Feeling Good

I have been working hard and feeling good. This past week we had some hard workouts. We did a lot of interval training where we combined running with strength training.

Monday was Labor day and I went for a run through our township park. It is a total of 1.22 miles, but it is either up hill or down hill. There is really no flat parts. I decided to start at the bottom so that I could finish at the bottom. I had to walk a little, but it was very little. I felt really good at the end. I was able to do it faster than my last mile that I did on flat.

Tuesday we had team training. We did a lot of strength training with some sprints in the middle. The sprints killed my knees so I won't be sprinting anymore. I still can't do a pull up, but I feel at least now I am making some progress in pulling myself up.

Wed was a rest day.

Thursday I went to the gym to do my homework. It was a lot of strength training with running intervals mixed in. It was tough. I was to do all of the sets 2x, but I was only able to get through them once - mainly due to time.

Friday I went back to the gym and did running on the treadmill. We had to warm up and then do so many minutes at a certain speed. I ended up going 2 miles in 25 minutes and I only rested about 15 sec. of that. I felt really good about that and my knees felt great.

I definitely think I am getting stronger and faster, but I still have a long way to go!

Injured

I forgot to blog last week, so I will begin with my workouts for Thursday and Sunday. My daughter, did both workouts with me, which is helpful because she is so encouraging. On Thursday we ran a 400 and then did 2 pull ups and 10 reverse burpees. We did this 4 times. I still can't do a pull up, but I tried. My daughter was able to do all of them. She is amazing!

On Sunday, we went to the track and ran 800 and then did step ups and split squats. I was suppose to do this 4 times, however Mother Nature had other plans and it began to thunder and the rain rolled in after we did 2 1/2 sets.

I took Monday off due to my son's 1st football game. He did a great job!!

On Tuesday I had team training and this is where the title of my post comes in. We did a timed mile, which I did in 9:15. I was amazed since up until then my fastest mile was 11:44. I guess I haven't been pushing myself as hard as I could be. After the run, we did some climbing on a rope device. We were on teams and our team had to do as many as we could in 10 min. I am proud to say that my team won! After this we had to climb over a wall two times. We then started to stretch and my knee started to throb. As I began to walk my opposite hamstring began to hurt. I was walking / limping to my car. I realized today that it was the rope thing that caused the injury. I am not sure if I pulled a groin muscle or a hamstring. I did a lot of stretching and got on the roller. I am hoping it is better by tomorrow because I have a workout to do.

Team Training and hills

Tuesday I had team training with Mindy. We went for a 5 minute run through Giant. Yes you heard me right, through Giant grocery store. Our leader was dared by one of the members to lead us on our warm up run through the grocery store and she took the dare. We had confused looks, glares, and some applause as we ran up and down the aisles. We will do anything to make training fun. We headed back to the gym and did circuit training. I felt pretty good except for the stinking pull ups. I do feel like I am getting a little stronger, but they are still really tough.

Wednesday was a running night. I ran a mile and then do 8 50 yard hills. I was to sprint the hills. Well, let's just say that I am not a sprinter. I did run them at a much faster pace than my mile run, however it was certainly NOT a sprint. After the hills I ran another 3/4 mile. It was not my faster run, however it was the most consecutive running I have done to date for this training.

I feel pretty good, but I am icing the knees to see if it helps.

Short run

Well I didn't go for a run on Saturday like I was planning on, but I did go on Sunday. I convinced my son to go with me and we went to the rail trail. We just did a light run and went 1 3/4 miles. I would have gone farther, but he wasn't up to it so we came home.

Monday I was planning on doing my homework, which was to run hills, however it began to pour before I left school and I wasn't able to get it in. Tomorrow is urban training.

Too tired and busy to post

This week our trainer was on vacation, but no fear, she gave us daily homework to do. I am proud to say that I did all of the homework!! YEAH!! On Monday, I met with my team to do supersets. We then had to go and run 1 1/2 miles. We complained through most of it, but we got the job done.

                                   My awesome team (Jess, Laura, and myself) working hard!!

On Tuesday, I was suppose to do 3 miles. We could walk or run or both. I went to our local rail trail (a quiet trail for walking, running, or biking only). I was able to run 1 mile, walked a 1/2 mile and ran the rest. I felt really good!

On Wednesday I met my amazing team again and we had to do lunges, squats, frog hops, etc. After that we had to do various sprinting sets. This is where I fell apart. I felt like I was going to blow my knee, so I decided to just jog them. The rest of my team didn't feel great either so we decided to just go for a short jog. My knees were killing me the rest of the day.

My teammate had told me about her running shoes and I thought I would try them. I went to Dick's since they were on sale and I had a coupon. I won't use them until Friday, which is my next running day.

Thursday I was able to rest my knees and do the same supersets from Monday. The only difference was that we had to do more of them and no running. I felt pretty good.

Friday I went back to the rail trail and I was to jog 1/4 mile, stretch, run a mile for a time, stretch, and jog another 1/4. I wore my new shoes and was able to do my fastest time yet. I did a 10:44, which for me is really good. My knees were bothering me a little bit, but not too bad. I came home and got on the roller, said a few prayers while doing it, and did some more stretching. I feel pretty good right now.

Tomorrow is a rest day, however I may go for a run and make Sunday my rest day. I will see how I feel in the morning.

Bruised but feeling good

I had team training on Tuesday. Mindy, our trainer, set up various stations for us to work through. One of them was a suspended rope wall, which swayed. We had to go up the rope, over the top, and down the other side. It wouldn't have been so bad except for the fact that it swayed. That was pretty difficult and caused me to get my first wound.

Mindy gives us homework that we are to complete throughout the week. So Wednesday night I did a pyramid workout. You are to do pull ups, push ups, sit ups, and squats. You add more each set until you get to the 10th set, then you work your way back down again. Well, I couldn't find a place to do pull ups, so I just did the push ups, sit ups, and squats. I felt pretty good. I was tired when I was done, but it wasn't as bad as I thought. I am sure I will change my tune when I add the pull ups.

Today is Thursday and I felt pretty good. A little sore from the push ups and the squats, but not too bad. My one teammate, Laura, and I meet at the track to do tonight's homework. We had to run a lap and then go up and down the stairs. We were to do 6 sets. I felt pretty good on the run, however the stairs were killing me. My legs were rubber by the end. I am sure it was because they were so tired from the squats last night. All in all I feel pretty good. My left knee is hurting a little, but not as much as it had been.

Vacation

I haven't posted much since we were on vacation, however that didn't mean that I wasn't working out. After my Tuesday workout at they gym I was extremely sore. We left Wednesday night to go to West Virginia. On Thursday we went White Water Rafting. I was very worried because I had never done this and I was so sore I had no idea how I was going to paddle. I started out very sore, but as the trip went I began to loosen up. By the end of the trip (3 hours) I felt pretty good. It was an aerobic workout.  Friday I didn't get a workout in, since we traveled to Maryland to see my in-laws. On Saturday I did go for a run. I added more time to my run and less to my walk. I ran 3 min., walked 1.5. I did this 4 times and then did a 1min. run and a 1.5 min cool down walk. I felt really good during the workout, but shortly after both of my knees began to hurt. Today both of my knees are really sore. I know I need to do something, but not sure what. I may go kayaking, but not sure yet.

Questioning my Decision

After a much needed break for my muscles, I finally went for a run yesterday. I felt really good. I was thinking, "Okay, we are back and ready to go." Tonight I had my first official training session for the race. It was quite a humbling experience. I was really worried about it. I was just hoping that I could hang with everyone. I did fine with the running, however not so good with the rest. We did push ups - did ok. We did pull ups - I had to do the assisted machine pull ups. We did tricep work - no problem. We did hanging chin ups - huge problem!! I could hang for 15 seconds, but I could NOT pull myself up and hang. It was awful. I felt defeated. I have been lifting for a year now and I thought that I was much stronger than that. I am already sore. I can't imagine how sore I will be tomorrow and Thursday. I have a lot of work to do and much ibuprofen to take! I am now wondering if signing up for this race was a good idea.

Still Pain

I woke up today and I am still in pain. The pain goes from my butt down my leg, into my knee and down into my foot. I went to the gym and talked to the trainer. He said that my muscle is really tight. I am not allowed to run until it feels better. So today I lifted, rode the bike, stretched, and got on the roller. It is definitely tight! I left the gym and went to get new running shoes. I have had my current ones for about 2 years and I am wondering if this is part of the problem. I went to Flying Feet - they are great! They take so much time with you to make sure that you have the perfect shoe. I ended up with these - hopefully they will help!

Pain

I didn't get a chance to do any exercise today. I was up at 6 am to go to my daughter's swim meet. I was in charge of volunteers and the hospitality suite. I barely had time to sit down. I worked from 6 until 2. As the day went on, my hip began to hurt more and more. By tonight the pain has spread into my knee. I think I did something to my muscle during Yoga. I am not sure what, but it really hurts. I am taking some Ibuprofen and heading to bed. We have another swim meet tomorrow.  I am hoping that we are finished before dark and that I feel up to going for a run.

Sore

I got up this morning, which I thought was a plus! I was exhausted (could've have been from staying up until 1 am watching a show with Steven). I was very sore from Yoga. I knew that I HAD to go to the gym, even though it was the last thing I felt like doing. I got to the gym and usually once I am warmed up I begin to feel a little better. Not today! I did make it through my workout, but it was ugly. As the day goes on, I am beginning to feel better and not so sore. I think that a hot shower and some more stretching will help.

Yoga

Well I ran on Tuesday and felt pretty good. I was somewhat stiff and my knee hurt a little, but not too bad. Wednesday I lifted and did interval training on the treadmill. As the day wore on, I began to feel sore. I decided that I needed to do some stretching, so I got up today and went to a Yoga class. I felt really good after the class, but as the day went on I was really sore. I felt like I stretched and I am not stiff, but my hips are really sore. The kids and I went to Hershey and the more we walked the worse I felt. I was going to run tonight, but I am not sure I could have. I am going to rest and go lifting tomorrow. Time will tell.

Training for the Race

The unusual race that I will be doing is called an Urbanathlon. It is held in 3 different cities, New York, Chicago, and San Francisco. It is a 10 mile race through the city combined with 6 different obstacles. You can opt to do it alone or as a team. If you do it as a team, you run a 5K and do 2 obstacles. You can check it out at: http://www.menshealthurbanathlon.com/

I first heard about this at the gym where I work out.  I jumped on the Internet to check it out. I was immediately intrigued, however I thought there is no way I can do this. The next day a friend of mine posted something on facebook that she was thinking about doing it. I responded that I was thinking about it also and we decided to form a team. We still needed one more team member. We spoke to the gym owner and she found us someone that wanted to join us.

Once I committed, I began to get nervous. I am a very impulsive person and I tend to sign up for things before I really think about it. So I am now committed and realize I am in no way in shape for this type of race. I have been working out regularly for about a year and a half, but I am not in that good of shape.  Luckily, the gym has about 10 teams signed up, so they are having special training classes just for us. We begin our official training on July 31st. In the meantime, we have an assignment. We are to run every other day for 20 minutes. We start with a warmup, then run 1 min, walk 1.5, minutes, and continue for 20 min. Each day we are to increase the amount of running time. I started doing this on Thursday of last week and I have not been able to increase the time yet. The trainer told me that she would like us to all be on a relatively equal playing field. I am really beginning to worry that I won't be ready.

Introduction

I wanted to start my blog by telling a little about myself. I am your average middle aged woman. I am married to a great guy, have two children (Samantha & Steven), am a third grade teacher, daughter, sister, and friend. I am extremely busy - aren't we all? I work full time and chauffer the kids part time, although sometimes it feels like a full time job.

I am starting this blog for one main reason. I am a teacher and I want my students to learn to blog. I can't expect them to do something that I myself don't do. So, I am stepping out of my comfort zone and beginning a blog. 

When I thought about doing this I thought, "What in the world will I blog about?" I am so average that no one will want to read what I have to say. There is nothing terribly exciting about me. My family doesn't like me telling friends about them so I thought they would really hate it if I talked about them to the world. I finally decided that I would blog about how I am training for an unusual race. I will chronicle my ups and downs of training. I decided that I really don't care if anyone reads my blog or makes comments. I am doing this for me so I can be a better teacher.