've developed a tendency to binge. I think it all started with the Body For Life program. It called for strict eating during the week and one free day each week where you can eat as much of and anything you want. When you only get what you want weekly it's only natural to eat as much as you can since it will be awhile again. lol I developed a habit of binging. But since I am petite, a big splurge can destroy all of my hard work for the week. I just can't get by with what a man or a taller woman can no matter how hard I work out.

So while I believe in structure, small meals, and getting enough protein, I also think too much strictness is a nutritional disaster waiting to happen. At least that's how it works for me. I've made much better progress lately after years of hard work by allowing myself proper portions of treats when I want it and at special occasions. I've found that doing it this way I want less sweets and I don't binge. : )

As far as running goes, it is going very well. My husband organized our extra bedroom and made space to put my treadmill back together again. He's so good to me. : ) A couple of times lately I've used it to warm up and then go directly outside to run instead of walking in the cold weather to warm up. That's been great! But today I decided to actually run my whole five miles on it. If I hadn't had The View to keep me mentally occupied it would have been way too boring. But the nice, flexible deck I have on the treadmill sure felt good on my feet! Ended up being a great run! I feel very confident that my first 6 miler this time around will be great too! I'm actually looking forward to it. : )

Weekly Report and New Personal Record

My plan to run 5 miles on M,W,F worked out as planned! I even broke the 10:00 pace barrier for a 5 mile run yesterday. I managed to do it at an avg. 9:55 pace! That's really good for me! What is even more pleasing to me about it is that is seems to be happening naturally without having to to push really hard. I also continued doing a full body free weight circuit followed by 20 mins of elliptical machine. This week I did my xtraining on Tues, and Sat.

Next week's plan is to run M,W,F and run 5,5, and 6 miles respectively and see how it goes. This will be the beginning of my long run build up. I figure since your long run isn't supposed to exceed 50% of your total weekly mileage that gives me room to work up to a 10 mile long run before I need to increase Monday or Wednesday's run or add a 4th day.

I believe my leg injury is now fully healed! I no longer feel any stiffness or pulling in that area. It's finally gone and feels normal again. : ) I'm very happy about that.

Now for tonight's challenge, an extended family Christmas party. I have been eating so well lately and have allowed myself small treats along the way. This has kept me from any binges. I know these situations with lots of food like a party or buffet are triggers for me to binge. I plan to enjoy a normal sized meal with one dessert. I will NOT go crazy! I always feel so yucky after a binge anyway. That alone SHOULD keep me from it. I'll report about this in my next entry!

Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

And to think I almost missed it! I'm not used to the idea of running in cold temps yet. It was 29*. So I considered running in circles at the YMCA instead. lol All the beautiful sunshine I experienced was a super boost to my mood and energy.

I went out on my favorite route and saw lots of bird activity. I love them! I even like the vultures from a distance. lol I'm planning to put up a couple of bluebird houses before Spring. I noticed when we moved back to Cincy that quite a few bluebirds have taken up residence in the area. When they get back here again, they can have their choice of new condo. Noticed lots of deer carcasses along the sides of the road too. I counted 8 in my 6 mile round trip. I'm guessing they are automobile casualties from all the movement during mating season.

The run went very well too. I did my planned 5 miles at an avg. pace of 10: 02! Good for me!!!

Five More Miles in the Bank!

It's a beautiful day here. We're in the mid 50's! Took full advantage of getting out there in shorts and doing my thing. It was a good 5 miles with the exception of the wind picking up some while I was out there. So it ended up that in 2 sections of my route where I was headed south, I was running directly into the wind. Ugh! But I still loved it because I GET to do this. I believe it's a privilege to do this running thing. : )

As a side note, I've noticed recently that my right foot hurts. lol I may have figured it out though. I have huge callouses on the sides of my big toes that I keep trimmed back. Happened to see that the right one is noticeably bigger than the left. I trimmed that baby again and my foot seems all better now. I think that little bit of extra callous was changing my foot strike just enough to bother my foot. It's funny how little things can at times make such a difference.

Working Things Out

Not ready to dive into a "real" long run yet. I'm really being cautious. I keep feeling a twinge here and there in my leg which alarms me. But they are just twinges. They're not pain and not lasting. I'm hoping before long that I won't think about it anymore and just go on with things. I think right now I'm being hyper vigilant and I notice everything! lol

Last week I ran M-W-F with 4, 4, and 5 miles respectively. They were all fairly easy runs and having a day or two of recovery in between has kept me pain free. I xtrained on the days in between with weight training and elliptical or spinning. This week I'm planning on the same but doing 5, 5, and 5 miles. If that works out, I'll start building again for a long run, going for 6 in the week after that on the 3rd day. Maybe if I'm feeling VERY good, I'll just go ahead and do that this week! lol

So the key words for me right now are caution, balance, and experimentation!