week 2 day 3

Mileage: 4 miles (40 minutes)
WTD mileage: 7.20    
CT mileage to date:  23.19
Calories burned: 701

Well I didn't run yesterday. I woke up late and didn't feel the greatest to start off with and then left my workout clothes at home thus I decided I would wait till I got home. I then realized I hadn't watched the movie I rented from RedBox and it was due by 9pm and still had some work to do on my daughter's bedroom floor. About the time I was going to go and run, I decided against it. I decided I would take my rest day in the middle of the week since I still am in the Summer Challenge at work and want to be more fresh come time to test, rather than be limping into a day of rest.

I stretched out today and man was I sore. I felt like I hadn't run in a week. My muscles were screaming at me and it seemed that they didn't want to participate at all. Need to drink some more water to hydrate myself and help them out a bit. I got on the treadmill and ran a warm up mile. I was definitely already feeling quite warm by the time I was done. LOL..I then proceeded to do my core workout for the day. It consisted of
6 x 400 meters with a walk/jog of 400 meters in between. I was supposed to jog/run a mile or two before and after, but due to time restraints, I was only able to do the mile warmup and warmed down on my last walk/jog interval. I did the speed work at a 10 which equals to about a 5:50 mile pace...it was fast. :) I mainly walked the intervals in between at a pace of 4.5-5.5. My heart rate would peak at about 168-170 and then recover to about 129-133, which is good. The last lap I did at 10.2 on the treadmill as I wanted to definitely push myself. It was definitely a hard workout, one of the more difficult ones to endure so far. I know it is going to make me better. My quads are definitely feeling it right now and I am sleepy, but all in all, it was a good workout.

I have a total of 9 days till my race...about 7 days of running left. I don't want to be tired come race time, so I will start to taper off by mid week next week and do a light workout on Wednesday, unless I am still in competition for the Summer Challenge. If that is the case, I will have to run a hard 12 minutes and I am not liking that idea...decisions, decisions.

end of week 1 core training

Mileage 4.00
End of Week mileage: 15.99
End of week weigh in: 241

Last night I struggled due to the extreme heat. It was 103 at 8:30 in the evening. I ran at the airport, which has become my adversary. My longest run of the week was today as well. I was unable to calculate accurate mileage, but it was 4 miles, if not close to it.  For whatever reason, this trail/course always discourages me and is a heartbreaking place to run. I have yet to run the entire distance when I go out there. I think the heat has something to do with it, but its so long and drawn out and messes with your mind. I always seem to go out too fast and try to finish fast. Tonight I should've finished, but I will blame it on the extreme heat since that is why I feel i didn't finish. I ran for 31 minutes straight before having to take a quick breather and catch my breath. The humidity has been at about 35% and the air quality has been deemed not so great. The shirt I was wearing didn’t help. It is the kind that keeps you dry and from sweating, but I think last night I needed to sweat to cool off from the slight breeze that was blowing. My biggest downfall was that I was feeling overly hot. I probably could have finished the entire distance running, but it was supposed to be a comfortable pace and enjoyable run…HA! It was a far cry from that. 103 degree heat takes away any fun.

Nonetheless, I was able to complete the distance and get my miles in.  I was happy to get my mileage in for the week and continue to improve. It is a slow, gradual thing, but definitely is happening. I can feel it in my lungs and in my legs. I am also starting to trim up in my waistline. J Which is always a good thing. I stepped on the scales after running last night and it read 240.7..I couldn’t believe it. I haven’t cracked 240 in probably a year. My target weight would be 215-220. I will be happy to get back to that weight. I feel really healthy and good when I am there. That would mean a total loss of 30-35 pounds. I started at 252 and I am embarking on 240…wow..12 pounds, already? Really? That is motivation right there to keep going.

It will take a while to get acclimated to the extreme heat and I have to proceed with caution. This week it is supposed to be extremely hot. There is an extreme heat advisory for all week. The lowest temp this week is supposed to be 105. YIKES! I sure hope I will be able to compete in the race a week from Friday. It is going be just as hot during race time…so we will see.  My knee is feeling better all the time and I have to make sure it stays that way. I need to keep stretching it and massaging it to keep it loose and prevent tightness.

Here is to week 2 of core training. May it be a better week. :)