Yesterday was my walk with the senior’s group. We have finally picked a route for a good walk that has relatively little traffic meaning we can have conversations along the way. This week I had remembered to buy some wild bird food as near the end of our walk we go through a park area that has a pond and there are always ducks in the pond. It was so much fun watching as the dozen or so ducks realized food was been tossed towards them and eventually they had all come over to me. The problem was I gave that first group all the food not remembering that there are 2 other small ponds in that park. I can already see that next week I’ll be taking way more bird food.
My husband has been taking my lead and greeting people as we go on our walks together. He agrees that it makes you feel good to smile and say hello. He also has been paying attention when I talk about the running community being so supportive and now when he sees a runner he calls out to them. He told me, you are right, they always thank you when you encourage them.
Tuesday we went for a walk along the promenade. It was a beautiful afternoon so we decided to walk out to the end of the pier as well. Just as we were back at the promenade I saw a young women sprinting hard. I saw myself in her, trying to get fit and pushing as hard as she could. As she approached us she stopped running and you could see from the look on her face that she had done a hard workout. I shouted out good job! It was such a good feeling watching her face change from hard concentration to pride. Because I have been there I know that those 2 words of encouragement can mean so much when you are working hard to improve yourself.
There’s a woman who I would occasionally see when I was out walking the dog in our neighbourhood. She was a bit overweight and while she was running, like me when I started out, she was slow. Every time I saw her I would shout out good job! The first few times she seemed confused but then she understood I wasn’t mocking or being sarcastic, I was trying to be encouraging. After a few more shout outs she started shouting back how far she was running. I think she realized I too am a runner and only wanted to help.
I do this because especially when I first started doing full runs it was that encouragement that sometimes kept me going when I was talking myself into quitting. Now, I want to be the one helping to lift people up and let them know that they can do this. I know they can, because I can.
I was out doing my training this morning and the weather was pretty mild. As a matter of fact as I was heading back up the hill I thought soon I am going to have to take a layer of clothing off when I run. Yes, we are still in the time of year where we get lots of rain but days when it is dry it is quite pleasant to be outside. I also realized it is getting lighter earlier and I am already looking forward to watching the sun come up over the ocean during my early morning runs.
I asked my husband today if he thought when he was retired he would be able to sleep in every day and just lounge around. He said that wasn’t his expectation, instead he thought his time would be his own and he could decided what to do and when. I told him that is sort of what it is like but I know he thinks I have no free time. The difference for me is I get to decide how much I want to volunteer and when. I also have control of how much exercise I want to do each day and have the ability to move things around when I am busy or if the weather doesn’t cooperate.
What having my husband home has led to is more walking for me which is not a bad thing. I normally do some sort of training 6 days a week. I know I have posted before that at least one day a week I will do a long run. I also walk the dog everyday, sometimes for 1/2 hour, sometimes for an hour, it just depends on what else I have going. But you will recall that a few months ago I started leading a seniors’ walking group. That means that on Wednesdays I usually get in about 2.5 hours of running/walking in the morning alone.
With my husband home and wanting to lose some weight and get a bit healthier I have taken the opportunity to up my game a bit. The first week it was just walks with the dog however, we are now trying to add afternoon walks together as well. My goal is to eventually do at least 2 hours of running/walking each day with my husband joining me on the walks. I will note, he likes to walk along the beach but will drive down there. This of course makes me feel a bit lazy as for 18 months now I have walked to the beach, done the promenade and then climbed back up the hill. I will say this is turning out well as with him being away for so much these past 2 years he is noticing a lot of changes around our city, much like I did when I first started walking.
I know I don’t need to walk this much anymore but I have become an addict. I like being outside and just clearing my head on these walks. I am really enjoying using the walks as an opportunity to spend some time with my spouse. Hell, I even consider it quality time with the dog. Really, I just like to walk and marvel at the beauty of the scenery around me. Hmm, 2 years ago I would never have thought that this is what I would become.
The weather seems to be slowly getting warmer and though we have had some rain this week (very normal for this time of year), I still managed to get several runs in down at the beach. I just find it so calming to run along the promenade first thing in the morning especially when the tide is in and the water is calm. That is until Thursday when I realized oh no, they are back! Yes, the terrifying Canada geese are back in town. I also realized that dammit, soon it will be gosling season and they will become even meaner. Sigh, at least their presence may help with my sprint training as I run as fast as I can to get past and as far away from them as possible.
I woke up this morning and noticed the muscles around my left shoulder blade were sore possibly because I tossed and turned most of last night. I checked my readiness score on my Fitbit and it’s sliding a bit into fair instead of good or excellent. I decided I should back off a bit as I have done some form of HIIT (high intensity interval training) 5 days in a row and the past 2 days I had done an awful lot of running/walking. As it was raining I hit the treadmill and started off in a comfortable jog.
I wasn’t quite 1/2 way into my run when I noticed my back muscles had loosened up and I was feeling pretty good. Then that voice in my head started talking to me and said you really want to waste your training streak this week? You can do this, just one set of HIIT. So, I did the usual 5 1 minute fartleks but for some reason I decided to just keep going into a 2nd set of 5 and at the end I felt pretty good. 6 consecutive days of intense training and I have lived to tell about it.
Afterwards I did the same thing I do after every workout, used my Fitbit to analyze what I had done. Much to my shock, today was the slowest I have run in a long time. I couldn’t believe it, I’ve been working really hard and I only have 3 months until I need to be in my absolute top form. How could I have gone backwards like this?
Then it hit me, sore muscles combined with a lagging recovery readiness and today my body was sending me a message that I tried to ignore so it overrode my intended training. Yes, I felt I was pushing it hard and by time I was done I was drenched in sweat. But really my body only let me do what it knows I can physically do today. I look at it as my body protecting itself and if that is the case then it is a good thing to have gone a bit slower today.
I’ll be honest, while my speed was disappointing today if I look at the overall performance I am getting a little bit faster each week. I’m able to do up to 3 sets of sprints during my runs and while they can be hard they are in no way debilitating. I’ve still got about 12 weeks and if my speed continues to increase each week I will easily be able to finish the 1/2 marathon in plenty of time.
So yes, I am getting faster and plan to continue to do so though will pay a little more attention to the clues my body is sending me so that I can get to that end goal safely.
Today was my long run though I find it hard to say that 12k is a long run for me. However, to kick it up a notch Coach had me do 2 sets of fartleks during the run. I originally had a route planned out but after the first loop I realized it was a nice morning and I would be much happier running along the beach. I will say it was a beautiful morning especially watching dawn break. That really did make my 2nd set of sprints much easier.
As I mentioned before I lead a group of seniors on a walk each week. A few weeks ago a couple of them asked if we could make the walk a bit longer. I advised absolutely but we needed to make sure M (initials only of course) was comfortable walking that distance. M wasn’t there last week but me and the other seniors gave it a try and all agreed it was a perfect distance and they liked the speed we walked at. I again reminded them, we only walk as far as everyone is comfortable with and at a speed that makes everyone feel safe.
Yesterday M joined us and I explained that we had lengthened the route but if it was too much she should let me know. Off we went and of course as soon as we started so did the rain. During the walks I try to walk a bit with each senior so that I can chat with them and see if they have any issues I can help with. We were about 2/3’s of the way through this walk when I realized M was lagging a bit so I dropped to the back of our group just to check on her. She admitted since she hadn’t walked in a few weeks and she was struggling a bit but wanted to keep going. I stayed at the back with M for the rest of the walk and intentionally slowed down the pace (the rule of thumb is if you are in front and can’t hear the conversation behind you that you have gotten too far ahead). M finished the walk and said she really did want to do it again next week.
Today I continued working with my husband to build up his walking endurance. I decided it was time to make it a little more challenging so we headed towards the beach. However, when we got to the bottom of the hill instead of heading to the promenade I said let’s turn around and head back up the hill (I know it is too soon to do a long walk with him that ends in a steep hill). This morning I ran up that hill but this afternoon I walked it a pace that is more appropriate for my husband’s training. This was just an extra walk for me but for him it is to make him stronger. I promised him after we do that walk several more times in the next week that we will start adding distance so that he will soon be walking the promenade.
What’s important here is knowing the people you are walking with and making sure you are walking to their abilities not yours if they are not at your fitness level. Keeping seniors moving (and my husband is a senior) benefits them greatly so it is best to make it as safe and enjoyable for them as possible.
It was a really busy morning today. I had to drive my brother downtown (an hour on a good morning) for a specialist appointment at 8:30am. That meant doing a quick 1/2 hour walk with the dog first thing and putting off training until I got home. I realized something on my training though this morning while doing the fartleks, the faster I run the longer my stride gets. I think it is just a natural way the body moves instead of doing faster little steps. Regardless, it is still hard but I figure that it must be helping me if this training is so difficult. I also noticed I have started a new mantra in my head, getting stronger, getting faster. It seems to be what is pushing me through the sprint training.
My husband told me that when he retired he wanted me to start training him for walking and help him lose some weight. I had to explain to him that it wasn’t going to work unless he made some other adjustments as well. I’ve learned along this journey that it is not just one factor that makes you healthy, you need to do a combination of several things. So for me, it is back to basics to help him kick start his journey.
I started with he has to eat 3 proper meals every day. He found this to be counter intuitive since normally he doesn’t eat breakfast. I referred him to my post a while ago that talked about why breakfast can be important. Next is avoid snacks but if you are going to have one try to make it healthy. Trust me, he is well aware of where my stash of almonds is kept. For me, especially after a long run, I need to have something to snack on and I love almonds. Another is eating a lot of fruits and vegetables. He was a bit surprised by how much he liked spinach/beet salad which I have at least once a week.
I think the hardest part of my basic health plan for my husband will be reducing carbs and focusing on healthy or ‘good’ carbs. My husband is addicted to bread and believes he may die if he can’t eat it. But this is not about depriving yourself of something you really like, instead it is about having it occasionally and adjusting your other meals during the day to compensate for things like bread (note we really only eat whole wheat bread). Besides, he is liking some of the healthy carbs that he is eating such as quinoa, low sugar blueberry bran muffins and my homemade whole wheat waffles (which by the way taste awesome).
So, how is all of this working? Well in the first week with targeted walking and eating differently he has lost 6 lbs. I remember at the start of my journey when I would lose big numbers and how motivating that would be. Now, he just has to keep it up but I admit it has also made me decide I can go back to some of those basics myself. I think the two of us working together is going to be good for both of us.
So my husband has been home for a week now. He thought retirement meant sleeping in every day and just puttering around the house. However, that is not how this household works. There is no sleeping in, get up time is 5am most days (I didn’t make him get up at 4am with me on Thursday when I did my long run), tea and breakfast is only made once and really it is not to order. This morning I remembered how he is not a morning person and can be quite nasty. I took him aside and told him, you don’t want to chit chat, that is fine, but you need to be polite and respectful. May have to keep working on this but we will get there.
If you recall I mentioned that when I first saw my training for this week I thought it was quite easy but I soon realized I was wrong. So let’s review, an easy 5k, next a 5k with 1 set of sprint training, hill training, a 14k run, another 5k with 2 sets of sprint training and a fourth 5k with 3 sets of sprint training. I figured it was going to be a bit challenging but that was ok, I could get through it.
Let me be clear, this was the hardest week of training I have done. Now, I remember when the thought of running for 10 minute intervals seemed daunting. I remember the first time Coach said to do a 12k and I was sure it would kill me so how could this week have been so hard. Well, let me tell you, that sprint training is just brutal. Ok, 1 set of sprint training during a run is ok, 2 is really hard, 3 is for God’s sake why am I doing this to myself!
Yesterday when I did the 2 sets of sprint training running along the beach I realized I needed to find a way to be successful doing the 3 sets. So, I decided this morning to do my training on the dreaded treadmill. There was couple reasons for this, firstly running on the treadmill is easier than running outside and secondly, no hills would be involved. Still, when I was doing that 3rd set I had to keep chanting to myself, you are running faster. Yes, I did it and it didn’t kill me but boy did I ever feel it.
Here’s the thing though, when I got off that treadmill this morning I thought good on you, you pushed through it and got it done. I really want to try this again next week and see if I can do it even better. I think back to a year ago when I was so far from as fit as I am now and remember it was really hard then as well but I kept going and look where it got me. I realized, I am good with training hard!
I am not happy with my Fitbit today. Because it was pouring rain this morning I opted for the dreaded treadmill. Today I was to do an easy 14k and I know I tend to run faster on the treadmill than outside. I also know that 14k will take me about 2 hours on the treadmill. I did a pretty easy run but I did push it in to high gear for several minutes at the end. When I looked at my Fitbit it said 1) I had run about 13k and 2) I only ran for 1 hr 33 min. I do know it is incorrect because my tracking app on my phone had me at just over 14k. Ok, time to do a reset and hopefully tomorrow it will be more accurate.
My husband and I have been walking together each day since he came home and Monday he commented to me that his feet were bothering him. I looked down at his shoes and went OMG, no wonder, those are crappy shoes. I told him it was time to go look for some proper walking shoes because without good shoes it is pretty easy to find excuses not to walk each day.
So out we went to a shoe store. The problem is that my husband is from Scotland and is very stereotypical in that he is a cheap bastard. He immediately balked at the price of good walking shoes but I told him it was a must. When he finally settled on a pair I think it nearly killed him to pay for them. I tried to make him feel better by telling him that those shoes were about half the price of the ones I wear. Note, that statement did not make him feel better in anyway.
I know I’ve talked about the importance of good shoes when running but a lot of it applies to walking as well. When I started walking (wow, nearly 2 years ago) I had pretty good walking shoes. I have worn good walking shoes for many years because quite frankly they give far better support to my bad knee. But there are several other reasons good walking shoes are important,
- They help maintain correct walking technique
- They are an important part of injury prevention
- Your feet being comfortable can help with both endurance and speed
- Proper fitting and appropriate walking shoes can lessen the impact of walking by cushioning your step
A final comment, it is also important to replace your shoes on a regular basis My podiatrist told me a good measure for me is every 6 months for my running shoes (actually 12 months since I alternate 2 different pairs) and that it is important to replace them before they start breaking down. Walking shoes are no different and I will be keeping track of my husband’s shoes to make sure he swaps them out at the right time.
The one good thing about my husband retiring and being home permanently is that now I have someone to walk with each day. I promised him I would slowly get his walking up to more of a training level so for right now we are doing about an hour a day. It’s not at my usual pace but that is ok, I need to give him some time to work himself up to my level (though he says running is never going to happen). What I like best about it is having someone other than the dog to talk with on those walks.
Coach gave me my training schedule this week and I was like really, that just seems too easy compared to what I have been doing for the last several weeks. I am doing 4 5k runs, a 14k run (as opposed to 18k) and a day of hill intervals. But then I read her final comment, this will be a tough week so listen to your body. Ok, time to break this training down a little more.
Yesterday was the same as I do every Monday, a nice 5k run, no big deal just getting warmed up for the week. Today was back to 10 intervals of hill training. I haven’t done that for a while and I put a lot of effort into the intervals and I admit they felt pretty good (note, I really do like the hill intervals as I feel I get a lot out of them). Tomorrow is another 5k run however, we are going to kick it up a notch. About 1/2 way through the run I will do a set of fartleks. Ok, I’ve done that on other runs so I’m not too concerned. Thursday will be the 14k and as instructed I will run it at a steady pace avoiding the trap of starting off too quickly and not having the energy to finish. Friday is the 3rd 5k but this time there will be 2 sets of fartleks. Finally on Saturday I will do my last 5k and it will include 3 sets of fartleks.
I get that this may not sound too bad and it didn’t when I first read the instructions. Then I realized, by time I hit Saturday there is going to be a significant amount of sprint training (fartleks) going on. I do think this is the right thing to do as I am really not concerned about endurance and being able to run 21.1k, hell I am almost there now. What I have been worried about is being able to do the run in less than 3 hours (again, the streets will be only be closed for 3 hours so you want to be done before traffic starts again). Coach’s goal is that I am finished in 2 1/2 hours (not so sure about that) and so now we are going to focus on building up my speed.
Really, I am game to try this speed training as not only will it help me to run faster for longer, it also helps to build my confidence which I will need to be successful at my 1/2 marathon.
Tonight we are hosting a dinner party with a couple close friends to celebrate my husband’s retirement. For reasons that I cannot explain I decided not only would I make lasagna, I would make everything from scratch including the noodles. Top that off with a cheesecake, no sugar blueberry sauce and my own dressing for the caesar salad and I have spent hours prepping food. Now I remember why I don’t make lasagna very often.
Because I knew I was going to be tight on time today I decided instead of my usual Saturday 1 1/2 hour walk I would do an easy 1 hour run. I figured that would get me to 6k and at least get me a bit of a cardio workout. I hit the treadmill before 6am and had the most recent episode of Grey’s Anatomy to watch. I thought it would be a great way to get myself moving so that I could face the challenges of the day.
Things were going along well. I felt comfortable and was doing a gentle run. However, I hit the 1/2 hour mark and thought, crap, this isn’t hard enough. I sighed and upped the speed and kept going. Then I hit the last 10 minutes and still felt I wasn’t working as hard as I could so I upped the speed again. The last 2 minutes I said screw it and bumped my speed up to what I do for my sprint training.
Much to my surprise by time I was done I felt awesome. Checking my Fitbit I saw that in 57 minutes I had actually run 7k. My heart rate was in the cardio zone for the first half of the workout and then hit peak for the 2nd half. My pace in each of those segments was strong and steady. Looking at my stats I felt pretty proud of myself.
I realized that I don’t like easy anymore, I want the challenge. I want at the end to be drenched in sweat and feeling like I had accomplished something. I want my body to tell me, great workout. Who knew that training for a 1/2 marathon would change my mindset so dramatically. Now I can’t wait for whatever challenges coach is going to give me next week because I know I can successfully accomplish them.
Yesterday I had some fun. My sister noticed our neighbour’s young Australian Shepherd running out on the street. Another neighbour was trying to catch him but she didn’t know his name. I went out on the front stoop and called him and over he ran. We then gave him some treats as we connected him to a leash and then walked him to his home 2 doors away. Here is where it got fun, not 10 minutes later he was back at our front door (obviously a smart dog as he learned pretty quick that we had treats) so same process and back to his owner. The owner has no idea how the dog is getting out but promised it won’t happen again (oh yes it will but we didn’t have the heart to tell him that). Later in the afternoon the dog saw us when he was out walking with his owner and immediately started wagging his tail. I figure to him we are now the treat ladies.
Today was my 18k run and it was cold out so I thought I would run on the dreaded treadmill. 10 minutes into the run I thought, I so don’t want to do this. By 20 minutes into the run I was having a hot flash and became drenched with sweat. At this point I just wanted to stop and that voice in my head told me I have been working hard lately so I shouldn’t feel guilty about giving up on this one session. I promised myself I would quit after an hour.
The hour mark came and I still did not want to run but I sucked it up and told myself I could get 1 1/2 hours. But then, approaching that mark and covered with sweat a new voice started in my head saying ‘you got this’. I started repeating those words and focusing on taking one step after another. At 2 hours I realized I only had 45 minutes to go so I started telling myself ‘you can do this’. The next thing I knew I was at 2 hours and 40 minutes so only 5 minutes to go and at that point I just smiled and started a new cadence in my head, you just pushed through it.
I know that there is nothing wrong with having a day where I don’t feel like training and that my head isn’t in the game. The important thing is not letting those thoughts overwhelm you and to do what you can to push through. I’m not saying you always have to do this, sometimes life just gets in the way but I know for me I felt better getting to the end of that 18k than I would have felt if I cut it short. I just needed to refocus on the basics, a run is just 1 step at a time and if I do enough of them I will have run a 1/2 marathon.
gwennefarrell 