New Blog

I have a new blog as of yesterday. If you wish to still follow along with my ramblings you can now find me at the following spot on the web: www.muffinstomarathons.com

June Review

The marathon can humble you. ~ Bill Rogers

One month into training and I am feeling pretty damn good about where things are going! I am still trying to come to grips with the lower running mileage totals however, I am loving the fact that I am already noticing that I am running significantly faster. Add to that all the cross training that the plan has me doing, I feel that I am getting closer each day to the goal. For those of you who are in training or about to start training, sometimes the plan doesn't seem clear at the beginning but as you progress through, everything becomes clearer each day.

June Final numbers

Running - 117 miles (this is my lowest monthly total in 17 months however I have never finished out a month with a sub 8 minute per mile pace) in 15:25:08 (7:55 per mile overall pace)

Biking (Spinning) - 211 miles in 10:03:22

Push-ups - 1,314 total push-ups

July looks like another incredibly challenging month! I am looking forward to challenge!

Happy Running!

Maybe.....

Starting to hit a few repeat workouts here in week 4 of my training for this years races. I started my training on May 31st with a 2 mile warm up followed by 3 one mile intervals with a quick cool down afterwards. Today was my first "repeat" workout. I think after 4 weeks I have made some progress!

May 31st (3 one mile intervals @ 6:12 per mile)
Mile 1 - 6:52 + 40 seconds
Mile 2 - 6:43 + 31 seconds
Mile 3 - 6:33 + 21 seconds

June 28th (3 one mile intervals @ 6:12)
Mile 1 - 6:34 + 22 seconds
Mile 2 - 6:30 + 18 seconds
Mile 3 - 6:25 + 13 seconds

I still haven't hit the mark yet, but I am getting a whole lot closer :) Will this translate into a faster marathon? Who knows, I still have 14 more weeks to complete! I know that right now, I feel like I am getting significantly faster!

On a side note, I am pretty close to finalizing my race schedule for this upcoming season :) Check back in a few days and hopefully I will have it complete!

Happy Running!

Interval Training

My whole feeling in terms of racing is that you have to be very bold. You sometimes have to be aggressive and gamble. ~ Bill Rogers

I know they are good but why do they have to hurt so damn bad! So why do I recommend that everyone and anyone who wants to get fit or lose weight do interval training...here are the reasons why...

#1 - Want to SUPERCHARGE your fitness, boost your metabolism or burn off that extra fat? Interval training is what you need!!!! You can run your Sprint intervals by either time or distance...the choice is yours...each sprint is then followed by a period of recovery.

#2 - High Intensity Interval Training or (HIIT) is about mixing high intensity bursts of exercise with moderate intensity recovery periods. It's brutal but has incredible advantages. It is the quickest way to get fit, lose fat and supercharge your sports performance. It also will help to increase your anaerobic threshold which can often times be a better indicator of cardiovascular strength than your VO2max.

Anyway you put it, interval training is a killer workout that will without a doubt get you to where you want to be.

Happy Running!

Week 2 Complete

Running has never failed to give me great end results, and that's why I keep coming back for more! ~ Sasha Azevedo

Week 2 of my 18 week training plan, Run Less Run Faster, is complete. I have to admit that even though my weekly mileage is way down, I do feel like I am making some significant improvements in the overall speed department. In addition, the cross training days are really making me focus on using different muscle groups. Here is a quick breakdown of the week that was and what is upcoming for this week.

Sunday - Off

Monday - Off

Tuesday - 2 Mile Warmup, (4) 800 meter intervals (NOT EASY) (2:58, 2:58, 2:57 and 2:55) followed by a 2 mile cool down.

Wednesday - I ended up teaching back to back Spinning Classes so I got in a good 40 miles on the bike.

Thursday - Got in a nice 3 mile warmup followed by a 5 mile Tempo run (36:47)that just about kicked my ass.

Friday - Strength Training

Saturday - 15 mile Long run completed in 1:58:36 which was about 3 and a half minutes quicker than I needed to complete it in.

So in the end I ended up running a total of 29 miles (I know, seems low but I will tell ya that none of these miles are garbage miles) and about 40 miles of biking.

Here is the schedule for week 3....

Sunday - Rest

Monday - Rest

Tuesday - 2 Mile Warmup

1200 Meters @ 4:33

1000 Meters @ 3:44

800 Meters @ 2:58

600 Meters @ 2:13

400 Meters @ 1:27

2 Mile Cool down

In addition I am teaching a Spin Class on Tuesday.

Wednesday - Cross Training probably on the rowing machine

Thursday - 3 Mile Warmup

5 Mile Tempo Run @ 7:15 per mile (that would be 11 seconds quicker per mile than last weeks Tempo Run....not looking forward to this one at all.)

Friday - Cross Training in the weight room

Saturday - 17 Mile Long Run @ 8:11 per mile

Should be a fun week :)

Happy Running!

Week 1 Day 5

Running is one of the best solutions to a clear mind. ~ Sasha Azevedo

I really need to get over the mental aspect of this new training plan. Run Less, Run Faster should actually be titled Run a Hell of a LOT less, Running Faster HURTS! That would be a much more appropriate title in my opinion. Today wasn't really so bad though. Other than it was already 85 degrees outside at 6:15 AM! None the less, I got through today's run. Ran a total of 6 miles. 3 miles for my warmup, 2 miles at Tempo (6:45 pace) and then a 1 mile cool down. It actually is quite nice to be able to run those miles that fast. Not fun, but nice. I just need to get past the fact that I am not going to be running a whole ton of miles this summer, unlike last summer.

Tomorrow is another cross training day. I am actually going to be teaching a Spin Class tomorrow afternoon at 4, so I am going to use that as my cross training. That should give me another 20 or so miles on the bike this week. I am also going to complete my 3rd and final strength workout for the week. I am already looking forward to Saturday's 13 miler!

Hope everyone had a great day!

Happy Running!

Week 1 Day 4

When you win, say nothing. When you lose, say less. ~ Paul Brown

Good morning everyone! Never got to the blog last night but I never figured I would actually keep up everyday lol. Anyways, yesterdays workout was completed with no real issues. I realize now that it is going to take me a few days to get used to NOT running everyday. So yesterday was a cross training day. My plan was 20 to 25 miles on the bike and then complete my 2nd strength workout. A little background on this new training plan. It calls for 3 days per week running...2 days per week cross training and 3 strength workouts per week. I can put the strength training on basically any day I want. In addition to that, I get two complete days off per week...this is something I have almost never done! That is pretty much the plan...with the goal of running significantly faster than I have. Here are the details from yesterday.

Biked a total of 20 miles...this was the bottom end of my goal for the day, however time did not allow me to complete anything further. Still was a good 20 miles though with a ton of hills. My legs were feeling it :) Completed the 20 in 46:50

Completed my 2nd strength workout of the week as well. Yesterday I planned pretty much core and upper body. Well not pretty much...that is what I planned and that is what I did...core and upper body. Understanding that I will do my push-ups and Ab Roller every single day. Someday I will get into the absolute value of the push-up when I have more time. That seemed to go over pretty well too. No significant concerns there.

Today's workout is pretty simple. 6-7 mile Tempo Run.

2 to 3 miles Warmup

2 miles @ 6:45 per mile or better

2 miles cool down

There is no strength training today other than my push-ups and ab roller.

Yesterday I went over most of my nutritional needs for the day. I was + 192 calories, + 30 grams of fat, + 24 grams of protein. I still kept my saturated fat below my max and my carb intake was -110 grams. Today and tomorrow are going to be lower calorie days...not by much but still will be below. This is the goal of zig zagging.

That is about all for now....Have a great day everyone!

Happy Running!