WISH'ers walking, running and "other"ing in 2012--General Discussion thread

[johde]

Hi all

I haven't posted in this thread for a while but I have been posting around the forum. It's good to read about everyones training. I'm currently training for a "local" half marathon on April 3rd and then hopefully the Disneyland half in September. I'm currently training using my own variation of Bingham/Hadfield "Marathoning for Mortals" with some John Galloway thrown in. I used "Marathoning for Mortals" walking half, and walk/run half for my first 2 half marathons. I'm not quite ready for his Run/walk so that why I'm striking out on my own.

My original plan was to mostly follow "Marathoning for Mortals" at my own walk/run ratio replaceing some of the mid week runs with the 800m repeats Galloway recommends. Finally I was hoping to get past 10 miles in training like Galloway recommends. The weather though has played havic with my plan. 3 weeks ago, I did a 7 mile long run, 2 weeks ago I didn't get a long run in at all because of weather. Last week, I got a 6 miler in on monday that I was hoping would be 8 but my knee started not feeling right about mile 5.5. That run/walk had a significant portion of uneven snow and I think that might have been part of the problem. I took Wednesday mostly off from running and walked 3 miles at a new location that was cleared better. It has a decent sized hill in it that I ran down. Knee is feeling better.

Today, I'm trying to decide between doing speedwork and getting a long run in. We are in the path of that ice storm so I'm guessing Wednesday will be a no go as far as running goes. Sorry first post back ended up getting a little bit long.

 

[rubato]

Maura, I'm very sorry to hear about your MIL.

 

[DianeL]

Maura Sorry to hear about your MIL.

I did get out twice. The 1st time was last Tuesday after work in the dark just over 2.5 miles but we won't discuss the time Let's just say I'm not 100% over my fear of falling again.

Saturday went MUCH better. We headed up to Stony and DH did 4 miles on an out and back which I started with him. Why he thought we should run up the hills was beyond me. I tried it on the 1st one right out of the parking lot but was tensing up as the black paved path looked nice and shiny. I was quite skittish starting out. After 1.5 miles I decided to try running intervals which wasn't all that even since I had not set up my garmin for that yet. I kept forgetting to look. But it got me running. Managed the whole 6 mile loop. Only a couple of areas were truly slippery. But I still slowed down over the bridges/dams and a couple of other places. The path really was nice and clean and even the bridges/dams had been de-iced. While my pace could have been better I was MUCH happier with my time and effort.

Maura How did the LR got today?

Hope everyone has a wonderful training week!!!

 

[sug78]

Well I signed up to do the ESPN 5K at DHS. Pretty nervous about running my first race- even though it's a short one! Im used to running on my treadmill so Im not sure what to expect. I also started Using Galloways program 2 weeks ago- although it kind of confuses me I am really liking it. Hopefully I can build up the endurance to do the half 2012.

 

[FFigawi]

Maura, I'm sorry to hear about your MIL.

I'm looking forward to an easy training week after running the Houston marathon this past Sunday. I hope everyone stays safe and warm despite the weather that the eastern half of the country is going to be hit with.

 

[MouseDogMom]

There might be a contingent of WISHers running MCM too. Several of us on Team 'Ohana are planning on going assuming Jackie gets the ok to start running again. It wouldn't be the same without her.

And Jackie just got the okay. She's dancing around the house. Well, actually, she did 40 minutes on the stationary bike to celebrate, but you get the idea! He wants me to start walking, and stop when it hurts, and wait another month or so to run. In the meantime, we're working on strengthening the muscles in the leg and core. But he said there's no reason NOT to register for MCM. I'm signing up for the marathon, with a backup plan of switching to the 10K as the time gets closer if I feel like I'm not bouncing back quickly enough.

I may end up in the best running shape I've ever been in before this is over. I'm finding all sorts of weak spots that I didn't really know were problem areas, and working on them while I can't run. I think the result will be that I'm a much stronger runner when I do get back on the road. It might make all this worth it!

Maura - We've toyed with coming to Boston for the race. One of DH's closest running buddies is racing, and we keep arguing that we know "at least two" people who're running this year!

Sug78 - Congratulations on signing up for your first race! I was so nervous before my first 5K (the 5K at the first Minnie) that I almost turned the alarm off and went back to bed. I thought I'd be sick. Then I couldn't imagine what I'd tell everyone who knew I'd gone to WDW to run a race, so I got up. I'm in my 4th year running with a Galloway group here and absolutely love it.

Diane - Hills make you stronger. At least, that's what DH keeps telling me!

Jeremy - Sounds like your training is doing just fine. Hope your knee stays okay and you survive the blizzard.

Deleckidesign - There's no substitute for actually getting fitted at a real running store. I ended up in a completely different size shoe. I was lucky enough to be able to visit one day when the Mizuno truck was there and have them fit me as well.

Jackie

 

[desparatelydisney]

Hi there!

I am a long-time DISer and first-time runner, so I thought I would take a minute to introduce myself. I am 36 (soon to be 37), run 2 businesses, homeschool 3 kids and lead a generally crazy life that I love.

My husband has lost 80 pounds over the the last 18 months thru a change to whole-foods nutrition and regular and vigorous exercise. He went from 315 with a size 42 waist to 225 with a size 34 waist. I am soooo proud of him I could bust!! He is self-motivated and has always been an athlete. I AM NOT SELF-MOTIVATED AND HAVE NEVER BEEN AN ATHLETE...but have always wanted to be.

So....for Christmas he gave me a membership at the gym he goes to and a session every other week with a personal trainer for all of 2011

At our first meeting, she said, "So, what do you want to get out of these sessions? What is your goal?".

A totally legitimate question that I had no real answer for other than to say, "I have no idea what I am capable of. I am an exercise quitter and have NEVER pushed myself."

"Well," she said. "You need a goal."

She obviously had no idea she was telling this to an over-achiever I floored her when I emailed her 4 nights later saying...."I have a goal! I am going to run the Wine & Dine 1/2 Marathon at WDW on October 1!!"

So....I started training on 1/27. Right now, I am doing a 1:3 walk/run interval at a 17.17 min/13.33 min pace for 40 minutes. I have done this 3 times so far and I while I want to quit sooo bad halfway thru, I am uberly proud of myself when I get to 35 minutes and realize "I am really going to do this!"

My training goals are

1. Spend 6 weeks building up to a 5K. Run 5K with trainer outside on March 10.
2. Spend the following 8 weeks building up to a 10K. On May 5 run a 10K outside.
3. Spend the following 12 weeks building up to the 1/2. On July 28 run at least 10 to 11 miles.

That gives me 9 weeks between July 28th and the marathon to play with in case I miss any of the previous goals or, if I have reached my goals, to increase my speed. And by the way, DH is going to run the Wine & Dine 1/2 with me

So...wish me luck and send all the advise my way you have. Thanks for reading

 

[jmasgat]

Jackie WOOHOO!!! So glad you got the news you were hoping for. And Boston is a nice place to visit even without "that race"

desperatelydisney Welcome to the club. And sounds like you have great goals. Just remember: slow, steady progress is good. Don't let yourself get discouraged if sometimes things don't go as you would like. And don't forget to stop every once and a while and look back on how far you've come. Good luck!


Me....I'm still in the grip of a nasty cold that has trashed all training this week (on top of missing some from last week). I am borderline panicking and am just hoping that I feel better by Sunday since I HAVE to do that 20 miler. Debating on whether to run today--just whatever I can do (Tuesday it was a piddly 3 miles at a pace so slow it didn't even register on the TM!). If I was smart, I would just go to yoga and do what I am supposed to do in yoga --"Listen to & work with the body you have today--no expectations/projections of what you "should" be/do" Yeah, okay, I need to work on that!

Maura

 

[JimB.]

Happy Thursday Wishers!!

Bad weather in NE Florida today. Overcast, rainy, a bit windy. Did not get to go flying as a result. Bummer

Working towards the Nation Marathon to Finish Breast Cancer (aka "26.2 with Donna") next Sunday. Averaging about 7 - 7 1/2 miles on daily runs. Due to the close proximity to Goofy 2011 I'm not really putting in any true long runs.

I'm actually trying to do some speed (relatively speaking) work. The 15k River Run in Jacksonville comes up in March and I have a specific (double secret) time goal I want to make. Hopefully the running Gods (& my feet) will be kind to me.

 

[FireDancer]

Maura- I'm sure we'll meet up at some race down the road. I try to hit the big WISH spring half every year but this year Kentucky just wasn't meant to be. Sorry to hear about your MIL. I hope the Boston training is going well. As much as I want to qualify I know the training would be rough up here.

Jackie- Good luck with the recovery and getting back into training. It sounds like you are making the best of the situation and it is as much mental as physical.

desparatelydisney- It sounds like you have some good goals. Good luck.

I'm starting to ramp the miles back up but since Disney I've been concentrating on the gym and lifting a little heavier. The last two months before Disney were just low weight, high rep workouts since adding weight before a marathon isn't the best idea. I am doing the Pittsburgh half along with the National half this spring. After those I'll be spending more time in the pool and more time on the roads with the bike. I'm getting to the time of year where I am getting ready to run in warmer weather. The ice on the roads forced me onto the treadmill for the first time yesterday and the twenty minutes was more draining than the 20 mile runs in the snow. Have I mentioned how much I hate that thing?

 

[johde]

Diane - Don't worry about being slower on the ice and snow. Most of our training is supposed to be a little bit slower anyways.

SUG78 - I use a Galloway Walk/Run method as well. If you keep building miles slow and easy, you shouldn't have any problem being ready for the 2012 half marathon.

Jackie - Good to hear your back on the road again.

DesparatelyDisney - I agree it sounds like you have a good plan. My one warning, that I need to keep telling my self, is not to let your "over-achiever" attitude lead you to do too much too fast. Just starting out, don't worry about thinking your not going fast enough. Speed can come later.

Maura - I hope you get over your cold quickly and can get back to regular training.

Jim Good luck on the Marathon.

Frank I know what you mean about not liking treadmills. I ended up on the treadmill yesterday after last week. I think you got it worse there in Cleveland then we did in Mount Vernon. We ended up with 1.5" of Ice and just a dusting of snow.

On Monday, I did end up doing 800m repeats. My goal was a 6:30 (13:00 pace) and did 7 repeats in times varying for 6:20-6:27. I wasn't on a track but using my Garmin so some were slightly up hill and some slightly downhill.

Yesterday, after all the ice, I ended up on the treadmill during lunch. Since I had already done speed work, I decided to focus on continuous running. After a .25mi warmup, I set the treadmill at a 14:00 pace and ran for 1.25 miles straight. Prior to this the longest continuous run was 1 mile. I then did a .25 walk and finished up with a couple of what for me is higher speed runs. I did 200m at 11:00/200m walk break, 200m at 10:00/200m walk break then cooldown.

 

[DianeL]

Jeremy - Woohoo on the 1.25 miles! Sounds like the rest of the TM workout went really well too Until the snow goes away there will have to be slower moments and a lot of duck waddling for me

Maura - continuing to send you warm healthy thoughts.

desperatelydisney - Welcome!!!

Jackie - YAY!!!!

Jim - A double secret? Best Wishes it comes true

Sug78 - Have fun on the ESPN 5K!!!

John - Saw you did the Houston Marathon Congrats!

Frank - Stay safe on the snow/ice! When I've been out these last 2 times I thought of you and Maura getting out there. Can't wait to run again at night, I really miss it. Hoping your nightly path becomes free of snow/ice soon

This week I sorta am getting back into the swing.

Monday: Gym. Cut my ellipitcal to 20 minutes. My knee was a bit cranky. Tried intervals on the TM at the end of the visit and I got cranky LOL Me and ol' George (TM) were NOT seeing eye to eye. What didn't help the TM workout was a new Zumba instructor. I usually LOVE to run on the TM during the Zumba class. Usually the music works for me. Oh well. There is always next time. oh and I do have my shuffle with me but the class music is so loud you can't hear it.

Tuesday: typically a run night but I took it off. Worked later & decided to stop & get the pups food incase the storm was really bad.

Wed: Shoveled waaaay to much snow. But hey I finally got a Snow Day!

Thursday: 6 miles. Again the running moments were good but the walking portions were slow since I was usually walking because I was nervous. Slowed and stopped a few times to look back at DH & then when I did almost slip I just waited for him & we walked back together. The good news, my face mask stayed in place the entire time, didn't slip, didn't fog my glasses & didn't annoy me. Yay! Overall, happy I got out. Happy with my short running moments. All in all good day

Please let Spring come soon!

 

[jmasgat]

Let's just get this over with so I can focus on others.....

Picture Comic Book Guy saying "Worst.Run.Ever" and you will get a sense of the miserable 18 miles (should have been 20) that I did this morning. Here come the reasons/excuses: 1) Still not totally over my cold. 2) The nice clear roads that we seemed to finally have (mostly) got covered last night in 5" of fresh snow.

I knew I wouldn't be fast, but really wanted/figured I could maintain the specified training pace. Yeah, right. I made it through 15 miles of swaths of crappy roads (but yay for the rich town of Bloomfield Hills. We know who has the money to plow & salt!) Even the clear stretches, I just didn't feel it. Somehwere after 15 the dreaded IT band started screaming and I ran/walked/screamed/nearly cried my way through 3 final miles.

I will save the "I've lost all my fitness/speed" paranoia until after next week when I have a chance to run in FL.

We now resume our normally scheduled post.....

Jeremy WTG on your TM run. Isn't progress wonderful? Keep it up!

Diane I'll see your call for spring and raise you just going right into summer!


Everyone else..... Happy Super Bowl Sunday. I may fall asleep, but I'll be watching (flash on Monster, Inc Roz)

Maura

 

[DrMomof3]

Well I signed up to do the ESPN 5K at DHS. Pretty nervous about running my first race- even though it's a short one! Im used to running on my treadmill so Im not sure what to expect. I also started Using Galloways program 2 weeks ago- although it kind of confuses me I am really liking it. Hopefully I can build up the endurance to do the half 2012.

If it makes you feel better, I did all but one of my training runs on a treadmill before running the Disney 1/2 marathon. I found I went much faster outdoors and I enjoy it much more!

Amanda

 

[joan4mickey]

Maura It was only one run. Look what you have done in 3 years! Now pick your head up and look to the next run.

Amanda Outside is where I want to be and at this point in my running life I don't care if I'm faster so slower or if I'm crawling. I can mentally do the TM , but it is a head game with me...good thing I'm have a great imagination.

Oh it has been so ling since I have posted here and I meant to keep up.
Jackie glad to see you getting back out there.

ASF just gearing up for the Princess half. Most of my LR have been outside which means I get to enjoy my runs without so much mental junk. My DDs and I made the Princess Half Program again this year. They used the same photo they used last year except more of it. We can be found on the bottom of page 30. Pretty awesome.

 

[sug78]

If it makes you feel better, I did all but one of my training runs on a treadmill before running the Disney 1/2 marathon. I found I went much faster outdoors and I enjoy it much more!

Amanda

It does make me feel better! Thank you...
I almost feel like I won't know how to run outside- if that makes sense.

 

[eva]

Well I signed up to do the ESPN 5K at DHS. Pretty nervous about running my first race- even though it's a short one! Im used to running on my treadmill so Im not sure what to expect. I also started Using Galloways program 2 weeks ago- although it kind of confuses me I am really liking it. Hopefully I can build up the endurance to do the half 2012.

If everyone doesn't mind, I'd like to join too. sug78, we are in pretty much the same boat. I have never ran a race. Funny in high school you couldn't pay me to run to the mailbox. Then my father died of a heart attack 15 years ago. So I quite smoking and started working out. Now I am 47 and have decided to run my first race. I just signed up for the Expedition Everest Challenge 5K on May 7th. I have been working out and walking for a number of years. But I have never really ran before January of this year. I found that I actually like running on my treadmill. I am anxious to see what it will be like to run outside too. But I live in central IL, so it will be awhile before that happens. I also hope that the running will help with some weight loss. I was diagnosed with a thyroid disorder 5 years ago and now have 33 pounds to lose to get back to my original weight. So those are my goals so far.

1. Run my first 5K in May
2. Lose 33 pounds

But I have a feeling that I won't stop at that first 5K. I am already dreaming of running my first 1/2 marathon. What an accomplishment that would be for a non-runner like me. But maybe I will try to get a couple of 5K/10K's under my belt first.

 

[sjlupin]

This is a great thread! You have experienced marathon runners, and newbies, like me, who are just trying to train for that first 5K.

I have also signed my son and I up for the Everest Challenge on May 7th. It will be my first ever race. I have always been fairly athletic, but NOT a runner, AT ALL. Finishing 5K would be a HUGe accomplishment for me.

I'm currently finishing up week 3 of C25K (I am repeating it). I am trying really hard not to go through this too fast. I am competitive, so I have a tendancy to push to hard/fast and then I get shin splints or something and have to stop. I really want to do it 'right' this time (for me and my body).

 

[sug78]

Welcome Eva!
I am also trying to figure out whether I should do the 1/2 or the princess 1/2 next year. Already addicted and have only just begun.
sjlupin- I feel your pain! I've been running a year- almost every day 6-10 miles. Felt pretty wore out and kept getting injured. So I just took a step back, starting at square 1. Trying to do it right this time...I feel much better and am much more excited about running.

 

[Tiger Lily 03]

Hi everyone! I'm getting in more XT right now than actual walking/wogging. Snow and ice shoveling has been keeping me occupied.