Latest Track Workouts

For most of July and August I tried doing my track workouts on the treadmill because it was a bit cooler inside the gym than outside in the hot and humid mess. Running on the treadmill is so much harder for me but it is also good because I know that I have to keep the pace and it is harder for me to slack when I get tired in the middle of a set. Oh the treadmill...I hate it and I love it all at the same time.

July 25, 2012

400, 600, 800, 600, 400
400 - 5:42 pace
600 - 5:42 pace
800 - 5:46 pace
600 - 5:56 pace
400 - 5:52 pace


August 1, 2012

800, 800, 600, 600, 400, 400

800 - 5:56 pace
800 - 5:56 pace
600 - 5:52 pace
600 - 5:56 pace
400 - 5:49 pace
400 - 5:52 pace


August 15, 2012

400, 600, 800, 600, 400

400 - 5:52 pace
600 - 5:52 pace
800 - 5:56 pace
600 - 5:56 pace
400 - 5:52 pace


August 29, 2012

400, 800, 1000, 800, 400

400 - 5:52 pace
800 - 5:52 pace
1000 - 6:03 pace
800 - 6:03 pace
400 - 6:00 pace

Competitive Spirit

I have always been a competitive person.  I attribute that not only to my red headed gene but to growing up in a house full of brothers.  Having a competitive drive has helped me a lot in my running over the years and has given me purpose in my running.  Without feeling a personal competitveness I probably wouldn't try very hard to become faster and faster with each passing year.  I am not just competitive with myself though.  When I ran cross country and track and field in school it was just part of it all to be competitive with other runners.  There was always a time to beat and a record to break.  It is amazing how quickly that competitive spirit with others left me as I left high school.  I think part of that was because I was a little burned out and I wanted to discover a desire for running that didn't involve times and places.  That only took me so far because I am not one of those runners that just goes out to run just to run.  I need a purpose and a goal to keep me motivated and focused.  That being said, my last speed workout on April 18th was motivated by a competitive drive to aim for times that were competitive with my fellow runners out there.  It was a tough workout but in the end I am happy with my times and know that I have it in me to run faster.  In an effort to really try and get faster I know I need to run with other runners who are faster than I am.  I was finally able to rearrange some things in my schedule so that I can head up to Tokyo twice a month to run a track workout with the Nanban Rengo running club headed by my good friend and running mentor.  The boys have begged that I take them with me so once a month they will tag along and get experience on the track.  We will all start next week and I am so excited.   Hopefully traveling all the way up to Tokyo on the train and then pushing myself won't completely wipe me out. We will see I guess.  The boys and I will also be taking tennis lessons once a week starting next week as well.  Mike has already been taking lessons and he loves it.  I am excited to add some cross training and learn how to really play tennis.  I am really not good at tennis but hopefully with some lessons I can go from sucky to ok. 

Here are the last couple of weeks of track workouts (not run on a track but rather marked around the gym and field on our base so all numbers could potentially be off by a second or two when run around a real track):


March 28, 2012

1200, 1200, 800, 800, 400, 400

1200 - 4:45 (6:20 min/mile)
1200 - 4:44 (6:18 min/mile)
800 - 2:58 (5:56 min/mile)
800 - 3:03 (6:06 min/mile)
400 - 1:23 (5:32 min/mile)
400 - 1:23 (5:32 min/mile)



April 4, 2012

400, 600, 800, 1200, 800, 600, 400

400 - 1:21 (5:24 min/mile)
600 - 2:12 (5:47 min/mile )
800 - 3:01 (6:02 min/mile)
1200 - 4:36 (6:08 min/mile)
800 - 3:02 (6:04 min/mile)
600 - 2:15 (5:55 min/mile)
400 - 1:21 (5:24 min/mile)



April 18, 2012 

6 x 800

800 - 2:55 (5:50 min/mile)
800 - 2:52 (5:44 min/mile)
800 - 2:52 (5:44 min/mile)
800 - 2:52 (5:44 min/mile)
800 - 2:56 (5:52 min/mile)
800 - 2:54 (5:48 min/mile)

Perserverance

I did not want to run today.  Yesterday was an abnormally busy day at church and I found myself washing dishes at 10pm which was not ideal.  Mike didn't even make it home until close to 11pm because he got called in for an emergency at the hospital.  I was tired when I went to bed and I was tired when I got up.  But, I packed my bag with my running gear anyways and headed to base for my normal Monday routine...tap class for Abby at 10:00am, preschool/daycare for Abby at 11:30am, run and lift weights 11:30-1:30pm, pick up kids at school 2:00pm.  On my way to the gym to change I tried to find motivation.  I even called Mike just for some words of encouragement but he was extremely busy so we weren't able to talk.  I changed into my running clothes without thinking about how unmotivated I was to do my tempo run.  I stood outside looking at my previous tempo runs the last couple of weeks on my watch, trying to find some sort of competitive spirit in me to get going.  Sometimes it is just plain hard to run by myself and to have to dig deep for that motivation to run and to run hard.  The only plan I had was to do my 6 mile run with a 4 mile tempo which is what I had been doing the last couple of weeks.  I warmed up in my first mile and then picked it up for my first tempo mile...7:02 min/mile.  It was then that I realized that I had not considered the very reason why I needed to take this run seriously.  I was running a 10K in less then 3 weeks and there simply was no time to slack off.  So, for the next 3 miles I pushed it hard.  My miles were 6:49, 6:47, and 6:42.  Even with a head wind on the last mile I was still able to run my last tempo mile faster than the others.  My times look fast but in order to ever meet my goal of breaking 40 minutes in the 10K I need to be running my tempo runs sub 6:30 min/mile.  I still have some work ahead of me before I get to that level.  For now, I am really proud of myself for perservering in the face of extreme temptation to not give it my best.  It definitely helps to have a race to motivate me to run hard.  Here is how I have improved over the last couple of weeks in my tempo run training.


APRIL 2, 2012

Total Miles - 7

Tempo Miles - 5
7:17
7:22
7:21
7:17
7:14
7:27


APRIL 9, 2012

Total Miles - 6

Tempo Miles - 4
7:04
7:04
7:04
7:08


APRIL 16, 2012

Total Miles - 6

Tempo Miles - 4
7:02
6:49
6:47
6:42
   

107.4

No, this is not my favorite radio station.  This is what my scale said today.  I was so floored that I re-weighed myself three times.  This is the lowest I have weighed since my first marathon before having kids almost 12 years ago.  At that time I weighed 106 lbs.  Normally I don't really pay that much attention to my weight unless it skyrockets.  I am usually more focused on the composition of my body.  But today this number means a whole lot to me.  One year ago after we were evacuated and left to go back to the US I was in a pretty low place.  Not only was my world turned upside down but my running was pretty non-existent.  I wasn't running very much and my eating habits were not good...not to mention all the eating out I was doing at my favorite restaurants.  I was shocked when I stepped on the scale a year ago to see the numbers read between 118-120lbs.  Yikes.  Losing almost 13 lbs in one year is actually incredible for how short and petite I am.  I carry all my weight in my hips, thighs, and butt.  As a runner it is really an unfortunate place to carry such weight.  I have been fluctuating between 110-115lbs for quite some time and it hasn't been until just recently that I was finally able to break the 110lb barrier.  What was the secret....exercise AND eating healthy!  With all the running I do you would think it would be enough.  I think I finally reached a point in my life where I realized it wasn't enough anymore to just run to keep my weight down.  I knew I had to do something to eat healthier and to eat more frequently to avoid unhealthy snacking and have better portion control.  I have completely converted to a 5 meal plan and have cut out SOME things that are just plain not good for me.  I am not an extremist so I will never cut out chocolate completely....it is my love you know.  I can affored 100 calories and 3g of fat from one chocolate covered marshmallow egg.  Aside from my eating I carry around my favortie jug all day so I remember to drink plenty of water.  I also take a multivitamin everyday.  So what is it that I eat?  Keep in mind that this is still a process of learning for me.  For now, this is a good start and I only hope to add more things that will not only taste good but will fuel me with great things.  

Breakfast:  usually plain oatmeal with strawberries or other fruit and just a pinch (literally) of brown sugar.  I also enjoy Raisin Bran Crunch sometimes or eggs and toast.

Mid Morning Snack:  always a fruit smoothie--frozen raspberries, frozen blueberries, frozen blackberries, fat free vanilla yogurt, milk, and dollop of redi whip on top.

Lunch:  any kind of salad---I am on the lookout for a variety of salads to get me through the week.  My favorite is probably spinach and romaine with black beans, corn, avocado, and my poppyseed dressing.  A little chicken on top is always nice too.

Afternoon Snack:  Kashi Go Lean Crunchy Chocolate Peanut Protein and Fiber Bar.  5g fat, 9g protein, 6g fiber and 180 calories of pure goodness.  I am usually on the go so this has been a staple for me.  I also enjoy apples and cheese or just some other fresh fruit when I am at home and can prepare it.      

Dinner:  I eat what my family will eat for dinner.  It is interesting to note that my portions are A LOT smaller than what I used to eat.  I usually serve either a vegetable or salad with all our meals.  Our favorite meals are:

-Fajitas with grilled chicken, peppers and onions marinated in Mesquite Lime and Maranade sauce on whole wheat tortillas

-Garlic Chicken Farfalle
-Egg Burritos
-Fettucine in Charred Tomato Sauce and Shrimp

-Chili and Cornbread

-Asian Meatballs and Rice

-Katsudon (pork with egg over rice)

-Cream Cheese Chicken in Crockpot over rice

-Stuffed Manicotti

-Parmesean Chicken over whole wheat spaghetti

-Sweet n Sour Chicken with rice

I am still looking for great meals that everyone will eat and that are nutritious.  The kids favorite meal is Cream Cheese Chicken in the Crockpot but it is definitely not one of the healthiest because of the cream of chicken soup and cream cheese....nevertheless...it is a favorite of all.  They could really use the extra fat because they are all too skinny.  I try and only have one to two chicken dishes, one red meat, and one to two pasta dish in a week.  It would be nice to fit in a nice fish dish as well.  We do eat leftovers and occasionally we will have a hectic day and night so we do something quick and easy like breakfast for dinner or hot sandwiches or even cereal!  It's not perfect but it works.

New Shoes and Faster Times

I finally got the shoes that I designed at the Adidas store in Tokyo and have been running solely in them and have put my Asics aside for a while. It was fun sitting with Andrew at the MiAdidas section of the store and picking out colors and materials on the computer to come up with a pretty fun shoe. I was even able to put my own slogan on the side of each shoe--rockin it! I didn't really think that a lighter shoe would really make that much of a difference but they have made all the difference to me. Not only are they lighter but my feet feel better after I run in these shoes compared to my Asics shoes. I tested them out on my first 5K in a long time. There always seems to be 5K and 10K races on the base here in Yokosuka so I decided (with Mike's insistance) to run the 5K to see where I was at in terms of speed and what I needed to work on. It turns out this 5K course was not a 5K at all and to make it even more fun they added a huge hill at the end of mile 2. So this was not an ideal race to try and break 20 minutes but I ended up averaging a 6:30 pace (hill and all) for the 2.7 mile race. I came in 8th place overall and first female finisher. Abby and Mike were cheering me on (it was in the middle of the school day on a Friday) and it was cute to see Abby jump up and down cheering for me as I finished. Apparently she said as I was finishing, "You won mommy, you won!" What a sweet little girl she is. This race taught me that I needed to add more speed into my weekly routine so that running 6:26 splits feels more doable. In fact, if I want to break 40 minutes in the 10K I need to run 6:26 splits. I have a ways to go before I achieve that goal but atleast I know some of the things I need to do in order to reach that goal. With goals in mind I have made 4 goals to achieve in the next couple of years or however long it takes:

1 mile - break my 5:30 time (got Sophmore year in HS)
2 mile - break my 11:54 time (got Junior year in HS)
10K - break 40 minutes
5K - break 20 minutes

These are pretty lofty goals but I think I can do it with a lot more focus on speed and shedding some unnecessary fat. This will require me to eat better than I have in my whole life. To start out my weekly speed training this last Wednesday I ran:

5 miles:

1 mile warmup
400 speed (1:29) 5:58 min/mile pace
400 recovery
400 speed (1:32) 6:04 min/mile pace
400 recovery
800 speed (3:03) 6:06 min/mile pace
400 recovery
800 speed (3:10) 6:20 min/mile pace (wind and lights were not in my favor on the return)
400 recovery
1200 speed (4:48) 6:22 min/mile pace (wind and lights were not in my favor on the return)
1 mile cool down

It was a great workout except for the headwind on the return trip back to base and the darn lights I got stuck at. Still, I was pretty happy with my first attempt at shorter speed pick ups for this year. Not to mention that I do these alone with no one to pace me. It takes a lot of motivation and mental preparation to keep up the pace and run in the middle of Japan with lots of people, cars, and lights. I have been mainly doing longer tempo runs which is great but not good enough to bring my times down. With all the weight training I have been adding into my routine I am finding myself exhausted between my runs and it has been hard to get up at 5 am to run on my off days. Hopefully this next week I be able to be a little more disciplined to run 4-5 days a week instead of just the 3 days a week I have been doing for the last couple of weeks. I think my body has finally adjusted and the weather is a little warmer so the 5am runs should be a little easier.

Finding Balance

My focus over the last couple of months has been to find the right balance between running, cross training, weights, core strengthening, and good eating habits.  I was pretty consistent in doing the Runner's Circuit during the later part of December and all of January and some swimming here and there.  I really liked doing the Runner's Circuit and felt like it was such a good workout.  I was running my 400's and 800's anywhere between 6:00-6:30 min/mile pace.  During a couple of 400's near the end of January Mike and I even broke 6:00 min/mile pace.  It was a little crazy how fast we were running on the treadmill.  I am not sure I loved doing speed on the treadmill but it was the best option with the poor weather conditions.  During the end of January I noticed that my left upper quad was starting to bother me with the motion of lifting up my leg.  This greatly affected my running at any speed so I was so happy when our New Zealand cruise gave me an excuse to ease off of my running.  I am still not sure if it was the treadmill speed workouts or some of the lunge exercises I was doing that attributed to my sore quad.  All I know is that I kind of dropped the Runner's Circuit routine for now.  For the later part of February and all of March I have been running a couple days a week (mostly 5-6 miles with an average pace between 7:15-7:45 min/mile), lifting upper body weights with Mike twice a week, and adding in some ab and core strengthening. 

Even with this routine I know that it is not enough to just exercise so I am trying really hard to find balance with what I eat as well.  I have always heard that eating 5 small, healthy meals a day is a great way to boost metabolism and to prevent unhealthy snacking.  I have to say that I have been diligent in eating 5 smaller meals, mostly between 300-400 calories each, and watching that what I eat is healthy and nutritious.  That is not to say that I have completely eliminated my joys like chocolate and the occassional cookie(s)...I am not that crazy.  I try to fit in whole wheat instead of white but am not totally converted to a 100% whole wheat diet and don't really know if I ever will.  I just love the taste of good white bread and so do my kids.  We alternate between the two.  I have, however, completely converted to whole wheat tortillas because I have found they do taste just as good.  Eating fruits and vegetables is not usually a problem for me.  All of this has added to some balance in my life.  I am not running an overwhelming number of miles a week where all I think about is running.  I do not believe that to be healthy for me and for my family.  Running is something I do FIRST because I love it and SECOND because it is good for both my physical and mental well being.  I wish I had more time to train and I wish there were more races that were on Saturday here in Japan.  The fact of the matter is that I have to be happy with what I am able to do now.   Who knows how my routine will change down the road.  All I care about is that I continue to be DEDICATED, DETERMINED and DISCIPLINED in both my running and my eating!   

Make It Count

It's a New Year and a very exciting time to re-dedicate myself to the things I want to accomplish this year. As always I hope to maintain a good level of fitness throughout the year. I hope to be more consistent than I was last year with more planned races spread throughout the year. My ultimate goal would be to train for shorter distance races and hopefully get my time down to a competitive level. This year I will primarily be focusing on the 10K with possibly a half marathon and a few 5K races mixed in. I would like to see myself getting a time of 40:00 for the 10K by the end of the year. With some more intense speed training and better eating habits I know that I am capable of that time. One of my Christmas presents this year was a new scale. It's been a couple of years since I have had a scale. I am not one of those people who weighs myself regularly. I guess all that will be changing now. This scale is pretty cool. It not only checks body weight but also body fat, water weight, and muscle mass (all as a percent of total body weight). I was happy to see that my body weight is finally back down to a normal level for my height but completely shocked to see that my body fat% is on the high end for the good range. With that being said, I have been told to not take the body fat% reading from these kind of scales too seriously as they are not that accurate. I will be logging every week where I am at with all my readings in hopes to see the long term trend. I won't be as focused on the individual numbers as I will be with how my progress is. In any rate it will probably keep me humble enough to stay dedicated to my exercise. Here are my readings for this week: Body Weight - 109.8 lbs Body Fat - 23.8% Water Weight - 55.2% Muscle Mass - 35.7%.