Just a few short jaunts this week - and the London Marathon on Sunday!!!

I'm still working this week and it's getting pretty warm, so treadmill it is.  They say to train for the conditions of your race, but I'd have to go quite a few states north to get to 50 degree weather.  Am I supposed to put ice packs in my shorts?

30 minutes on the treadmill on Monday - ran 3.24 miles (9:15 per mile).

30 minutes on the treadmill on Wednesday - ran 3.32 miles (9:02 per mile).

I was supposed to run 30 minutes on Thursday, but I worked until 2:15 and had to get to Orlando for my flight by 5pm and I still had some packing to do.  Oh well.

Now, I'm in London and sightseeing.  I think that's enough of a warm-up.  I may still jog a bit tomorrow, but I also don't want to get run over.  they drive on the other side here and crossing a street takes mental effort now.  ;-)

My workouts continue to taper before the race.  I tried to push myself on Monday, but as always, the first mile is a warm up for my legs and they never seem to want to go all out in the beginning.  I picked up the pace at the end and finished with a sub-10 pace, which isn't terrible.  I'm aiming for a 10:00 pace for the first half...I know I can't keep that up for 26 miles.  I'm shooting for 11:00 pace for the whole thing.  We will see.

I continued my Tuesday ritual - gym circuit - and am happy with my results.  I'm doing more of every exercise in each 30 second bout than the previous week.  I'm up to 13 pushups in 30 seconds.  I had a tempo run on Wednesday on the treadmill.  I ran two 10 minute runs at 8 mph or 7:30 pace.  Lots of sweat, but definitely gives me some ideas for summer workouts.

I had to dive again this week, so I considered 3+ hours of cleaning windows and the bottom of the hippo pool as enough to cover the prescribed workout.  And to round out the week, a nice, relaxing 6 mile jaunt past a pond with a six(?) foot alligator in it.

I'm happy he didn't come out of the water...and amazed that I noticed him only on my second lap.  :)

I'm feeling excited and anxious for the race.  I've prepared well, but it's been a long 4+ months of training and a lot has happened in my life.  I can't wait for London!

I was dog/house-sitting again at the end of last week.  Kristin's newest addition is the little squeaker to the left, Fiona.  She is precious!

After last week's big 20 miler, this week was a piece of cake.  I have now entered what is known as "the taper" in the running world - or at least, the training-for-a-marathon world.  Not the zoo kind of tapir (of which I have a tattoo), but taper as in less than before.  The distance that I will now run each week will be less than the week before in order to give my body time to recover before the marathon.

I had a 50 minute run to start the week and I'm not sure why, but I did run slower than normal.  Eh, what can you do?  Not every run is the same.  I biked for 30 minutes on Tuesday and sprinted on the treadmill on Wednesday - 7:30 per mile for 20 minutes.  That's the fastest I've run for the longest period of time in years.  It took some mental fortitude to push through it, but I did.  I had to go in on my day off to help clean the hippo pool (scuba time!) and I got up early to get a 10 mile run in before the heat got too hot.  ;o)  All in all, a good week, but I'm ready for the race to be here already!

My recovery period ended on Wednesday.  Unfortunately, thunderstorms ruined what would have been my first run outside in two weeks, so I ran on the treadmill at my apartment gym.  The first mile was easy; the second mile was hell; and the third mile was the last mile, so I powered through it.  My chest hurt a bit and I was staring at a wall.  Not the best return, but I did 3.09 miles and was happy to do that.

Better weather arrived on Thursday and I was thrilled to get back on the road - my loop.  I started jogging and one mile into it, I glanced at the pace - 9:06!  I really felt that I had been going so slow, but this was one of my fastest starts.  Weird.  I felt good, so I tried to keep that pace and finished with 9:21 per mile for 6.44 miles.  Score!  I did my normal weight circuit on Friday and was able to lift normally.  My incision site has healed and despite having a tight feeling there, I completed the workout.  It feels better every day.

Today, I was babysitting my "niece," Skylar - my friend's adorable daughter - and I had my 8 mile run.  I decided it was safer (for both of us) to go to Flatwoods.  I studied the map after I got lost the last time, and we found our way with no problems today.  It was a little tougher pushing a ~20 lb. baby in a ~30 lb. stroller...more of a workout than expected!  I should invent something to attach to my waist and the stroller so both arms are free to move (as opposed to one of them holding onto the stroller).  I was able to keep my endurance run pace - 10:00 per mile.  We saw a lot of vultures and two bucks - DEER!  Skylar pointed all the animals out to me.  We had a nice lunch at Panera afterward.

I'm looking forward to a full week next week - including the Gasparilla Half Marathon.

Monday was my last day of dog-sitting, so I took Stella with me (far right).  It was our first night run together, and she was alert!  Her ears were up almost the entire time, but she was good - I only almost ran her over twice.  We were just under 10 minutes per mile - for an hour - and that did not seem to tire her.  When we got back home, she started wrestling with Sherman (the other big one) immediately.  Crazy kids!  I did my usually Tuesday circuit/sweat-fest and Wednesday was my first "Tempo B" workout - 10 minutes fast (talk in short, choppy sentences), 2 minutes brisk walk, and another 10 minutes fast.  I ran on the treadmill at the work gym - 8 mph for both 10 minute sessions.  That is a 7:30 per mile pace - the fastest I've run a mile (and more) in over 10 years.  I was very happy to do both 10 minute session that fast.  And also tired.  :)

After leaving work early on Thursday, I picked my parents up form the airport, went to Moffitt for my lymphoscintigraphy, we ran some errands including picking up the paint for the rest of my apartment makeover, and had dinner at Gino's.  Surgery was Friday, and I'm recovering today.  To read more about it, head over to my Life Blog.  Training is most likely suspended until my follow-up appointment on Wednesday.

So, I have wanted a running watch for a while and I finally bought one with my Christmas money.  Woo hoo!  I had asked all my running friends on facebook for recommendations and they all agreed that for what I wanted (time, pace, distance), the Garmin Forerunner 110 was the one.  And that's what I bought - on Amazon - for $120.  I was able to try it out for the first time on Monday for my 50 minute run.

It was a great run and the 110 was everything I hoped it would be.  I found out that I am actually running at a pace faster than I thought - about 9:30 per mile (not 10:00) - as some of the distances I calculated using MayMyRun were not exact.  So that was an unexpected bonus.  30 seconds shaved off each mile means 13 minutes less running in a marathon!

I continuted my workouts for the week with a sprint-elliptical session and my gym circuit for cross training.  Historically, I slack off on the elliptical.  I watch an episode of Oz and zone out - not so this time!  I calibrated my playlist to play super up-tempo jams and went 3 miles on it in 15 minutes.  The gym circuit (the one I started last week) involves 30 seconds of each exercise with 10 seconds of rest in between exercises, which include jumping jacks, wall squats, push-ups, crunches, step-ups, squats, tricep dips, planks, high knees, lunges, push-up rotations, and side planks.  And I do that three times in a row.  Needless to say, I am so sweaty by the end of it - no earphones (they stopped working the first time I tried this - I think because of the sweat lol).

I also had a new workout on Wednesday - a tempo run.  This was a "Tempo C" - meaning three 5 minute runs with a 1 minute brisk walk in between.  Tempo pace is defined as "a pace just outside your comfort zone, comfortably hard, in which you can talk in short, choppy sentences."  I ran the first 5 minutes at 8.5 mph; the second at 8 mph; and the third at 7.5 mph - for a total distance of 2 miles in 15 minutes.  It was definitely hard and I had to remain focused (so as not to fall off the treadmill), but it felt good.

And now, to enjoy my day of rest.

I felt a lot better this week - no major issues arose - and I ran at my typical pace.  I ran Monday and Wednesday's workouts on a treadmill - the usual elliptical for cross training on Tuesday and Friday (I need to get more creative!  Wish granted, I am travelling to Snow-ville tomorrow) - and ran outside on Thursday and Saturday.  My endurance run was tough - 82 degrees but overcast - and hit a little hiccup when I experienced some inner thigh chaffing at about mile 4.  I kept adjusting the leg of my UnderArmour trunks, when I finally realized that there was a hole in them...ugh.  They were just over a year old...but I still love running in them.  I finished the run and tried to ignore the (minor) pain and in the trash they went as soon as I was home.  I was at about 10:42 minutes per mile.  Excited for Week 4, which will occur in Massachusetts - going home for Christmas!

Well, I completed my second half marathon about three weeks ago and I've had a great time decompressing.  You can read about my experience at the Disneyland Half Marathon here.  I did not "rest" the day after my race as prescribed by Marathoning for Mortals.  Instead, I opted to enjoy the wonders of Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure.  Rest versus 14 hours walking around a theme park in 90 degree weather.  No question - theme park!!!  I had a great time there for a few days, and took a week or so off when I got back to Florida.

I just received the link to my finisher's certificate.  My official time was 2:44:45.  My time in February was 3:28:22, so I was about 43 minutes faster this time - thanks to more training, a little less weight and less stops along the race route - not as many characters this time.

I've started a new running routine at USF - they have a sandy trail (called the WorldTrail) that has activity stations for push-ups, pull-ups, leg lifts, ladders, balance beams, etc. along the way.  One loop on the trail is about a mile, so I've run a few loops each time I've been there.  I've also done some elliptical and treadmill work and some lean muscle-building weight-lifting.  I'm pretty sure I took a little too much time off to hit the treadmill at 6.6 mph, but I'll work up to it again, keeping my endurance and speed, until my marathon training starts on December 1st.

On Tuesday, I ran 40 minutes on the treadmill at work at 6.6 mph (and did the same thing today).  On  Wednesday, I used the elliptical at work for 30 minutes.  Another 30 minutes of cross training tomorrow and a 5 mile run on Sunday,  and Week 13 is done.  

I flew in from Maine late Thursday night and was back to work on Friday, bright and early at 6am!  I maintained my training by hitting the treadmill for 40 minutes after work - I ran about 4.4 miles, running at 6.6 mph.  I continued on Saturday with 30 minutes on the elliptical.

I visited the Lowry Park Zoo on Sunday morning - two cute elephant babies, an 8 month old and a 3 week old.  We had great weather...but I was praying to the rain gods for cooler weather later.  My wish was granted.  At about 7:15 pm it started raining.  I immediately got my running clothes on and headed out for an  8 mile jaunt.  It was pretty nice with the rain.  A bunch of loops around the industrial park - but in the rain (and the dark), it was a good run.