This Week in Workouts: A New Milestone!

Good morning! I hope your weekend was absolutely wonderful and to anyone who participated in the Boston Marathon, CONGRATULATIONS, you are incredible and I so hope your was one for the books!! In true marathon spirit, this last week included my longest run yet by a half mile. But, it was my fastest 10K and my longest time spent running. 

What is incredibly interesting about this run was that I did the run/walk/run per usual but decided to run the entire last mile. Turns out that was my slowest mile of all! The pace before that mile was 11.01, The 6th mile went up to an 11:38! There really is something to this run/walk/run method!! So, let's talk about what else I did for exercise.

Monday: 3-minute Magic Mile with a 9:30 pace! 

Tuesday: Rest Day

Wednesday: 30-minute run. Ran 3.06 miles :)

Thursday: Long run of 6.50 miles on the Legacy Trail- an old train track that has been converted to a running/biking path. The parts that I ran were a bit boring, but I have heard they get better when you get into the state parks. 

Friday: This Hip Opening Sequence

Saturday: Rest Day

Sunday: Some Sun Salutations

A little housekeeping for this week: The hubs and I will be in California for a bit so getting posts out might be a touch more difficult. My goal is to be able to do 1-2 posts about the area that we are in, great workouts (possibly while on an airplane since I have this one down), and hopefully a third!

Next week we will talk about Jeff Galloway's book, The Run Walk Run Method. If you have not yet finished it, or started it, I totally recommend picking it up!! 

One Magic Mile Down

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Jeff Galloway has created something called the "Magic Mile" as part of his run training programs. What a Magic Mile is meant to do is give you a reasonable expectation of how quickly you can run a 10k, half marathon, or marathon. For a half marathon, you follow a simple formula after getting a few Magic Miles under your belt. 

Jeff has this mile during a 3-4 mile run and places it right in the middle. The goal is to push yourself as hard as you can without huffing and puffing or running in a way that may cause injury. After a few MM's are done, you average that number and multiply it by 1.2. But, in true cart-ahead-of-horse style, I thought I would tell you what my first MM was and what that could mean for the race. OK! 

I ran yesterday in 82 degree muggy heat with a terribly bad stomach ache (note to self, eating strawberry shortcake 2 hours before a run is a BAD idea) but, a determined mindset. I had a goal of running the whole mile and making it a pretty good pace to boot. Well, it was a push and the mile following my MM was not a super fun happy time of magic and rainbows and unicorns cheering me on as I ran, arms open, while singing "The Hills are Alive with the Sound of Music", but I did it. 

My first mile out of the three was decidedly slow at a 10:31 average pace and a 3:1 walk/run rate. Then, the MM came and I ran the whole deal (plus three minutes) and made it a 9:30 pace!! My pace got as quick as 8:30 and as slow as 10:00. Thankfully though, it averaged out to something that I can be proud of. The third mile, however, was not. That guy ended up being a crawl at 11:14. Ha! 

So, if my average stays around 9:30, my push-pace come race day will be an 11:24 per mile pace. Not too bad! I am hoping to have a 12 min/mile pace come race day with being able to do some character pictures. Also, finishing under 2:30 would be a dream!!!

So, have you done the MM before? And, was it close to your race pace?

RunDisney Lovers, This Will Make You Laugh!

Hehehehehe, I found this while trolling Instagram and immediately began uncontrollably laughing in the middle of a waiting room. It was rather embarrassing, yes, but totally worth it.  One of the recent Mickey Miles Podcasts talked about some of the issues people had with signing up for the Wine and Dine a few weeks ago. Many of my friends ran into the same error screen after putting in their payment information (did this happen to you?) and are out of the race- quite literally. 

This got me to thinking how hilarious it is that 1) runDisney races are the price that they are and 2) that we will take off work, wake up at odd hours, and have the internet equivalent of Thunderdome battles to give runDisney our money. And you know what? I don't even mind!

Maybe that is the crazier part, we all find it laughable, but we will all keep doing it. Because it is a group of people going for the same goal together with some of the most iconic characters of our childhood, nay the world's childhood, at the happiest place on earth. I would say that is a darn good reason- plus the race after party, let's not forget that. 

Yep, I have not even run my first runDisney race but am already planning my second and third. In fact, the chances are pretty high that I will have signed up for another 2016 Florida race and a 2016 California race before even running the Wine and Dine. Sounds a bit crazy right? What if I hate this whole running thing? What if it is about the worst thing I have ever done and I have visions of burning my running shoes in an runDisney fueled hatred of how awful this event is? Well, thankfully, there is no one who can make this race amazing or terrible except myself and what mental attitude I have. Even better, I have made a personal guarantee to myself not to let negativity creep in and to listen to my body for guidance. I will not push past my physical capabilities, but I have every intention of pushing past as many mental ones as humanly possible.

Goodness, we went from Fry yelling to some pretty deep stuff. So true though, our mental fortitude is what will guide our success or failure in most parts of life. Running, yoga, kickboxing, whatever physical activity you do that pushes you past where you are comfortable and into the unknown, it is not just making your body stronger, it is strengthening your mind. And, that is one of the greatest reasons to workout that I have yet found. 

Now, runDisney, shut up and take my money.  

Last Week in Workouts: The Longest Run

Last week, at 2:00 in the afternoon with a cloudless sky and 82 degree heat, I ran my longest run yet. It was hot, It was sunny, but it was also incredible. I keep doing the math and checking on my run keeper apps and Google maps to see that I actually ran that far, because my ody just does not feel like it usually does after a 3+ mile run. 

Maybe it was the heat that helped lubricate my joints and loosen my muscles. Maybe it was the incredible views of running next to the bay and by the beach. Maybe it was the run-walk-run time that I was using, but something was definitely different from the prior week's 5-miler from hell, and I am so happy for that!! 

Other than running this week, I did a wee bit of yoga and walked. That was it. I know, should have done more. But, with Easter, work, and just not wanting to, I just did not want to. So here is my workout sum-up and a hope that next week your will see a bit more yoga on my list! 

Oh, and the picture above, that was taken while on the six-mile run. With that view, running really cannot be too bad! 

Monday: 5-mile long run. This was definitely the hardest run yet. My pace slowed to an 11:33 average and my knees and ankles hurt like nothing else. There were also plenty of side stitches and lots of exhaustion when done. Yuck. 

Tuesday: Rest day. Still in pain from Monday. But, have been using this, and it makes everything better! 

Wednesday: 30-minute run using the 3/1 Run-Walk ration. Ended up doing a bit over 3 miles! 

Thursday: This new yoga sequence from Candace! 

Friday: 6-mile long run. This week I only fit in one 30-minute run since I was still catching up from last week. But, this run was incredible and my pace ended up being 11:16. Getting better!!

Saturday: Some nice walking :)

Sunday: I cooked a lot, but as far as a workout goes, that's about it. 

Happy Monday! Do you have any fun workouts planned for this week?