February Recap

February hasn't exactly gone as planned for me, either. I wish I could say I had good excuse like Callie's, that I've been deathly ill with the flu or something (well, I don't wish for that, exactly, but you know). Mostly I've been too busy, training with my new, second job, and without overwhelming you, dear supportive readers, with the gory detail, my personal life has been kind of a mess which always results in no sleep which in turns causes me to be so tired that I figure I can't justify exercise because I'm so rundown and tired already that I need to conserve energy. Golly, that was a long sentence. That's kinda how life has been lately. Long, incoherent sentences. But anyway, I've been doing well at two of my training goals, which was to get started and get comfortable going to my two cross-training activities, aikido and yoga. Running on the treadmill has been a chore and I've really only been managing it about once or twice a week.

But my biggest accomplishment for the month of February was that I picked a marathon training program, joined it, and today did my first run with the group. I decided to join Team in Training, which is the marathon-training program supported by the Leukemia and Lymphoma society. The fundraising component of this program is, admittedly, a little daunting for me. $1400! And I certainly could have joined a regular training group for about 1/10th of the cost. But for some reason I kept coming back to TNT. And I figure, hey, if fate is nudging me that way, then I should just listen. If I'm going to go to all this work to run the marathon, why not have some extra good come of it? I mean, running it will be good for me, but if it can be good for me AND good for others, that's even better. So I went to my first group run this morning. Already I can tell that having a group will be good motivation for me - this morning's windchill was 14 degrees - and I made it out for a run. Normally I say that my temperature threshold is 45! And it was bloody, awful cold. I would never had lasted on my own. But I had people to chat with, about cold and about running and those good general small-talk topics, and the 45 minute run went by like nothing. I was actually a little disappointed when we got back to the starting place so soon.

This weekend I hope to get my fundraising page up and running, so more about TNT here soon! (By the way, a proper acronym for Team In Training, it seems to me, would be TIT. But I guess it makes sense that they're using TNT instead. Maybe if we were raising money for breast cancers instead of blood cancers...? Or maybe my sense of humor wouldn't wouldn't exactly jive for a career in Public Relations...)

Hope you're feeling better quickly, Cal.

Back on Track

I had big plans for February. I had set career, personal and running goals. On February 9th I developed a minor cough in the later afternoon. I hit the gym that evening for a spectacular 45 minutes cardio session. By 9pm I was not feeling well. I woke-up incredibly sick on Friday morning and ran straight to the doctor's office to ward off another one of my usual sinus infections. Wrong. I was a statistic; one of the hundreds in the area that week that came down with the 2007 flu. The doctor told me there was nothing he could do. I would be sick for 7 to 10 days with a residual cough for 2-3 weeks. He sent me home with instructions to stay in bed and take Tylenol for the pain. Guess what? Doc was right.

Needless to say I've hit a bump in the marathon training. Two days ago I attempted my first workout since falling ill. I did 30 minutes of early morning yoga and am STILL sore! My cough was considerably better that day, however. The good that has come from being so sick; I will not be able to complain of sever muscle pain no matter the intensity of the long runs to come. The identifying characteristic of this flu is the accompanying sever muscle pain. For nearly 4 days I was in so much pain that I could not sleep and was unsteady on my feet. Once returning to work, I found out campus doctors were prescribing hydrocodon for the pain! (I see an off-campus doctor.) The statistics are astounding. Our department sadly lost one elderly professor to the flu this year.

So I have now had a week back at work and am trying to get my life put back together after not doing much for 7 days. I am starting to return to my prior habits and incorporate exercise again. I am going to ease into it, however. This is unlike me, but the residual cough and unseasonably wet weather makes me leery of developing an upper respiratory infection, common to distance runners. Today, its horseback riding. It will be nice for us both to stretch our legs after the cold winter we have had. Next week, it's back to the gym with the goal to get in 3-4 days of exercise.

the training plan

so, i wrote this up a few weeks ago, and i realize that i hadn't finished it or posted it yet, and suddenly the month of january is already gone. so, here's the rough sketch of my training plan:

January:
+join aikido dojo and yoga classes at the gym
+run 6-9 mi/week (3 days, 2-3 mi each)
+do at least 3 days/week of cardio (running or other)
+register for the marathon

February
+pick a marathon training program/group in chicago
+train 2 days/week at aikido
+yoga at least once per week
+up running mileage to 9-12 mi per week (3 days, 3-4 mi each)

March
+train 2 days/week at aikido
+yoga at least once per week
+maintain running mileage at 9-12 mi per week (3 days, 3-4 mi each)
+ease into some outdoor running as the weather gets milder

~March 25 – Shamrock Shuffle 8k
~March 2-17 (FW tech)


April
+maintain yoga and aikido cross training
+add some strength training (anything that aikido is missing)
+up running mileage to 12-15 mi per week (3 days, 4-5 mi each)

~April 29 – Ravenswood 5k
~April 27 – May 12 (arcadia tech)

May
+increase mileage to 15 mi/week
+build up to 6 mi long runs on weekends and running 4 days per week
+maintain yoga and aikido cross training

~April 27 – May 12 (arcadia tech)
~May 18 – Gala

June
+shift focus to marathon training program
+keep up with aikido and yoga as time and energy allow

~Plan running trip to Idaho?

July

~July 1- Race to the Taste 5k
~July 29 – Fleet Feet Women's 10k

~Running trip to Idaho if not in June?

August
~August 12 – Chicago Distance Classic Half Marathon

September
~September 9 – Chicago Half Marathon
~September 14-30 (thyestes tech, tentative)

October
~October 7 – Chicago Marathon!

obviously the first half is better planned out than the second half. but i can only think so far ahead. i'm not sure i can afford the entrance fees to all those races, either, but i'll wait and see which ones fit into my calendar and what i can afford to do.