Another busyyyy week! No time for blogging although I've had a million things to say (not really, but at least a few thoughts).  At least this time I did do all of my runs from my training plan.

Week 7 in review:

Monday

Scheduled: 3 mile easy run

Ran: 4.84 mi @ 10'15" pace. 

I did more than scheduled because I never did the long run last week so I wanted to get it done ASAP!

Tuesday

Scheduled: Easy C/T or off

Did: Cardio H2O class + Will Power & Grace Class (Squats/Planks) For a total of 2 hours worth of classes at the gym.  I know squats and planks are good for you but that class kills me and my knees. :P

Wednesday

Scheduled: Hills + 10 minutes easy

Did: Ran 3 miles on the track with Jen.  3.15 miles @ 9'36" pace

Thursday

Scheduled: 3 miles easy

Did: Nothing!

Friday

Scheduled: nothing

Did: Hills workout. 

5 minute warmup, 15 minute on the incline mode on the treadmill with 400m on and 400m off, 10 minute cooldown.  

Ended up being 3.15 miles @ 10'10" pace

Saturday

Scheduled: 5 mile long run

Did: nothing!

Sunday

Scheduled: C/T or off

Did: 5 miles on the treadmill! It was tough. ended up being 5.01 mi @ 10'05" pace.  So glad I reached that goal though, 5 miles was looming over me like an unattainable goal.   Maybe I succeeded because I bought myself my 5-mile present a week early? :)  I will do a post with my new purchases as soon as I get a chance. 

10k Training Plan: Week 5

Five weeks down, eleven to go! This week I ran the most miles that I ever have in any given week, about 16 total.

My week:

Monday

Prescribed: 30 min easy run

Ran: 3.33 mi in 29:01 (8'42" pace).  Not exactly an easy run, but I started faster than I intended and felt good enough to keep the pace going. Proud of myself for pushing hard!

Tuesday

Prescribed: Easy cross train/off

Did: Nothing!

Wednesday

Prescribed: 2 x 1 mile at race pace or a bit faster

Ran: Warm up 500 meters, 1 mile at 8:37 pace, jog, 1 mile at 8:21, 500 meter cool down. Total: 3.29 mi at 9'23" pace.  Also did a deep water exercise class for an hour.

Thursday

Prescribed: 30 minutes easy

Ran: 2.84 miles around the neighborhood at a 9'55" pace.  Ate before running and didn't feel too swell! Gotta stop that eating before running. Also not a huge fan of 3pm Thursday runs. 

Friday

Prescribed: OFF

Did: Rock climbing, Ran 2 miles at easy pace, and some abs. So.... didn't take the day off. Oops!

Saturday

Prescribed: 4.5 mi long run at easy pace

Did: Nothing! Wanted to rest my legs a bit after 3 days in a row

Sunday

Prescribed: Cross Train/Off

Ran: 4.51 miles in 47:03 (10'26" pace).  I felt really pretty sick today, might be getting the flu?  My boyfriend came over to use the treadmills so I felt like having him around would at least give me the motivation to finish my long run for the week.  I did it! Not sure if I will feel better/worse tomorrow...

10k Training Report: Week 4

Another week down and I have stuck to the 10k training plan.  I was kind of dreading writing this post today because all I have done lately is write posts reviewing my training...zzzz ;)

Without further ado, this is how the week went:

Monday
Prescribed: Easy run for 25 mins
Ran: 2.63 miles outside in 26 minutes (9'54" pace).  This run was horrible very interesting because I had just eaten two large enchiladas and then realized that I had to get a run in. So I ran with a belly full of Mexican food.  It didn't sit well.  It was also a bit hard to breath because it was so foggy and warm! Crazy weather here in Illinois.  Funny thing, I wore regular mascara and when I was done with my run, I looked like I was having a nervous breakdown with mascara all over my eyes.
(Took this lovely picture here after cleaning up the mascara. Still have some dew hair from the fog)

Tuesday

Prescribed: Easy cross train
Did: Jillian Michael's 6-week sixpack.  You are supposed to do it 5x a week (aka 30 times total).  At this rate, I will have a 6 pack in 30 weeks.  Also, have I ever mentioned that I hate burpees? Well if I haven't, let's take notice here. I hate burpees.

Wednesday
Prescribed: 3 miles + 4-5 striders, speed workout
Ran: 3.09 miles at an 8:16 pace (took a break in between miles 2 and 3). I didn't exactly follow the workout but I did complete the 3 miles and did go for speed. Got my new Garmin 210 watch! (WOO, will review it later).  I also did a one-hour fitness class, "deep water exercise." It was pretty much water running and water weights in the deep end. Fun, but the water got kind of cold toward the end.

Thursday
Prescribed: 25 minutes easy
Ran: 2.63 at a 9'32" pace on the apartment treadmill.  It may be the case that I was running a bit slower. I was using my Garmin footpod.  The pace felt comfortable to me, and being the out of shape person I am, I am not convinced I can comfortably run that fast in an "easy" run. Who knows!

Friday
Off!!!

Saturday
Prescribed: 4 mile long run at easy pace
Ran: 4.25 miles in 41:34 (9'46" pace). Wanted to do a little extra since next week is 4.5.  The treadmill said I was going about 40 seconds slower per mile, but I used the footpod time because I always find treadmills to be off a bit. Also, the footpod was pretty spot on during my indoor track run. Anyone else have input on this?

Sunday
Homework allll dayyyy + Superbowl.  Also, I made Neon Blonde Runner's cake batter dip for the Superbowl and it was a big hit!  It was delish and I will be making a second batch this week.  I keep telling myself that the greek yogurt makes it a great source of protein.....

10k Training Report: Week 2

Something about me is that I have grand goals when it comes to working out, and I rarely keep up with these goals.. For instance, the picture below inspired me to work out for awhile last year.. until I realized that no amount of exercise will help me grow two cup sizes :-\. Le sigh.

(photo credit: http://media-cache-ec2.pinterest.com/upload/103934703870699056_kgRpaAjK.jpg)

 I'm' happy to say that I still haven't quit running, despite starting back in November.  In fact, I've kept up completely with the first two week of my 10k running plan. 

My week in review:

Monday

Prescribed: 20 minutes easy

Ran: 23 minutes for 2.06 miles (10:58 pace) on the treadmill in my apartment complex before class. Felt pretty good, watched a little "Say yes to the dress" and went at a nice pace for me to sustain.

Tuesday

Prescribed: Easy XT or off

Did: Tuesday-fun-day. Went to a swim cardio class with my friend.  

It was pretty easy but really fun. I wore my new tri swim top and swim cap (aka mad sexayness)(do you guys think I look as good as the girl in the picture above??!!!?). 

Wednesday

Prescribed: 25 minutes run + 2-3 striders

Ran: 27 minute run, 2.69 miles (10:11 pace), 3 90-meter striders, no idea what pace. 

Thursday

Prescribed: 20 minute easy run

Ran: nothingz. Was busy! Ended up doing the run Friday

Friday

Prescribed: OFF

Ran: 20 minutes around the neighborhood, ~ 2 miles. 

Saturday

Prescribed: Long run, 3.5 miles

Ran: Nothing! Was resting my knee a bit. Glad I did

Sunday

Prescribed: Optional XT

Ran: 3.5 miles, 39 minutes, 10:58 pace on treadmill.  Made up for my long run miss today. Ran the whole thing, albeit slower than normal. 

Treadmill

I only wish my treadmill exercises were this exciting!

but not THIS exciting

10k Training Report: Week One

I posted my training plan previously (here), but this is a quick view of what my plan was for the week.  Basically, anything that says "easy" was supposed to be in the 12:00 min/mi pace, and then speed is kind of just my general walk/run pace which tends to be 10:15-10:45 min/mi. 

This is how the week turned out for me:

Monday

Two mile "easy run" at the gym, which ended up being at a faster pace than I intended. I forgot to stop my time, it was actually about 20:40, so 10:20 per mile pace.  Then I did 25 minutes on the bike while watching E! Turned out to be about 5 miles on the bike. 

Tuesday

Tuesday is rest or easy XT.  I did the  Jillian Michaels "6 week to sixpack" video followed by 5-10 minutes of free weights.  Felt pretty good but man I can't do burpees!

 (Shown above: Gracie wondering what is happening in the living room??... below: Adding a little resistance mom!)

Wednesday

Ran 2.08mi in 20 minutes (9:35 pace? Couldn't believe it myself).  Then did 3 x 100 meter sprints at a 6:30 pace.  Ran at night so I got to wear my new Highgear running light that my brother got me for Christmas. :)

Wearing: lululemon brisk run toque (here); Highgear running light (similar here)

Thursday

Ran at the gym with boyfriend's mom (don't worry, we're buddies).  Ran 2.19 miles over 24:31, so a nice 11'10" pace.  I think 11:00-11:30 will be a comfortable pace for long runs for me. I felt really great.  (besides a weird knee pain, I'm going to roll my knee today).

Friday
Rest day!!

Saturday

"Long" 3-mile run with Jen on campus. We were supposed to go at a slower pace but she's a speedy one so I found myself running at my race pace the whole time. Yikes!  Still had a good time and the weather was beautiful (50 degrees) for January.  We only ran 3.06 miles at first, and then I took a break and watched my boyfriend run the 3000m at the Illinois open indoor race (he is 26, he ran unattached). Afterward I ran back to my car because it was dark and rainy! I decided to do the Nike+ for that too for fun.  I'm starting to think that the Nike+ app is not all that accurate.  I sprinted part of the way home and it showed me going at a 7:30 pace (I was sprinting, no way I could sustain that for longer than .2 miles), but then I stopped to walk a bit, and the MPH graph shows me going a steady 9:30 min mile.  Not that its a big deal but I guess I just prefer accuracy!!

Sunday
Thinking I'll be taking Sunday as a rest and homework day :)

10k Training Starts Today

My friend Jen and I signed up for the Illinois 10k (part of the Christie Clinic Illinois Marathon weekend).  We both started running in November/Dec of 2012 and are somewhat on the same level of speed and fitness.  Ok, fine, she's a bit faster than me. BUT she's a good friend and is going to stay on pace with me and train with me for the 10k on April 27 of this year. 

I looked up several training plans online, it seemed like there was not one that fit right for our level of fitness.  We aren't quite beginners because we have been running for a few months now and can finish a 5k if need be (let's not talk about my latest running slump).  We surely aren't intermediate yet, having only run for a short number of months and not quite having a base level of fitness.  So we are beginnermediate I suppose?  Alas, there were no beginnermediate training plans that I could find, so I combined a few (here, here, here) and made my own.  It is 16 weeks long because that is how long we have until the big race. You can click on the image to view it larger.

My primary goal is to remain injury free during this entire period and finish the race.  If I want to have a lofty goal, I'd like to run the entire race nonstop.  An even loftier goal would be to run it at a 10:00 min/mile pace.  My loftiest goal will be to complete the race, outfitted head-to-toe in lululemon with my mascara still looking great and a radient but not sweaty-pig-like glow ;)  Anyone have any good pictures of their first 10k?