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On Running My First Half Marathon

May 28, 2012 by 2 Comments

Bib Number for Coeur D'Alene Half MarathonAfter going on and on about Project Half Marathon for half a year, the goal has finally been met. Yesterday I ran my first half marathon in Coeur D’Alene, Idaho! Nearly six months of training went into my 13.1 miles, and my unofficial time was 2 hours and 10 minutes.

I’m absolutely thrilled with that time, by the way. Elite runners can sweep through a half marathon in a little over an hour. But in my training, my long runs were never under 10:45 per mile pace so to average 10 minute miles was my dream goal. If my legs and stomach hadn’t revolted after the race, I probably would have reveled in reaching that dream goal a little more. As it was, I nibbled on a half a banana and sipped water while trying not to topple over.

Half Marathon Race Day

We went up the day before to register and bee-bop around Coeur D’Alene. Beautiful city. Race day was calm, cloudy and about 40 degrees when the half marathon started at 7:30. It warmed to maybe 50 or 60 late morning, but the course was flat and shaded most of the way. I had been training on gravel roads in the foothills, so this course was far easier than what I had been running on.

I was nervous/excited. Other than an ALS/Lou Gehrig’s benefit 5k I ran in college, my last racing experience was in high school where I ran sprint relays – 100, 200 and 400 meters. If you can’t imagine how challenging 13.1 miles seems to a girl who ran the majority of her races in 13 seconds, let’s get coffee and I’ll tell you all about it.

As we were getting ready for the race to start, all I could think about was how my dad would look at that mess of people and make some comment about how it looked like a herd of cattle pointed down the loading alley. And we did.

I don’t know how many people were running this half marathon, but one of the race volunteers said there were 2,500 people signed up for the marathon, half marathon and 5k. All pointed the same direction. All funneled through the archway with the big START sign on it. All geared up for a half marathon whether it was our first (me!) or 80th (someone else who will never be me). Thank goodness there wasn’t a cliff 20 feet past the starting point or I would have tumbled over the edge of it before I realized it was there.

The race itself wasn’t bad. I got worried when my calves got tight around mile three or four. That’s never happened that early in a run before, and I’m sure it was a result of adrenaline, a faster pace and a new running surface. They stayed tight the entire race, feeling like they might cramp on the next stride. I just kept moving forward, determined to get as far as I could before they did cramp and hoping I could make it to the finish line if they did.

Thankfully they didn’t cramp, but the fear of it kept me from walking. I was afraid if I stopped to walk, my muscles would cool just enough to start acting up and I’d not be able to get running again.

About mile 10 (I think? The miles started blurring together.) my legs started to tire. My cardio was strong due to my Insanity training, I think, but my legs were getting heavy and wimping out on me. Competitive Erica kicked in, and after a water station, another girl and I fell into stride. She got me through the next couple of miles at a better pace than I could have managed on my own. I wish I could find her again and thank her.

The last mile or two were awful. I was dead. My legs were angry, and my pace had slowed. Somehow I made it to that last tenth of a mile and did the dead man sprint to the finish. Thankfully without tripping in front of the hundreds surrounding the finish line. Embarrassing moment #73,284 I didn’t need happening to me.

Half Marathon Training

North Idaho roads aren’t good for winter running, and I fell in my first experience with a treadmill a few years ago so it takes a good bit of coaxing for me to agree to run indoors. I started my training in January with the Insanity workout program. Tough program. Hard on joints. Whipped me into shape.

About mid-March I started running outside, and I based my half marathon training on Hal Higdon’s Novice 1 half marathon program. I was about 10 weeks out from my race date, so I jumped in on the third week.

It prepared me for my half marathon pretty well. I can’t compare to any other training programs, but I would give this training program a thumbs up. If I run another one, I will incorporate more cross training and more speed work.

The Future of Running

I think if I really dedicated myself to running, I could race a half marathon in under two hours. Do I want to really dedicate myself to running? No. Not at this point.

My goal was this half marathon I ran yesterday. I’ve done it. I’m ready for a new challenge, a new focus, a new push towards something great. I hope to continue incorporating running into my life, and I know Doc certainly does. But to train for a distance race like I have been? I’ll leave that to the people who run 13 miles in an hour.

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What Single-Minded Focus Can Accomplish

April 30, 2012 by 4 Comments

Eyeglasses focused on running shoesAs I hit the last month on the Project Half Marathon trail, I’ve looked back at what I’ve already accomplished. Premature, I know, but I needed some encouragement this weekend, and it is amazing what single-minded focus can accomplish.

It all started with two crazy-induced months of Insanity in January of this year. Then I switched over to running. Jogging slowly for a really long ways? Entirely different way of fitness than the high intensity interval training of Insanity.

Yesterday I ran nine miles. Nine miles!! In an hour and 37 minutes!! Exclamation points for everyone!!

You all? I’m doing this. I’m actually doing this. And it feels good.

It also feels like a very large reminder that is burned into my brain each long-run Sunday. When you knuckle down and really go after something, you will accomplish it.

I haven’t gotten a lot else done outside of work besides run and train for Project Half Marathon. My house is a mess, my bed is never made, my laundry is never caught up – but that’s okay with me. I want this under my belt, and I want to run this half marathon on Memorial weekend to the best of my ability.

And now I’m thinking, what do I want to turn this magical single-minded focus on when June hits? I think I already know.

P.S. – it isn’t magic. It’s hard work, determination and never giving up.

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I’ve got a long ways to run.

April 18, 2012 by Leave a Comment

You might be thinking I dropped that whole Project Half Marathon thing like it was a sack of rotten eggs since I haven’t mentioned it in about, oh, three months. Falsehood. Project Half Marathon is in giddy-up, full-charge ahead mode.

It has been a difficult transition from Insanity into running slowly for a very long ways. I still can’t say that I enjoy it, but I am focused on my goal of completing a half marathon to the very best of my ability. High intensity interval training (i.e. Insanity) will be my reward for 13.1 miles of jogging.

Mileage
I’m not a long distance runner so I’ve been hitting “oh wow this is the longest I’ve ever run at one time” moments on a regular basis. My scheduled 7-mile long run this past weekend didn’t happen due to unwellness. I felt guilty so I ate a plate of chocolate chip cookies. Don’t do that. It didn’t help.

This week I’m running 4.5 miles twice (last night and tomorrow night) with some shorter runs and cross training. I’ve been incorporating Yoga with Jillian and some hill work. Sundays are my long run days. I am tentatively planning eight this weekend. Cue the “I’m scared!” music.

Health
How am I feeling? My body is sad. A blister and a strained calf muscle made last night’s 4.5 miles a tad painful. Mentally, I’m focused on my goal, but I really wish I was enjoying the journey more. I keep hoping a tidal wave of joy is about to sweep over me, and I’ll never want to unlace my shoes again.

I get through my runs with music and the champion of long distance running, my border collie Doc. He doesn’t quit. He doesn’t whine. He doesn’t get tired. Music wise I am stuck on stuff from my college days – which is both good and bad. Hinder, Foo Fighters, Snow Patrol, Coldplay. It never fails to amuse me when Collective Soul’s song Run shuffles through.

Seriously. How can you not appreciate the irony of Collective Soul singing “I’ve got a long ways to run.”?

All I can say to that is, “Why, yes, yes I do indeed.”

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60 Days of Crazy: Insanity Results and Review

March 17, 2012 by 9 Comments

I did it. I completed the Insanity workout program. If you’re only interested in my Insanity results, scooch on below, because right now I’m simply reveling in the fact that I finished it. If I wasn’t so tired right now, I’d be jumping up and down in excitement at meeting my goal. Collapsed in a chair soaking up my success feels pretty darn good though.

Insanity Workout Schedule

Crossing off each workout on the Insanity schedule helped. Somehow.

It’s been nine weeks since I started Insanity, and my review of it is a thumbs up. But you’ve got to be realistic with yourself and your abilities.

  1. If you have trouble with your joints, use caution with this workout program. It involves a lot of plyometrics. In the last two weeks I had to modify some of the jumps because my knees were shredding into tiny little pieces.
  2. To do Insanity every day, you need to be a mover and shaker already. I don’t think this is an appropriate program for someone who is just starting to exercise, and it isn’t marketed as such.
  3. Insanity takes time. The second month of workouts were an hour.
  4. You’ll get as much out of it as you put into it. That goes for any workout program.
  5. Watch what you eat. I didn’t pay special attention to my diet while I was doing Insanity, and I didn’t use any of the shakes or supplements suggested. I think I would have had even better results if I would have been more strict with my eating habits.
  6. Do what you can. Push yourself, yes, but don’t beat yourself up if you can’t do 3 minute intervals with 30 second rests for 45 minutes straight. I certainly couldn’t, and even the group of people on the DVD took water breaks and rests.
  7. The first four days of the second month of workouts killed me. I was in a major slump and mentally I was on the verge of breaking down from the strain. Fitness requires a lot more mental strength than many people realize. It really took me by surprise, because I nailed the first month. The intensity skyrockets in the second month, and I really struggled with them in the beginning. Work through it, and you’ll hit your stride.
  8. If you are competitive, this is a good workout program. If you want something that is intense, this is a good workout program. It takes time and it’s not cheap, but even if you only half dedicate yourself to the fitness regimen you will get in better shape.

Insanity Results
I don’t have a before and after shot. I didn’t think to take one at the beginning, and it just feels a little awkward to me. I don’t have six-pack abs either, but the difference between Day 1 and Day 60? Huge. I think. Why am I not more sure? Because my numbers – yes, those numbers that women pay so much attention to – aren’t great. In fact, my scale says I’ve gained three pounds.

And that’s okay with me. When I started Insanity, I didn’t need to lose weight. I was thin when I started, but I was out of shape. Remember, the whole reason I decided to try Insanity was so I could get prepared for Project Half Marathon.

There are two things I’m particularly proud of as I look back on these nine weeks of Insanity. First, I skipped one workout. I’m still a little miffed that I skipped it, but out of nine weeks? I remember slaughtering the workout I did the next day so the rest is exactly what I’d needed.

Second, my numbers. Not those numbers I mentioned above, but my fit test numbers. Every two weeks, the Insanity workout program uses a fit test of eight different exercises to test the progress you’ve made. You do as many repetitions as you can in one minute for each exercise with a short recovery break between each minute-long exercise.

My numbers don’t lie, and I’m kinda awfully dang proud of ‘em.

The 8 exercises in the Insanity Fit Test.

The 8 exercises in the Insanity Fit Test.

Side-by-Side Comparison
Exercise: Day 1 Fit Test/Day 60 Fit Test:

  • Switch Kicks (2 kicks=1 rep): 45(90)/69.5(139)
  • Power Jacks: 45/64
  • Power Knees: 75/117
  • Power Jumps: 28/75
  • Globe Jumps: 6/12
  • Suicide Jumps: 13/25
  • Push-up Jacks: 18/27
  • Low Plank Obliques: 31/69

I was collapsed on the floor in a puddle of sweat on my Day 1 Fit Test, and I was in the exact same shape today for my Day 60 Fit Test. The better my cardiovascular system worked, the more I could do and the harder I pushed.

Insanity works. It’s a good program (though hard) and I would recommend buying Insanity if you’re serious about getting toned and fit.

What’s next?
I’m excited and a little relieved to be done with Insanity. I like the structure of the workout, but I don’t want to be tied to an indoor workout program through the long days of summer. I love the outdoors and can’t imagine coming home to spend my evenings doing a television workout in my living room.

Now I channel my inner Forrest Gump and start running. I have 10 weeks to implement my Project Half Marathon plan. Thus far that plan includes…running. Seems like a good start, right?

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Help, my workout is killing me.

February 22, 2012 by 1 Comment

Here’s your weekly fitness PSA: I’m dying.

I wrapped up the first month of Insanity without too much trouble. It was hard, yes, but I kind of got into it. Then I had a week of recovery. The type of recovery that still includes exercise, just not insane exercise. And then I started the second month of the Insanity program.

Yowzers. Yow. Zers.

These workouts are officially beyond insane. The first day had me fighting down vomit. The second I almost broke down in tears. Today? I survived, but I was pushing the upper limits of my max heart rate.

I’m hitting a wall. I’m losing steam, and I’m struggling to stay upbeat about these workouts. I don’t look forward to coming home from work to an hour-long death drill with Shaun T yelling at me to “dig deeper” when I feel like a day-old pancake.

But I don’t want to quit. It’s not about working my way into the best shape I’ve ever been in. It’s not about slipping into my favorite pair of jeans. It’s not about wanting to look good in summertime dresses, for a guy or the numbers on the scale.

Not anymore.

Finishing. That’s all it is now. I want to complete this stupid, crazy Insanity program. I want to nail that thing to the wall and not let it beat me. I want to win. And for me, winning comes in the shape of doing the whole program.

It worries me that I’m slipping, though. That I haven’t been as strong mentally in this first week of the second round as I was during the whole first month. If I’m being honest, I get nervous about workouts and how hard they’re going to be. Sometimes I think Man, I better shave my legs in case tonight’s workout kills me and someone has to come in and find my dead body.

That last one was a joke. Kind of.

If I’m being perfectly and completely honest, I need help. I’ve never been one for support groups or rah-rah, let’s-do-this type of communities, but for the next three and a half weeks? I need that. I need some moral support to help me rally what remaining marbles are bouncing off each other in my head and not quit this thing I’ve started.

What do you do when your fitness routine hits a slumpy moment? How do you hurdle these workout walls?

* I liked this post by Kelly about rockin’ rural wellness, the challenges many folks face when it comes to fitness and a call-out for us all to support each other in our pursuit of a healthy life.

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Skinny Doesn’t Equal Fitness

January 29, 2012 by 4 Comments

Truth time: I’m a naturally skinny girl. It’s just how it is. My metabolism has been kind, and more often than not my lifestyle has been its friend. Except for that one time in college. And that other time when I was unemployed. Wait, and also that other, oh never mind.

But you know what is equally true? I’m out of shape. I’m thin, sure, but I collapse on the ground after 10 push-ups. A mile at a slow jog has me sucking wind. I’m not proud of it, but there it is.

I’m just plumb outta shape, folks.

I spent the first 18 years of my life on a cattle ranch. I rode horses and wrestled calves. I carried two 5-gallon feed buckets at a time down a long row of bunks fighting off hundreds of yearling calves. What am I trying to tell you?

I’m trying to tell you I was RIPPED. I had 12-gauge shotguns for biceps, and I could run down a cow on foot. Really. If she was half way cooperating.

But then I went to college. And then I entered the real world. (Those two are not the same thing.)

My lack of fitness is what brought on the dive into Insanity so I can get ready for Project Half Marathon. It’s working. I think.

I had my second fit test for the Insanity program today. It’s essentially a 20-minute death package that could take the place of Chinese water torture. It’s called Insanity for a reason, folks.

I did better than my first one two weeks ago. I’m not entirely sure how accurate my numbers are. Nothing torques me off more than when I lose count in the middle of a 20-minute death package. But I’m sure I did better on everything. Almost everything.

There’s an exercise called push-up jacks. It’s a combo push-up/jumping jack on the ground, and I stink at it. I have wimpy arms. Push-up jacks make me fall to the floor and cry for my mommy. That wailing you heard this afternoon? That wasn’t the wind. It was me in my little country house and being lightweight didn’t help a thing.

Skinny doesn’t equal fitness. Remember that.

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I survived a week of Insanity.

January 22, 2012 by 3 Comments

Insanity Workout Program

I have officially gone off the deep end in my pursuit of Project Half Marathon. I mean it. Put me in a white suit, and lock me in a padded room. The workout program Insanity? Totally, completely, 100% correctly named.

Right now I am slung over the computer like a half sack of grain on a skinny man’s shoulder. I just survived my first week of Insanity, and I’m too exhausted to type let alone celebrate the fact I’m still here.

I wake up in the mornings and think, I’m glued in bed, because my muscles froze. I’m going to die of starvation with nothing but six pillows and a stuffed dog named Rooster Cogburn to keep me company.

Insanity is all about movement. Lots of cardio. Lots of plyometrics. Lots times a lot of ab-busting moves. And lots of Why the heck am I doing this?! thoughts chasing themselves around.

Additionally, Insanity is about turning into a sweat-dripping, screaming-at-the-television, collapsing-on-the-floor maniac. A startling resemblance to an entire football team after two-a-days in the late August heat.

Essentially? This is not the time to invite that boy you’ve got a crush on to come hang out.

And yet, I’m in like with the program. I seriously grumbled my way into the start of it this morning. Likely something to do with the four pop-tarts I had for breakfast. Don’t do that. Be a better woman than me, and hold it to three.

But I’m never sorry I worked out. Think about it, how many things are there in life that you’ll never regret doing? Exercise is one of them.

I didn’t start the Insanity workout program because I wanted to look good playing sand volleyball this summer. Although that would be nice now that I think about it. If I played sand volleyball. Which I don’t, so scratch that.

This is Project Half Marathon in motion. I live in north Idaho, and I choose not to have a gym membership or massacre my lungs by running outside during the winter. In order to stack on the miles this spring, I needed something to help get me in shape.

Insanity was the obvious choice, because a friend was willing to lend it to me. AKA: free! However, I now have suspicions that he is having a good chuckle over what I’m going through. It should whip me into some semblance of fitness that allows me to hit the ground running in March though, and that’s what I wanted.

I’m not an Insanity junkie. Not yet. But I fear I’m dangerously close to busting out my Buzz Lightyear voice, raising my fist and shouting, “To Insanity…and beyond!”

* Hey y’all, let the record show I’m not endorsing Insanity. I’m not reviewing it. I’m not getting paid or being given a tiny little statue or a feed truck full of pop-tarts. I just wanted to share my experience with this exercise program and rejoice in the fact it hasn’t killed me. Yet.

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