Week 1 Marathon Training

Hi guys! Last Sunday started my marathon training for the Columbus Marathon. This year I'm running the full, ya know, after last year's full when I said that I'd never run another. I guess I was wrong. My very first week of work outs didn't go as planned, and that's okay. 

Sunday: 4 mile run. 

-My goal was 5 but it got hot early and I'm glad that I only got 4 in because later that day I got a migraine so fierce that it induced vomiting. Great way to start day 1! 

Monday: Rest

- I was afraid to workout because I still wasn't feeling up to par. 

Tuesday: CrossFit WOD

-Strength

15min EMOM

-2 deadlifts

-2 cleans

-2 push presses (all 75#)

WOD

5 rounds for time

-15 wall balls

-5 burpees

Wednesday: Taught spinning

14.80 miles on the bike

Thursday: CrossFit WOD

-5 rounds

3 min. Each

-3 cleans (75#)

-6 push-ups 

-9 squats

Friday: CrossFit open gym

1 rep max deadlift 

- 5 deadlifts at 135#

-1 @ 155

-1 @ 175

-1 @ 195

-1 @ 205

-1 @ 210

-Bonus workout: 1-2 mile walkish run. 

I had to go pick up my car on the other side of town and the plan was to walk until I heard a roll of thunder and then took off. 

In case you're wondering, I made it to my car dry. 

Saturday: Rest

- yesterday wasn't supposed to be a rest day but my husband and I got up early to go venture through one of our favorite towns and see some family. Later we came home to clean out our house for a yard sale next weekend. That was a workout in itself! In the evening we went out to dinner with my in laws to try a new restaurant and take a drive. We walked during the day a lot and lifted a lot of heavy boxes. 

So there you have it. My first week of workouts for full marathon training. This year is going to bring on a lot of cycling and lifting but I'm confident that this will be much better than my last full marathon. 

Why I haven't really logged a long run.

Hi friends! Happy Sunday! It's finally starting to look beautiful. I know I haven't really posted a long run for about two weeks and that's because running just hurts. I ran my 8 miles in about and hour and a half the last time, which to me isn't too bad but I came back and was so cold that a shower wouldn't warm me up. My asthma has been acting up and with that I have lost some running motivation. 

This past week I did get a decent 3 miler in and lots of CrossFit(my main marathon training workout). Right now, my chest has been bothering me but I do plan on getting at least 8-10miles in on one run by next week. Here are my week goals:

-3 days of CrossFit 

-2 shirt runs (3-5 miles)

-1 long run(8-10 miles) 

-Teach a cycling class 

Another big goal of mine is to take care of my body. I want to stick with my meal prepping and use my inhaler when I need it. 

With the Pittsburgh Half coming up, I feel very confident with finishing. Once I get my long runs in, I'll be golden. 

Have a great week! 

What are your marathon training goals for the week? 

My first long run of the season & a mini trip

Hi friends! I hope you had a great weekend and aren't too exhausted from daylight savings time.  

I got my first long run in for half marathon training on Saturday. 

It was still chilly here but warmer than usual and was actually considered warm even though there was snow on the ground? Yeah, that. I'll be honest, I didn't really feel like it. I did and I didn't but with a few motivational tweets I went for it. 8 miles done. Just in time for the sun to set. 

Every year I try to do my first long run at the only place I trained for my very first half marathon. It was the park where I told my sister that I wanted to run a at least a half marathon because I'd never be able to do one if those fulls..until last May, of course. So every training season starts back at the same park where I started for just good luck. 

It wasn't the best run but it was a start. My legs were heavy until mile 5 but I only needed my inhaler twice. How many times I need my inhaler is usually how I rate a run. More than 4 times during a half is never good. 

After my run I went home to decide on a spur of the moment decision to drive to Columbus Sunday morning to go to the Arnold Sports Festival. I think my husband was just sick of me saying how much I wanted to go. As much as we didn't want to leave Hudson, we knew it was a worse idea to try to take him. Since we were only leaving him for the same amount of time that we would for a work day, we let him know the cat was in charge and gave him a few extra kisses before we were on our way. 

While we were gone he stayed home to catch up on his sleep that he lost the night before. 

 

Sunday: wake up at 5:00a.m. Leave by 6a.m.

Then we stopped in Washington, PA at one of our new favorite places. (thanks Katrina)  

Tim Horton's! 

After a 3 hour drive, Adam sleeping, and my singing, we made it to Columbus! 

We walked around for about two hours and watched a few shows before we started to head home. It was such a great experience but I wish we could have stayed longer. 

Adam and I decided that next year we'll definitely plan a better trip than deciding Saturday afternoon that we were going to leave Sunday morning. 

 

Long Runs and Best Friends

We are down to less than 25 days to the next half marathon. Every summer I make training plans that I really don't stick to. It's hard with two jobs and juggling a house while still having 4 other fitness hobbies. 

I told Katrina we were going to get our 8 miles in and we did. We weren't going to but we did it. We actually fueled it with chocolate pie and beer because we weren't really planning on going. (Don't try that at home) Somehow it became our best run! Haha

We ran 8 miles with a 10:38 pace. Not too shabby I thought. I just bought my new watch and this was our first run with it. I didn't know how it worked and through the entire run it said that we had a 12 minute pace or more so when we finished well under 11 we were thrilled! 

This weekend will be 11 miles. Then we will go back to 8 and then to 6. Then race weekend in Jamestown,NY. I am so excited to see where one of my best friends grew up. 

I'm so glad that I found a great running partner that is close in speed with me. This is the first time that I've had someone to train with and I love it. 

Do you have any races coming up?

Goals and disappointments.

This all started yesterday morning. I went to CrossFit and the workout wasn't that tough but I still got sharp pains in my right lung. This happened last year when I was running too. Then, around 3:30pm I got a migraine so awful that I laid down to go to sleep. I drink 1/2 gallon of water or more a day so I knew I wasn't dehydrated.  I had plans to go running with my friend from work so I wanted my headache to go away ASAP. I fell asleep and when I woke back up it was still there. My chest was tight all day but I took my inhaler and went anyway. When we got back my head ache was still there and it was still hard to breathe. I honestly just ignored it because wheather I run 1 mile or 15 I still feel like crap usually when I'm done. Two miles with Katrina didn't give me a reason to use my inhaler again since I used it not even an hour before. So we had dinner, and some wine and hung out for a whole before she went home. I went to bed but I couldn't sleep. I woke up this morning and my chest was still bothering me but I ignored it. 

Well, I've been planning for a while to get my 20 mile run in today. I woke up, ate breakfast and started to get my stuff together for my run. I did my breathing treatment that I always do before I go on my long runs. I sent my family members a text of what I was wearing just in case I went missing. (I get a little paranoid when I'm out alone)  Just after a mile I had to walk back. A MILE! I was in pain, frustrated, and annoyed. It's these runs that I have to tell myself don't always happen and I can do it. As much as I tried to keep going, I couldn't. 20 miles wouldn't happen today. I went home with sharp pains in my right lung. I couldn't move from my couch for a couple hours. When I finally got off of the couch I went upstairs and fell asleep for two hours. Two days in a row I've fallen asleep. I don't know what's wrong but my chest didn't feel right. When I woke up it felt like something was sitting on my chest. I've googled this so many times that Google is ready to answer back and tell me that he doesn't have an answer. 

I'm very muscusy when I run. I spit and blow my nose a lot.(Sorry if you are eating while reading this) I don't know if it's my allergies but that's what happens. I've talked to my pulmonary doctor about this pain but he tells me that it's a bronchospasm. When I went for chest X-rays, they found a black spot on my lung but nothing came back on my CT scan. The doctor said that by mile 4 it should go away. The problem is getting to mile 4. 

Here's what happens: I get an extremely sharp pain on my lower lung in my right side, just under my rib cage. I've tried everything from not eating dairy, nut butters, anything that might give me an allergic reaction. It hasn't helped. 

So if anyone reading this is a doctor and wants to tell me what's wrong..go for it! 

This was me all ready for my run. 

This is my breathing treatment. I've done this twice today and my inhaler once. I still feel yucky. 

These ended up being my last resort. I still feel awful and I missed CrossFit today. I hate when that happens but I an make the days up. I need to take care of me. So when Adam got home we went to Panera so I could get dinner because I didn't  feel like cooking. 

Not too fun. Just chicken noodle soup. I started to feel sick after I took mucinex without food. ( Don't try that at home) I will make it to CrossFit tomorrow. It's open gym to practice so I don't have to do anything too intense. I love going to CrossFit and hate when I don't feel well enought to go so I'm doing whatever I can to make it there so I can go on my long run this weekend since it's going to be nice out. I love that Panera always has a variety to always go with what you're hungry for. 

What keeps you from your favorite workouts or runs? 

10 Wheezy Miles

I held myself accountable and posted on my blog and social media that I was going to get 10 miles in and I did. It wasn't as fast as I wanted but I did it. Today's weather was too beautiful to pass up.

I got to test out my new knee brace because it seems that when I get to mile 5 or 6 it feels awful and makes it hard to keep going. I also got a new pair of shoes that were on sale the other day. 

These are my first pair of Soucny's. I've always been a Brooks fan, but these were a pretty big win. 

Here's an update on my asthma. It sucks. Haha I'm not making excuses but with how bad our winter was mixed with how bad this spring is, it's getting hard to train. I'm trying to not let it hold me back but I got to mile 5 and need my inhaler break. I wheeze at CrossFit and I wheeze when I run but today wasn't the best day. Once I took my inhaler I did better on my run but it was still hard to breathe. Last year I could run 13.1 miles at a pace of 10:40. This year I'm lucky to do it at a pace of 12:00. It get extremely frustrating but I keep telling myself the more runs I get in the better it will get. 

This long run was faster than my last long run but on that run I didn't need my inhaler. I'm not going to let myself get down on this run because other than needing my inhaler half way through, it was a comfortable run. 

My chest still hurts and it's hard to breathe but I'll do a breathing treatment before I go to bed. Hudson likes to help with those.  

We put my camelbak on him. Cutest.Dog.Ever 

Have a great Workout Wednesday! 

If you haven't enter my contest yet for a free Spartan Race ENTER HERE!

winner will be announced Sunday. 

Training 26.2 with Asthma

I've partnered up with Breathe Pa to do some training blogs. If you haven't checked out their sight, you can do it at www.breathepa.org. 

Background I my Asthma 

If you check out my About Me section, you will see I was a very large child. I always wanted to play sports and be active but I tired out quickly and would just go inside to play video games. I lost the weight going ito highschool, thanks to some bullies that are now twice my size. 

For a few months after highschool I took a break from sports. I started college in July after graduating and once I got into the swing of college and work, I decided to get active again. I started running with my sister and kickboxing. After a few months of being stagnant, I knew something was wrong. I went for a 1 mile run with a friend on a trail and couldn't finish the mile. When we were done I couldn't stop coughing and chocking. I tried to play it off like I was okay but the coughing wouldn't stop over the next few days. One of my other friends told me that they think I have asthma so I need to go get checked out. I thought it was just really bad allergies from the trail. After seeing the doctor, he said that he thinks it's asthma but I'd have to get tests done to confirm it. Unfortunately, I didn't have health insurance so getting those tests done wouldn't be able to happen for about 3-4 years. After needing my inhaler 4 times a day, I had to go back to the doctor. What he gave me wasn't working. He eventually had to put me on Advair twice daily until I could pay for the tests. Advair without insurance isn't cheap. After paying for that for two months I got myself some good insurance and went for the tests. 

It confirmed that I had asthma (as if they didn't believe me) and my pulmonary doctor put me on a few medications to relive it a little bit. 

Training with Asthma

After being on my medication for about two years I've been cleared to train. Here's an idea of my daily medication routine:

Advair: Twice daily 

Asthma/allergy pill: Before bed

Nasanex: Two inhales, each nostril before bed 

Nebulizer: When needed, usually when I'm sick or go on a long run

Albuterol inhaler: as needed 

I initially started my blog to show people that there shouldn't be an excuse as to why you can't exercise while you have asthma. I have friends that try to tell me why they can't, but there's always more reasons as to why you can. Training is hard with a breathing conditions but if you manage it correctly, you'll be okay. As long as I take my medicine and use my inhaler when I need it, then I'm usually okay. 

I have many apps that remind me to take my medicine and tell me what color day it is. Normally on an orange or red day, I stay inside. It's not worth hurting myself. When I run, I go slow. If anyone ever looks at my time you'll know that I'm not the fastest. I could be much faster but I take my time. 

Here's something that I want everyone to know while training with asthma:

1.) Take your time: If you feel like crap and still want to try to go out, then do it but do it safely. If you need to stop, then stop. Walk a little bit. 

2.) You WILL have bad days: There will be days that you can finish a mile. Those days are going to make you wonder if you can do 13 or 26 miles. Bad days happen but you can't let that bring you down. 

3.) You WILL have good days: Those days will make you wonder if your asthma went away. Usually not, but if you're feeling good keep going! 

4.) Take your medicine: It's okay to buy a running pouch solely for your inhaler. I'm a dork like that too. 

5.) Take care of yourself: If your long run was planned but you wake up to 70 degrees and it's a "red day" use "red day" as "rest day". If you're committed you can find a better day to go. 

6.) Know when to take your run: Are you an early morning runner or sunset runner? I'm early morning. I'll get up at 5:30 to watch the sunrise before I watch the sunset. I personally feel like the air quality is always much better in the morning. Running at 2pm usually isn't a good idea when it's 90 degrees out. 

Those are some of my training tips. I have a training schedule set up that I usually go by but I stay flexible. It is completely feasible to train for a marathon with asthma if you take care of yourself. If you have any questions on training or taking care of myself, just ask! 

Are you training with asthma? 

What are your training tips?

Well, it happened.

Where we live in Pennsylvania, the snow fell hard this weekend. My husband and I were snowed in so that left us to cleaning our house, watching movies, and sitting on the computer. I went to CrossFit Saturday morning and spent until 1 cleaning out my parents house.  I also got my entire house cleaned and didn't stop all day Saturday or Sunday so in giving myself an extra rest day. 

Adam kept telling me that I could sign up for the triathlon next week before the price went up on the 31st. So after a few minutes thinking about it, we decided I could sign up this weekend. 

There's always something about that feeling right after you hit the "submit" or "confirm" button. It's that "Oh shit, did I just do that?!" Feeling. I don't care if you sign up for your first 5k or last 26.6 marathon. That nervousness kind of hits you like a bus even when the race is 5 months away. 

There's always questions running through your mind...

-Can I really do this?!

-Can I actually train for this?!

-Are there going to be fish in the water?! I'm afraid of fish! 

-What happens of you feel like you're going to drown?! 

-What if I paid all this money and come in last?!

-What the hell do I wear and how do I change for every event?!

So after I got over that part I was fine. I have a friend from CrossFit doing it with me too. She has done a triathlon before so I'm hoping she can guide me along. 

For the remainder of my weekend, I cleaned, cooked, read, and snuggled. It was a nice relaxing weekend. I started Sunday with snuggles from my two furbabies. 

I also meal prepped. 

I made turkey chili for this week, quinoa bars, strawberries (to feel like summer) and cauliflower pizza. That was wonderful! Hudson got the play in the snow for most of the day just to keep coming inside and track water on my freshly scrubed floor. 

It was a pretty relaxing weekend at our house. I'm not sure what the weather has planed so I'm not going to force down too many goals this week. A relaxing week will be nice. 

How was the weather where you live? 

What are the questions that go through you when you sign up for a race?