4.18.2017

RUNCLE40- Speed training is where the partys at

I have found a new love and that new love is the treadmill. Its been hot and steamy for about a month now, but I'm finally making it blog official! I never really knew that I could push myself so hard and run so fast! (well, fast for me). Anything under a 10 minute mile I consider pretty fast. And the best part of the treadmill love fest is that its making me faster when I'm not there too! Today for example I was running outside and at one point my pace was 8:50!  EIGHT- FIFTY people!  That is like Meb speed to me! So, speed training on my beloved treadmill is going awesome! I have done smaller spurts of speed training in the past but this is the first time that its more of a regular thing for me. Its funny that its sort of shocking to me that its working because that's what people actually do who are training, but sometimes I'm a little late to the game.


Here is how the last two weeks looked for me
Sunday- 4 miles, small and relaxing after 13 on the Saturday before
Monday- 5K @9:18 pace on the treadmill (all the heart emojis!)
Tuesday- Rest
Wednesday- 5K@8:50 pace on the treadmill- I told you it was getting steamy!
Thursday- 5K@ lunch
Friday- 2 miles at lunch
Saturday- Rest- the weekends I have the boys, I just cant focus on miles unless its before they get up


Sunday- 7.5 miles @10:31 pace
Monday- Rest
Tuesday- 4 miles @9:24 pace. I tried to do something different and just look at the time and not the miles elapsed and got further than I thought was possible.
Wednesday- Rest
Thursday- 5 miles with my favorite running buddy at the park for some pretty gorgeous miles. I always forget how much I love spring time running in the evenings!
Friday- I had a run planned after work, but I mowed and spent some really needed hours cleaning up the yard and then it got dark! But, I think it was harder than a run would have been, so half credit!
Saturday- 7.5 miles around town with Lynanne


I have to add that I am definitely not following any kind of training plan like I have in the past. This may not really fly with most people but it works for me and my schedule. The first year I ran a marathon, I studied so many plans and really stressed over which one would be the best for me and in the end used a combination of a few. Since I plan to run the half this year I know that if I work on speedwork like I have been, I will be able to be faster than I have before. For someone starting out I highly recommend looking up training plans and following them for a few training seasons to get where you need it be. Not that I am above the law by any means, I am not that fast but I know my body and as long as I get 3-4 runs during the week as well as 1-2 weekend runs I will be able to complete the race.


Thanks to all of you who participated last week in my IG giveaway!  It was the most fun week to hear all of your stories and memories of running!  I really enjoyed connecting with so many awesome runners! 


I'm super excited that its almost game time and Cleveland is closing in on 30 days away. But even more exciting is that the Canton Hall of Fame Marathon is in 2 weeks. Ill be part of the Marathon relay team with 4 of my friends and I cant wait!!! Bring on all  the spring races!


What plan or non plan are you guys following to get spring race ready?  What races are you running coming up? What's your favorite way to do speedwork?  Are you in a relationship with your treadmill?  (haha just seeing if you are paying attention!)


As always be sure to check out what my fellow ambassadors are up to! You can also find me on instagram and facebook. They are pretty great and are all training for different distances!

4.09.2017

RunCLE40- GIVEAWAY WEEK!

Here we go! This is it!  It GIVEAWAY WEEK! This is my best week leading up to the race because as an official Cleveland Marathon Ambassador, I get to give away a race entry!
 
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Yep!  I LOVE giving a race entry away because I LOVE the Cleveland Marathon! I love how they play " Cleveland Rocks" at the start line every year, I love the people cheering you on from the sidelines, I love the people that I have met being associated with this race, its just all the BEST! And now I get to share it with you!
 
This is my third year as an ambassador but my love of this race goes back to 2010 when I first began running and ran the 10K with my sister. My awesome cousin and mom ran the half marathon that year and I was hooked. Since 2010 I have raced every year except the years that I had my boys.
 
This year is Cleveland's 40th anniversary and its a huge year! The awesome race people are pulling out all the stops and its going to be the best year yet!
 
Giveaway Details
  • I'm doing this giveaway on Instagram- so hop on over and follow me there (get it, its Easter week, bunnies hop- ok, that was lame)
  • I'll have a question every day of the week, each daily comment is one entry
  • If you have already registered, I cannot reimburse you, but I can meet you at the start line for a selfie and a high five!
  • The entry is for one race of your choice, not the race series
  • The contest starts Monday April 10th and closes Friday April 15th at midnight.
  • The winner will be notified via DM on IG
As an ambassador, I also received an entry and some other CLE marathon cool swag to write about my training process and the race itself, but my opinions are my own.

As always be sure to check out what my fellow ambassadors are up to! You can also find me on facebook. They are pretty great and are all training for different distances! 

4.02.2017

RunCLE40- Full swing time

This week was a great week for training- the best week I have had in a long time!


Sunday I gave myself an hour to run. I had the boys and really hate leaving them to run but they were hanging out with my parents and having a great time. I set out on my normal route close to home and was really trucking right up until I wasn't. There is a certain point about mile 4.5 that I just hit a mental wall, the wind was picking up and coming right up in my face. I decided to turn around and change my route and it made all of the difference in the world. I finished with 6 miles at a 10:47 pace.


Monday I went to the gym at lunch and hopped on the treadmill with the plan to do 3. I started at a 6.6 (my lucky number has always been 6 because of my birthday June 6). Anyway, I thought I would start fast and could always dial it back if needed. But a beautiful thing happened and I didn't need to dial it back. I ran for a mile and then took a 30 second walk break, then started it up again. Then at 2 miles I did the same little walk break. I was pretty excited that I was running under a 10 min/mile pace so I kept making it a little faster and got to the 3.1. It was a great break in the day and I had the fastest time in a long time at a 9:38 pace.


Tuesday I took my lunch break to blog :)

Wednesday I was back on my beloved treadmill at lunch and used the same plan from Monday starting the treadmill at 6.6 and after 2 miles dialing it up a notch or two every few minutes finishing the 5K at a 9:30 pace!


Thursday I hit up my Total Body Toning class that is cardio mixed with a lot of weights and then met Lynanne at the park for 5 miles. It was a slow 5, but I felt stronger from the treadmill running at a faster pace.


Friday Rest day knowing I had a long run on Saturday


Saturday My running bestie is preparing for the Pittsburgh full marathon. I'm not running the full in Cleveland but I really, really enjoy training together so I waited for her to run her first hour and met her after that. I ran the last 13 with her and it was awesome! It was cold and a little misty out but I felt strong and the miles just seemed to tick by. We used the run walk method and took our time knowing it was more about getting the miles in than speeding up. It was a really good solid 13!


Total miles for the week- 30.2


It was an awesome week and overall I feel stronger than I have in a long time. I'm getting so excited for Cleveland, only 48 days! One of my friends Rachel said that she would run the half marathon with me. I'm excited that we can run together and I'm sure that she will keep me moving towards a PR!



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photo credit


Are you looking forward to running Cleveland? Check out what my fellow ambassadors are up to! You can also follow me on IG @running_with_jazzhands


Have a Jazz-tastic week!