Category Archives: marathon training

Nov26

ToT MTW #1: not a great start

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ToT = Tale of the Turtle

MTW = marathon training week

First week of marathon training did not go as planned.

I only did one running workout, a few yoga workouts (practices?! still not sure what to call it), and a bit of non-strenuous walking.

I started the week very excited to start training. My first run started great. I was running 30 second intervals followed by walks of 60 seconds. I did 12 rounds of that for a total of 1.42 miles. Then the treadmill broke.

I have been told (after the fact, and not helpful at all) the motor was on its way out and could have “gone” at any time. -_- (I am borrowing Thea’s eyes for this one). I felt like that fat chick who broke the plastic picnic chair at the family reunion. 

But before the treadmill broke, I was running. 30 seconds at a time. And I didn’t feel like I was going to die. I worked up a sweat but my leg felt good! My arch was a bit twingy (not a pain, just feeling the muscle sort of feeling) which is a normal side-effect from my surgery. I need to build up the muscles in my foot and calf. I used my HRM and my HR shot up during the runs, but not to the way tippy-top of the scale, and during the walking intevals, my HR recovered nicely. It needs work, my muscles in my legs and my heart & lungs, but that is what I am after!

This week may not have been my best display of awesomeness in training but it was a lesson learned in the tale of the turtle!

  • I need a plan and a back-up plan. I should plan ALL my workouts, not just my run/walks. I could make excuses why I did not complete my plan as planned, but I won’t.
  • I NEED yoga in my life. A few times a week is ok, IF I am following one of my dvds. I get a more intense stretch and relaxation from my dvd. (Stay tuned, I need to write about my new found appreciation for yoga!)
  • When I workout regularly, I eat better want to keep up with my plan. Its my own little mindf$%k. I have to avoid the cycle of laziness (which is easy for me to want to fall into) and increase the cycle of movement. When I move more, I feel better. When I feel better, I eat better. When I move more, I find myself paying more attention to my food intake. When I move more, I eat with more of a purpose, more mindful. When I move more, I want to move more!
  • ALSO, when I am consistently moving more, I sleep better. And I wake up easier. Now, its been cold (and I still don’t have the heat in my house fixed) so getting out of bed is a whole other story!
  • I must and I will keep this all in my mind as I go about this week!
  • For now, while I only have 3 run/walks on my training plan, I going to run Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Mondays are just not my forte. I always seem to stay up too late on Sundays and then I am tired on Mondays. Instead of fighting against the tide, I am adjusting to work for me.
  • I have this one yoga dvd that has 2 programs – a hatha & a flow practice. I have the hardest time with the flow, so I am going to do hatha twice a week and the flow once a week until I can do them comfortably. I have other yoga dvds to move on to but I need to “prefect” this one first!  I sort of have to, I want to do it!
  • I MUST NOT forget my squats, planks, bridges, stairs and kettlebells. I need to work the strength in my legs in other ways than my run/walks. I can add in squats, planks, bridges, stairs and kettlebells in some variety or fashion every day.
  • Food. I cannot outtrain a bad diet. My diet has not been terrible. In fact, I have been making strides. I am going to stick to a strict no-sweets, mostly low-carb, mostly unprocessed, sorta paleo thing – I know its a mouthful, but basically, I am going to make best choice, EVERY time I eat something. I am hoping to find the balance that works best for me!
  • Tomorrow I have a few errands to run after school and the heating guy coming to the house at some point after.  Since I need to be on standby, I will do a 2-3 mile walk-away-the-pounds dvd and a hatha yoga practice.
  • I am not planning specifics for the rest of the week until I know heater guy has my heat all fixed. If all goes according to my picture perfect scenario in my head, my heat will be fixed tomorrow and I can jump back into regular programming – run/walk on Wednesday & Thursday & Saturday, yoga on Friday & Sunday.
  • Maybe my first week wasn’t the greatest start but I usually go so gung-ho in the beginning and then don’t follow through, so I will take this complete opposite of my norm as a sign of good things to come! Plus, anytime I learn something new is a great time. When I am learning about myself it is even greater!

To Be Continued….