Not Like The Rest

Training for this race has NOT been like training for my other races.

For my very first half marathon I followed my training plan to a T, and come race day I felt beyond prepared. I think I could have ran a full marathon that day. No joke. Vic wanted to kill me all 13.1 miles because of how much energy I had. Also, it’s possible the other runners wanted to kill me because I sang out loud to Vic. I’ll just go with they probably ran faster to try and get away from me! 😛

Lehigh Valley Half Marathon 4/25/2010

My second race’s training was good, but not quite as good because of the summer heat. I cut a couple of runs short, but followed my plan for the most part.

Rock n Roll Philadelphia Half Marathon 9/19/2010

For my third race, work got in the way a handful of times, but again I followed my plan. I think I felt a little undertrained simply because I felt so much pressure to run faster (mostly self imposed). I ended up PRing my half marathon time by 9 minutes, so I guess I wasn’t that under trained.

Philadelphia Half Marathon 11/21/2010

Now, for my fourth race, I will say that I am definitely under trained. I’m not just saying it this time. That’s not to say I won’t finish (I hope I will!), but I have cut many runs short, or completely. Then today, my very last run before race day, I bailed! What’s wrong with me?!?! I wanted to wake up early because I had plans after work, but when my alarm went off I was like naaaah! My reasoning was that these last 5 miles wouldn’t really make a difference. In reality, that’s probably true, but what kind of attitude is that?!

These past few weeks I have felt really worn out by running. It seemed like a chore almost, and honestly I thought about breaking up with running for a little while after this race. In my head I had even wrote some of the post about this impending running hiatus. However, today I got bit by the race bug again. At work today I received an email about another race that had me thiiiiis close to clicking the register button. I want to see how Sunday goes, but if I cross with runner’s high as I have for the past three races, then I fully intend on signing up for another race. More details to come after Sunday.

After I got to work this morning I felt awfully guilty about skipping my run. I thought about running during lunch but the weather was terrible and I was pretty busy today. So today’s run didn’t happen, which isn’t great, but it’s also not the end of the world. All I can do now is rest my legs for Sunday and give it everything I’ve got.

–Melissa

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Duck Lips

4 or 5 years ago I got a really bad sun burn. So bad that my lips swelled and I looked like a duck.

Now I’m slightly afraid of the sun. When I go to the beach I’m typically the shiniest person there because I put on sun screen like it’s my job. Ever since then, I burn so easily you would think I am a natural red head or something. Well apparently sitting in the sun for a few hours studying was a really bad idea because my entire upper back is bright red. It hurts when anything touches it, including the back of a chair and my bed. And my sports bra. I really hope that it is slightly less painful by Sunday! Ouch!

Tonight I headed out for a 5 miler. It was hot, hot, hot! Luckily it looks like the weather will be a little cooler on Sunday. I’m crossing my fingers! I tried to relax and just let my legs go, sort of unattached from the rest of me. It worked! I wasn’t pushing overly hard and yet my pace was right on average for me. I’m going to try to do this for the race too. I’m pretty nervous about surviving the 10 miler!

5 more days!

–Melissa

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Words With Friends

This afternoon I got a 145 point word in Words with Friends. I’m addicted. In case you were wondering, the word was quag, with a triple letter on the Q going 2 ways, and a triple word on the G. I didn’t think my day could get any better. But then I did a killer upper body work out.

It went like this…

Chest: Dumb bell press x12, x10, x8, x6, x12 increasing the weight each time; dumb bell flies x12, with tuck crunches in between every set except for the super set (where I went directly from the presses into the flies)

Back: Lateral pull down (same format of reps as chest); one arm rows, with standing obliques in between every set except the super set

Shoulders: Shoulder presses; lateral raises, with regular crunches in between sets. (I’m convinced there is some sort of nerve attached to whatever affects the lateral raises muscles (I’m so scientific) and my upper lip, I always get an Elvis thing going on when I do this move!)

Biceps: One armed curls; alternating curls, with jumping jacks in between

Triceps: Cable pulls; dips, nothing in between because the gym was super crowded and I didn’t want to lose my spot

In other news, my sun burn is worse than I thought. Rock. Lobster.

Now I need to get some studying done. How the heck is it 9 already?!?!?!

–Melissa

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1 year ago

One week til Broad Street!

Today I did 6.75 miles plus .9 of walking to cool down. It was HOT!

Then I studied in a park a few blocks from my apartment.

Now I’m sunburnt.

And really tired.

All that sun zapped my energy.

I should study more, but I’m probably lying on my couch.

Exactly 1 year ago today I was lying on my bed at Lehigh not studying after having finished my very first half marathon!

What a year!

–Melissa

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Fast Four (five?)

Real quick cause I’m sleepy…

I woke up this morning still a little sore so I decided to wait until tonight to run to give myself the day to loosen up. After work I headed out for a run. I wasn’t sure how much I felt like running. I knew I should do 5, but I was really feeling more like 3. Bleh. Anyway I settled on 4. It took 39 minutes, including two 1 minute walking breaks. Pretty good!

Then I went back to my apartment feeling a little guilty for not doing that last mile. I had a bunch of missed calls from my work friend who needed some help with something. So I walked back to work and ended up getting in that extra mile anyway! (Work is a half mile away, so round trip = 1 mile)

My best friend from Lehigh is coming tomorrow! TGIF! And tomorrow is Earth Day! And the anniversary of my prom! I could keep going…but I’m tired. Bed now.

–Melissa

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Too sore to run

So on Monday, after my long run, I somehow decided it would be a good idea to do a lower body work out. Here’s a little math for you….8 miles on Sunday + squats, leg presses, lateral crunches, lunges (literally til fatigue I thought I my legs were going to fall off), dead lifts, calf raises, oblique twists,  scissor crunches, and leg lifts on Monday = not being able to move on Tuesday

I literally was shuffling around like a grandma turtle.

Running was NOT happening even though I had 5 miles planned. I had serious DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) and it hurt to sit down, it hurt to stand up, it hurt to go upstairs, it hurt to go downstairs, and so on, and so forth. I think the only thing that didn’t hurt was my ear lobes.

Today I was still a little sore and decided to an upper body work out instead. I started with a 10 minute warm up on the bike to get my blood moving. I did a set of chest with barbell presses and dumb bell flys with tuck crunches in between sets. I did a set of back with seat rows and lat pull downs with crunches on the ball in between sets. I did a set of shoulders with upright rows and lateral raises with lateral crunches in between sets. I did a set of biceps with bicep curls and alternating curls with regular crunches in between sets. Finally, I did a set of triceps with cable pulls and skull crushers with oblique twists in between sets. I was crunched for time so I didn’t cool down and headed home to get ready for work.

I’m hoping I will be un-sore tomorrow and that I can go for a run. Broad Street is quickly approaching. I spent a while this afternoon talking with some co workers who are running it too and it pumped me up! It also made me wish I had trained more…hmm….

–Melissa

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Almost Quitter

I had 8 miles scheduled for this weekend. I really wanted to get it out of the way on Saturday because honestly I was kind of dreading it. But, Mom said the weather was going to be bad so I decided to put it off until Sunday.

The weather seemed to be holding off on Saturday morning but since I had already decided on Sunday I hit the gym for an upper body strength work out. It was great! I’m feeling a little sore today, but not as bad as I would have expected.

Here’s what I did (sorry this is so long, and I can’t un-italicize it!):

10 minute warm up on the bike

 

Chest:

Dumbbell bench press:

12 reps at 12.5 lbs

1 minute rest

10 reps at 15 lbs

1 minute rest

8 reps at 17.5 lbs

1 minute rest

6 reps at 20 lbs

1 minute rest

12 reps at 17.5 lbs

No rest

Dumbbell flies:

12 reps at 17.5

 

Back:

Lat Pull Downs:

12 reps at 54 lbs

1 minute rest

10 reps at 58 lbs

1 minute rest

8 reps at 64 lbs

1 minute rest

6 reps at 76 lbs

1 minute rest

12 reps at 64 lbs

No rest

One arm rows:

12 reps on each side at 20 lbs

 

Shoulders:

Seated Shoulder Press:

12 reps at 7.5 lbs

1 minute rest

10 reps at 10 lbs

1 minute rest

8 reps at 12.5 lbs

1 minute rest

6 reps at 15 lbs

1 minute rest

12 reps at 12.5 lbs

No rest

Front raises

12 reps at 10 lbs

 

Biceps:

Regular curls:

12 reps at 12.5 lbs

1 minute rest

10 reps at 15 lbs

1 minute rest

8 reps at 17.5 lbs

1 minute rest

6 reps at 20 lbs

1 minute rest

12 reps at 17.5 lbs

No rest

Alternating Curls:

12 reps at 17.5 lbs

 

Triceps:

Cable Extensions:

12 reps at 50 lbs

1 minute rest

10 reps at 60 lbs

1 minute rest

8 reps at 70 lbs

1 minute rest

6 reps at 80 lbs

1 minute rest

12 reps at 70 lbs

No rest

Tricep dips:

12 reps

 

10 minute cool down on the bike

 

It was entertaining and went by really quickly. I’m sure I will be doing more of this! FYI: I didn’t make up this work out. I found it by googling. So I can’t take any credit for how awesome it was.

Anyway, back to the running…

This morning I woke up and groaned at the thought of running. I don’t know why, but I just have NOT felt like running lately. But, I knew I had to do it in order to make Broad Street (in 2 weeks!) not torturous. I was keeping an “eh” pace for the 1st 4 miles. Around mile 4.5 I passed my apartment. I kept running past it but at mile 4.6 I realized how windy it was and how freezing I was, so I turned around and ran upstairs to get a jacket. I didn’t feel like going back out so I called Mom and Vic for a pep talk. Neither of them answered. Thanks guys! 😛 I thought about how I would feel later if I quit, and how I would feel if I finished.

So I grabbed a long sleeved shirt and headed back out. It wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it would be. I ended up run/walking the last 2 miles because my calves and IT band were starting to bother me. Gulp! But, I ended up doing 8.37 miles! Woo! I’d say over 7 of that was running and around 1 was walking.

Just 5 more runs until Broad Street!

–Melissa

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More Strength

After yesterday’s weight lifting I felt awesome. So I’ve decided to do more of that. For now it will be in addition to running because I do have that whole 10 mile race  thing coming up. You know, the one I’m completely under trained for. Yikes.

I decided on a mini strength routine and a treadmill run tonight after work. I was half way through my strength training when I remembered I had worked some of the same muscles yesterday. Oops. But, since that work out was at 5:30 am and this one was at 6:30 pm we can pretend it was 2 days apart. Right?! Right.

I did this circuit 3 times:

-squats
-jumping jacks
-crunches
-plank
-hamstring curls on the ball
-crunches with legs on the ball

Then I ran 5.5 miles in 50 minutes with another .5 miles of walking to cool down.

Then I rushed home to catch an episode of Extreme Couponing.

Don’t knock it til you watch it. So good.

–Melissa

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Something Different

As my loyal reader(s?) (Vic?) know, I usually just post about running. But today is worthy of a post even though a run was not involved.

I woke up at 4 am, which happens fairly often. Usually I can fall back to sleep after some tossing and turning or taking off my socks (weird, I know). Usually I am like a zombie at this hour and the thought of even getting out of bed is unheard of. But this morning I was a ball of energy and after an hour of lying there I decided I might as well go work out since I was awake. I had 2 hours until I needed to get in the shower for work. I haven’t had 2 hours to work out on a week day in a long time. I decided to take full advantage of this.

Here’s what went down:

7 minute warm up: 7 moves 30 seconds each, whole set done twice

1. high knees

2. butt kicks

3. squat jumping jacks

4. sprint in place

5. mummy kicks

6. heisman shuffles

7. standing heismans

 

Bench Press 3 sets (20  reps w/ 5 lbs, 15 reps w/ 10 lbs, 10 reps w/ 12.5 lbs)

Lat Pull down 3 sets (10 reps w/ 70 lbs)

1 minute treadmill sprint at 8.0, 1 minute walking

 

Seated Chest Press 3 sets (10 reps w/ 40 lbs)

Flys 3 sets (20 reps w/ 50 lbs)

1 minute stairmill sprint

 

Shoulder Press 3 sets (10 reps w/ 30 lbs)

Seated Row 3 sets (8 reps w/ 70 lbs)

1 minute treadmill sprint at 8.0, 1 minute walking

 

Squats 3 sets (20 reps w/ 90 lbs)

Hip Aductors 3 sets (20 reps w/ 80 lbs)

Hip Abductors 3 sets (20 reps w/ 80 lbs)

1 minute stairmill sprint

 

Tricep pulls 3 sets (20 reps w/ 60 lbs, 20 reps w/ 60 lbs, 15 reps w/ 60 lbs)

Bicep curls 3 sets (20 reps w/ 15 lbs, 15 reps w/ 17.5 lbs, 10 reps w/ 20 lbs)

1 minute treadmil sprint at 8.5, 1 minute walking

 

Ball crunches 3 sets of 25

Leg raises on ball 3 sets of 20 on each leg

Oblique twists with ball 3 sets of 20

Regular crunches 3 sets of 25

Reverse crucnhes 1 set of 10

Side crunches 1 set of 25 on each side

 

25 easy minutes on the elliptical

I really liked that there was a burst of cardio between every 2 moves. It kept me very entertained.

I was home by 7:30 and showered and headed off to work. The only problem was I was falling asleep by 10 am! I could hardly hold my head up.

As fun as this morning was I don’t think these super long morning work outs will happen very often.

zzzz….

–Melissa

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Camelbak Come Back

To be totally honest, last week even though I worked late, I wasn’t running in the gym because I don’t like running at night. I was running in the gym because I was scared of wiping out again! Today when I left work the sun was still shining and it was 80 degrees. It would have been ridiculous to run on the treadmill. So I hurried home to change out of my work clothes and into my running gear, I decided to break out my Camelbak again since it was so warm out. Then I headed outside, crossing my fingers that I wouldn’t have a run-in with the sidewalk.

In the back of my mind I wanted to run 6 miles but I didn’t want to stress myself out with a certain number. I didn’t run this weekend because I was in NYC with my study abroad friends and that meant I hadn’t run outside in over a week, so I wanted this to be stress free. Though I’m pretty sure dancing in the bar til 4 am was more of a work out than some of my runs. No joke.

I started off at a great pace for the 1st mile, the next 3 were an okay pace. Then I took a short walking break at mile 4 and my pace improved again (amazing considering I walked for a minute!). The last mile was rough, I took 2 walking breaks and I got stuck at a traffic light literally every two blocks. This made it difficult to really get into my running groove. I decided to run for .3 more miles when I got to mile 6 because of my three 1-minute-ish walking breaks. Then I cooled down for a total of 6.57 miles.

When I got home I was a sweaty mess but this run was a confidence booster for me since Broad Street is in less than 3 weeks!

I need to step up my training and tonight I’m starting studying for the next section of my CPA exam. The week long break was nice while it lasted… Gonna be a fun few weeks!

–Melissa

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