On the road to... A Half-Marathon

My knee injury squashed my goal of running the Disney Princess Half-Marathon. But, it's feeling good, and I finally splurged for better running shoes: Nike+ Pegasus 27

I also got the Nike+ sensor to help track my runs. Can't wait to try it out! Especially because I have zero sense of time, pace or distance. So instead of me having to check distances on google maps around my neighborhood and run only on those streets, I can have the freedom to just run wherever I want until I hit my goal distance. I could just run for time, but like I said, there are times when I think I've run 3 miles and I only ran 2. Logging miles helps me stay motivated too, and on my training plan.

To keep me on track, I registered for my first Half-Marathon:

Let's hope the knee holds up. I have 13 weeks to complete Hal Higdon's novice training program.

Running Along The Sound

Thank God for great weather. If I had to run on a treadmill today, I think I would have bailed on my run.

I am still exhausted from running on empty, so it was much easier to convince myself to get out of the car and run alongside the Long Island Sound than to be cooped up inside a stuffy gym with no windows.

Despite the threat of rain, the weather was a perfect 65 degrees with a cooling breeze from the Sound. The trail is only about 0.55 miles (based on my runnersworld.com training log), but I ran back and forth on it 7 times. If my calculation is right, I ran 3.85 miles in 43 minutes -- which is super-duper SLOW.

I'm not that surprised by my pace though, because I never really ran out of breath. My legs just started feeling heavy during the last half-mile, and my brain was tired of entertaining itself (no ipod today). My lack of ability to know how fast I'm running outside is a great argument for buying a Garmin watch though (ahem!).

Today is my day off from work... also my kiddo's 5th birthday... So, after I finish plowing through my to-do list, my research project and a nice hot soak, it's off to Chuck E. Cheese's for some gaming and fun. Tomorrow is my monster 3-hour gym day... Wish me luck!

2 Days 'Til Next 5K
55 grams Net Carbs (so far today)
4-9 Pounds 'Til Goal Weight

2-week plan (Weeks 14 & 15)

I have been so incredibly busy lately. I spent April 1st through 4th in Chicago exhibiting at the Student National Medical Association Conference. I didn't end up running in the 5K this past weekend because my cousin's knee was giving him trouble and I wasn't prepared to take the hike out to Palatine on my own. So, I spent Easter weekend relaxing with old friends and making new ones instead.

This week (4/5-4/11), the plan is to:
* Run 6 miles with at least one strength day

I'm probably going to run 3.1 miles and lift weights on Thursday, with back-to-back Zumba/Core/Muscle Challenge classes at the gym on Friday. Then, Saturday is my next race, which puts me at 6.2 miles total.

Next week (4/12-4/18), the plan is to:
* Run 10 miles
* Lift weights twice

I've also decided to get back onto a training plan. Starting May, I'm beginning the Hal Higdon novice 10K training program followed by the 10K intermediate program. That will put me right at the 10K in August.