marathon

Not surprising really

/ hoodieruns / Leave a comment

Just nicely home from Las Vegas over the weekend. We had a blast, celebrating the one year anniversary of our engagement and having fun with friends. We go every year with mostly the same group and it’s always a mixed bag of adventures, shenanigans and debauchery. As you might have guessed, this trip had a *wee* bit of an impact on my training plans… and the title says it all.

Monday OFF.
Tuesday 9K easy – completed
Wednesday Strength training – completed, in the hallway of the hotel b/c I’m not paying $25 for an hour workout.
Thursday 12K fartlek – fail.
Friday 8K easy – fail.
Saturday 7K easy – fail.
Sunday 14K easy – fail.
That’s 41K of missed training. 
At least this week is a new week and I’m off to a good start.
Monday OFF.
Tuesday 10K easy – completed. I’ve also got volleyball and soccer tonight.
Wednesday Strength training
Thursday 8K easy
Friday 9K total w/ long hills
Saturday 8K easy
Sunday 17K easy
Sunday could prove to be a challenge as I’ve got my cousin’s wedding on Saturday night and we’re staying out of town. Since I put on (another) 2lbs while in Las Vegas, I’ve got a goal to be extra healthy this week to drop that weight and get my kms done. Saturday night will include lots of water, and dancing my ass off and I’m doing that long run come hell, hangover or high water.
I’ve also got another chance to redeem myself. I’m calling it “penance” for the Las Vegas trip. The first full week of March, I’m headed to Panama City Beach for a week long triathlon training camp. I think that with swimming, biking and running, I’ll more than make up for that missed 41K.
And now for your viewing pleasure, a few shots from my trip:
Yes that is Emmett Cullen (aka Kellan Lutz)

So much better looking in real life

Caesars – my shopping mecca

Caesars at dusk
There were many more but I’d need to add an 18+ disclaimer to my blog.
Also, one last surprise from the trip to come. Stay tuned.

Marathon Training: It Has Begun

/ hoodieruns / 1 Comment

It is day four of Marathon Training: The Quest For Boston. So far, I am four out of four for completing workouts. Here’s what my week as looked like so far:
Mon: OFF (I’m so good at these days. I kill them.)
Tues: 9K easy
Wed: strength training
Thurs: 11K easy

The runs on Tuesday and Thursday I did in the morning before work. As tough as it is to get out of bed and get moving, it’s definitely better than waiting until the evening to get the workout done. That’s what happened on Wednesday. I couldn’t haul myself out of bed so told myself that I’d do strength training in the evening. That  could have been disastrous but luckily, my favourite show, Republic of Doyle, is on Wednesday nights. So, I made a deal with myself. No Republic of Doyle unless I worked out during or after it. I chose during because an hour long workout after would have had me up until 11PM and I needed to get up early to run in the morning. As Jake got to the bottom of an attempted murder and antagonized poor b’y, Sergeant Hood, I worked my way through the Koalas strength training program.

2 sets of 12-15 reps of the following:
hamstring curls
shoulder press
bench press
shoulder flys
bicep curls
tricep kickbacks
weighted squats
weighted lunges
tricep press
calf exercise from physio on each side.

core:
one set of 88’s
20 sit up twists
1min plank

Last Sunday, prior to the official start of training, I completed a 14.75K run too and had done a long run up to 17K in January as well. Nothing spectacular but definitely confidence boosters for the work that is coming in the next 16 weeks.

So there you have it.

@FitBoundy, @cellagirl, @bigbrnz and @Leslie_Morton – what’s going on with your training???

*deep breath* I have some news

/ hoodieruns / 1 Comment

This is a big deal. *deep breath* I have some news.

No, I’m not pregnant.

I’m going to run the Ottawa Marathon on Sunday 27 May, 2012 and I’m shooting for a Boston Qualifying time. 

Oh my god, I’ve said it. This is a big deal. KB and I are both committing to this goal. She and I are in the same age category and we both need to run absolutely no more than 3:35. That’s an hour and 10 minutes off my marathon time. (cue butterflies in my stomach and general feeling of nausea.)

The last few weeks have been a bit of a roller coaster for me and as a result, I’ve been running like a madwoman. About four or five days a week, you can find me pounding the pavement, trying desperately to hang on to my sanity.

Two weekends ago I ran 7K with SK and it slipped by so quickly. Last weekend I ran 8K back home in Goderich and wanted to go much further. I was afraid of being accused of trying to run from my demons (aka Mom would get worried about me and drive out to pick me up) so I cut it back. During the week I’m getting in at least two 5K runs, a bike ride on the trainer in the basement, and a 6.6K run. And I’m feeling amazing. So logically, my head turns to “I wonder what we are capable of?” Not to mention a friend, MC, ran his first marathon at Niagara Falls on the 23rd and said, “I’m super proud, but I want to do another one and do it faster.” Which is pretty much exactly what I said after mine. Yet another spark in the fire… Finally, I saw KB on Friday night. She and I chatted about a spring marathon and our parallel goals of ‘better’ and ‘faster’. So that, dear reader, is how I got to “I’m going to do another marathon and I’m going to qualify for Boston while doing it.”

“That’s great Hoodie,” you say, “spout off lots of big talk. Where’s the plan Hoodie? Where’s the PLAN?!?” Well, rest assured good friend. There is a plan and it started yesterday.

The Plan.
Starting yesterday I’m doing the Hal Higdon 12 Week Intermediate Speed Work prep. See below for the bang it started off with…

After the 12 Weeks of Hal, I’m moving on to 18 (more) Weeks of Hal. Again, an intermediate training program.

Status Update:
 Day one: failed to run 5K. I ate Halloween candy, sat on the couch, and gushed over this cuteness:

Day two: because of time constraints, swapped the scheduled workout with the Wednesday workout. Completed 4.3K and 3 x hill sprint repeats.
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To refresh your memory, or to learn about how the marathon went for me the first time, read marathon before 25 – complete.

Check out the pictures at marathon pics almost a month late.

There you go. That’s my big news. Hells yes bitches.

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